In a few hours I’ll be off to my dialysis treatment. I’m already planning in advance how I would conduct my travel from our house in Manila, to the clinic in Quezon City. It’s only about 30 minutes away from our home, that’s if you have your own car, which I don’t. I take public transports (Jeepneys) and it takes 3 transfers before getting to the clinic. It’s tedious for patients like me, but there’s no getting around it, and besides, it’s a lot cheaper than taking a cab.

~ Image courtesy of www.a2gov.org

But it’s not the travel that bothers me. It’s the heat. You can’t hide from it whenever your outside, and even when you’re in the shade, you still can palpably feel the heat. It’s summer here in the Philippines, and to make matters worse, we’re currently under the El Niño Phenomenon. I have posted before on this blog the effects of summer and heat on dialysis patients. Today I reiterate it once again that excessive heat and humidity has a significant impact on dialysis patients.

We find it hard to tolerate the heat simply because we have a higher body temperature than normal people.

Mean oral temperature in hemodialysis patients was higher than in healthy individuals [98.7 degrees F (37 degrees C) vs. 98.4 degrees F (36.8 degrees C); p < 0.001], as was the mean average axillary temperature [97.7 degrees F (36.5 degrees C) vs. 97.5 degrees F (36.3 degrees C); p = 0.02] and mean left axillary temperature [97.9 degrees F (36.6 degrees C) vs. 97.6 degrees F (36.4 degrees C); p < 0.001].

~ Pub Med

And, if bad comes to worse, when our tolerance for heat comes to an end, the first thing that comes to mind is to beat the heat – that is, to drink water to quench our thirst and alleviate the heat we’re experiencing. It’s all good and well, drinking lots of water to rehydrate oneself and avoid the dangers and perils of dehydration or heat stroke. But for us with malfunctioning kidneys, drinking too much water tells a different story and would be quite dangerous at some point.

But don’t despair my fellow patients. There are lots of ways we could tolerate excessive heat and avoid the dangers that comes with it. Here are some that helps me survive the day, and I hope would be helpful to you too.

• Stay in the shade and stay away from direct sunlight, especially from 10 am – 3 pm, where it’s the hottest part of the day. If you’re not working and don’t have anything important to do outdoors, it would be best to just stay in the house.
• If you really have to go outside on the hottest part of the day, bring adequate protection from the sun, like an umbrella or sun shade. Also, don’t forget your towels or an extra piece of clothing, as you might need it.
• If you’re quite thirsty and finding it hard to regulate your fluid intake, go ahead – drink some water. But remember, sip and don’t gulp. But if your fluid intake is really ‘that’ restricted, try sucking on an ice cube, or some sour fruit like lime or calamansi, or brush your teeth to freshen up your mouth. It somewhat relieves your thirst.

These are some tips that worked for me and I hope would be helpful to you too, although every person is unique and has different needs. Summer time is somewhat of a punishment for us patients, but there’s no getting around it. So what can we do?

If you can’t beat ‘em… try to enjoy ‘em! A wonderful summer to you all!

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Hypertension or High Blood Pressure, as it is more commonly known, is one of the silent killers that plagues the general population. It owes its lethal efficiency to the fact that it goes on undetected for months, and even for years, up until a point where significant damage has already been done. Such as it was in my case, where I neglected and took it for granted, in spite of being aware of its past devastation on our family’s medical history. But that’s all in the past, and as I have always told myself, regret is one of the most futile and unproductive of all human emotions. So there’s really nosense in trying to undo what’s already been done.

What about you? Are you also suffering from Hypertension? You know you might be, and worse, you’re not even aware of it. This is a common enough scenario, especially for the population’s poorer class who’s financial capability to seek medical attention is virtually non-existent. Nobody could really blame these people the tendency to take for granted the sensibility of early detection through screening. But if you’ll ask me, however, this should not be an excuse.

Why is high blood pressure dangerous?

