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Kidney disease is one of the fastest growing illnesses in the UK and, contrary to popular belief, it can’t be cured, only treated. Here are three ways to keep it at bay.

March 12 is World Kidney Day and throughout the month of March, Kidney Research UK is holding a Go Purple campaign to raise awareness of kidney disease. Is it about time you started paying more attention to yours?

National charity Kidney Research UK has discovered that 74% of adults have little to no knowledge of kidney disease – including its causes and symptoms.

In addition, while 67% of the 2,000 adults questioned thought kidney disease was life-threatening but could be cured, they were in fact, wrong - although there are treatments available including dialysis, conservative care and transplants, there is no cure for kidney disease.

Sandra Currie, Chief Executive at Kidney Research UK warns that public ignorance is putting people at risk of the disease.

“We are increasingly concerned that despite being one of the fastest growing illnesses in the UK, most people are still completely unaware of kidney disease, its causes and symptoms,” she said.

“There are too many people at high risk walking around completely oblivious to the very real threat of the disease.”

That said, she does offer up some hope.

“If it’s caught early enough, the damage done by some forms of kidney disease can be slowed, stopped or even reversed – it’s very much a case of spotting the symptoms before it gets to the point of no return.”

So here are some top tips to keep your kidneys healthy...

1. Know whether you’re more at risk

Kidney disease can affect anyone, although if you have any of the following you’re more at risk…

Poor diet
Heart complications
High blood pressure
South Asian or African-Caribbean ethnic background
Diabetes
A family medical history of kidney disease

2. Live a healthy lifestyle

While living healthily will help keep any number of conditions at bay, the rules apply to kidney disease too. Help keep your kidneys healthy by doing the following:

Stay at a healthy weight and exercise regularly – Watch your weight and stay active and you’ll be at a lower risk of high-blood pressure and also less likely to develop diabetes. Both of these conditions can cause damage to your kidneys. Linked to this, avoid excess salt as this can cause higher blood pressure so take the salt away from your dinner table.

Don’t smoke – There are plenty of reasons to give up smoking and preventing kidney disease is just one of them. The experts at Kidney Research UK explain: “Smoking slows the blood flow to vital organs like the kidneys and can worsen already existing kidney disease.”

3. Be aware of the symptoms of kidney disease

While the symptoms can be hard to spot there are some to look out for…

Itchy skin
Feeling nauseous
Difficulty concentrating
Breathlessness when on exertion
Poor appetite
Weight loss
Tiredness