Let us talk about kidney failure in Nigeria. A dialysis session costs between ₦50,000 and ₦100,000. You need three a…

Let us talk about kidney failure in Nigeria. A dialysis session costs between ₦50,000 and ₦100,000. You need three a week. That is about ₦600,000 a month. And the money is just buying you time. Nobody is getting a cure at the end of ₦600,000 a month. 🧵

Most cases of kidney failure have been happening for years, by the time you see them in the hospital, their kidneys have been suffering for years and I would do my best to tell you why.

So when somebody tells you their kidney failed suddenly, in many cases no. It did not fail suddenly. It had been failing for a long time. They were not checking.

And you will not feel any of it. This one dey fear me pass anything You can donate an entire kidney and live a completely normal life. Na the sickness wey no dey pain you dey kill pass.

So what is spoiling the kidneys? Number one, high blood pressure. And I know what some of you are thinking. "But I checked am now. That wedding, they had a health screening table, they said I am fine." 2022 o! No use history judge today

A nationwide survey of over 4,000 Nigerian adults found that 38 out of every 100 adults had high blood pressure. Nearly 4 in 10 Nigerians have high blood pressure, now out of the people wey get am, only 1 percent of them are controlling it.

Which means 88 out of every 100 people with high blood pressure in this country are walking around with that pressure wearing their kidneys down as they read this Ask any of them how they are doing. They will say they are fine. And they are not even lying to you. They feel fine

Number two is diabetes. Same quiet damage to the kidneys They checked 1,300 dialysis patients in Kano and Jigawa found the same two things sitting at the top. Hypertension and diabetes.

Number three. A certain gene in our bodies called APOL1 A Nigerian studied 8,355 people in Nigeria and Ghana, and found that 3 in every 10 people they studied were carrying two copies of this risky gene

this same gene is part of why our ancestors survived sleeping sickness. It kept them alive. And now it is one of the reasons our kidneys fail faster than other people's kidneys and I mean other races

before you run and say so na genetics! no o. That is not the full story The gene loads the gun. Blood pressure pulls the trigger. If you are carrying the APOL1 gene, you must contrrol your blood pressure. IT is not an option for you any more

Number four. What we swallow. Body dey pain you, you take Alabukun. Headache, another one. Waist pain, chemist gives you injection. 89 out of 100 people are self medicating, we abuse medications in this country

Ibuprofen and diclofenac, taken regularly over months, cut blood flow to the kidney. these drugs are called NSAIDs Paracetamol at the normal dose is fine for your kidneys. if abused, can damage your liver It is NSAIDs you should be careful with for your kidneys

Number five. Unregulated herbs I am not going to sit here and tell you every herb is poison. That is not true and you would not believe me anyway. Somebody will tell me their grandfather drank agbo every morning and reached 90. Fine. And how many of his age mates did not?

The problem is not the plant. The problem is that you do not know what is in the bottle. Nobody knows. And your kidney finding out on your behalf. We should research local herbs and make sure they are safe

another one is Mercury. In bleaching creams. Mercury collects in the kidney. That is where it goes and that is where it stays. One medical report showed that three young women all turned up with kidney damage, all three using the same cream filled with mercury

Another one is fake drugs: NAFDAC's own lab has tested fake antibiotics and antimalarials in this country and found zero active ingredient. Not weak. Zero. people drinking chalk thiinking they are taking meds

Now apply that to blood pressure tablets. A man takes his BP medications every morning for six years. Never misses one. Believes he is being treated. And his pressure was never controlled for a single day of it.

So what do you actually do? Know your blood pressure number. Not how you feel. Check your blood sugar. Do a kidney function test every year at least. Stop abusing painkillers and stop bleaching Do not take herbs that were not properly researched and cleared to be safe

Read this part of the thread if you miss everything: We do not have enough dialysis machines in Nigeria for people with kidney failure And the federal subsidy that brought a session down to ₦12,000 started. Then stopped. Then started again. Then stopped.

Go and check your blood pressure. Today.