BAGUIO CITY – Regional health authorities underscored the practice of healthy lifestyle by everyone starting from their childhood will greatly help in preventing them from contracting the dreaded chronic kidney disease.
Dra.Amelita M. Pangilinan, assistant regional director of the Cordillera office of the Department of Health (DOH-CAR), said one of the reasons pinpointed on the rapid increase in kidney patients is the consumption of processed foods which are rich in salt and other condiments that tend to affect the operation of the kidneys.
She added the daily routine of individuals in their workplaces force them to eat processed foods, thus, preventing them from using part of their time to prepare their food so that they could easily control the condiments used plus the fact that they could use fresh vegetables in their daily diet.
Based on the statistics obtained from the dialysis center of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC), the facility is now catering to around 321 kidney patients who undergo dialysis treatment.
Dra. Kimberly Rimando-Valera, medical officer of the BGHMC’s hemodialysis center, said of the 321 chronic kidney patients, 91 were referred to the treatment facilities nearest to their residence while the 230 patients are being treated at the facility either once, twice, thrice or four times a week.
Of the 230 chronic kidney patients undergoing dialysis treatment, 131 are males and 99 are females.
Valera added the BGHMC dialysis center receives some 40 additional patients monthly or some 2 cases daily that is why health authorities are referring other patients to their places of residence, especially if their regional and provincial hospitals have their own dialysis centers.
The BGHMC doctor disclosed the major reason for contracting kidney ailments is due to the unregulated eating of processed and salted foods, aggravated by the drinking of liquor among males, and their inability to continuously drink water to flush out the toxins in their bodies.
She cited the lifestyle of people could be attributed to the continuous increase in the number of patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment, saying that it is high time that children should be taught to eat fruits and vegetables and not processed foods so that they will be able to prevent themselves from contracting the life-threatening disease.
Health authorities expressed support to the advocacy of the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC) and the group of dialysis patients for the government to provide free dialysis treatment to ease the burden of having to undergo the sensitive and financially difficult treatment.
The clamor for free dialysis treatment has already reached the attention of concerned lawmakers who pledged their support in the enactment of the appropriate legislative measure providing the free dialysis treatment.
By Dexter A. See