The higher the blood pressure, the harder the heart has to work to keep on pumping against increasing resistance. If, in the course of time, the heart muscles tires, it could eventually lead to heart failure. Because of the enormous burden it puts on the arteries, high blood pressure adds to their wear and tear, especially in the target organs, the brain, coronary and kidney vessels. Stroke and Myocardial Infarction (heart attack) are frequent and dangerous consequences of untreated hypertension.

Recognizing high blood pressure

High blood pressure is a Silent Killer simply because it doesn’t show typical symptoms that might serve as early warning signals. In fact, in certain cases, many people feel well and energetic despite their high blood pressure. There is only one way of finding out whether or not you have hypertension and that is to have your blood pressure checked. Measurements must be repeated at least once a year. If an elevated pressure is detected in time, early treatment can help prevent the possible fatal consequences.

Prevention of complications from high blood pressure

Bringing the pressure down relieves the strain on the heart and arteries; this lessen and often eliminates the dangerous consequences of elevated pressure. With proper treatment, high blood pressure can be normalized, or at least brought down to a tolerable level. The treatment does not call for any heroic measures; regular checking of the blood pressure, a few generally painless changes in one’s eating and living habits, and taking the prescribed medication everyday. If detected and treated in time, hypertension should not stop you in leading a normal and productive life. All that is required is determination and close doctor-patient cooperation.

Protect yourself against high blood pressure

A genetic predisposition is a frequent cause of hypertension. It “runs in the family”. Caution is advised if you have a family history of high blood pressure. Your way of living could have an important bearing on whether or when you will develop hypertension. If you are overweight, has a high sodium intake on your diet, under psychological stress, agitated and hyperactive, you’re more likely a candidate, or can exacerbate an existing tendency. Losing weight, cutting down on salt in the diet, and avoiding stress are useful precaution to help you keep your pressure down.

Protect your health why you still can and when you still can. As always, being well-informed is being well-prepared.

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Hypertension or high blood pressure runs in our family. Several of my relatives either died of a heart attack or stroke caused by hypertension that’s been left untreated. I had hypertension as early as my high school days, although I am completely unaware of it. It was just brought up to my attention six years ago, when I was first diagnosed with chronic kidney failure. It was both shocking and unbelievable for me at that time. Being a 26 year-old, it’s quite hard to accept at first that I am already suffering from chronic ailments and would probably face medication and treatment for the rest of my life. But there it was, already out in the open.

The kidneys play a key role in keeping a person’s blood pressure in a healthy range, and blood pressure, in turn, can affect the health of the kidneys. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, can damage the kidneys and lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD).

– Source NIDDK/NKUDIC

This might seem both alarming and outrageous, but it’s true, and it’s a fact. And I just don’t say it from research or reading journals about it, but I’m saying it from experience. Had I known myself to be inflicted with hypertension, I would have done steps to prevent it from helping destroy my kidneys. My doctor said that besides CGN or Chronic Glomerulonephritis, hypertension became one of the contributing factors that lead to kidney failure. But I was young then, and thought myself impervious to such diseases and conditions. Well, I was wrong, and paid dearly for it.

I am still suffering from hypertension up to this day simply because it’s closely associated with kidney failure. Although I am a lot wiser now than before and medications help me maintain my blood pressure at acceptable levels, I still make it a point to implement ways to keep my hypertension at bay.

• I avoid salty and sodium-rich foods as often as I can. Salt makes you more thirsty and if you drink too much water, you might experience fluid overload that will increase your blood pressure.

• I try to stay cool and avoid staying under the sun too much for the same reason that this would make you want to drink more.

• Avoid fatty and deep fried foods, as well as those that are high in cholesterol. Not only will it trigger your blood pressure to rise significantly but will also put you at risk with stroke and heart attack.

• Consult with your doctor on a regular basis and always take your medications for hypertension. Skipping them would desensitize your body to the drug and would cause dangerous spikes in your blood pressure.

It’s hard enough coping with kidney failure and dialysis alone, and even harder to manage different complications that comes along with it. But with sensible management, eager determination, and abundant amount of faith, things could go as normal as it can be for patients like me.

Be wise. Well-informed is well-prepared.

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