With all the talk about the Greenhouse Effect, climate change, and environmental pollutants, would you have ever thought that global warming would affect your kidneys? Probably not in a million years. However, in view of the Earth’s changing climate in recent decades, researchers say that the planet’s warmer temperatures and increasing levels of air pollution are big contributors to kidney failure, based on reports from analyses of climate trends. You don’t need to be gold-mining in the depths of the Earth to be exposed to environmental pollutants; it’s all around you, in the air you breathe, especially if you live in congested cities in Los Angeles County. Toxic exposure to environmental pollutants is one of the major causes of renal failure.
Disease in the Air We Breathe
Whether you are healthy or not, the toxins you inhale contain bacteria and viruses that increase your chances for heart attack, lung disease, and respiratory problems, not to mention triggering the onset or progression of chronic kidney disease, ultimately leading to renal failure, a condition in which one or both kidneys lose the ability to filter waste in the body. The build-up of toxins in the body is such that it damages the kidney and will require extensive treatment like dialysis to prevent damage to other vital organs in the body. When kidneys shut down, the person experiences fatigue, headaches, loss of appetite, nausea, and cognitive impairment, just to name a few symptoms. Depending on the stage of kidney disease, patients may need part-time or full-time live-in home care assistance with cooking, cleaning, bathing, grooming, personal care, transportation, and more.
