JEDDAH: There are nearly 15,000 renal failure patients in the Kingdom and two-third of them undergo dialysis, said Dr. Mohammed Al-Aumi, supervisor of King Salman Kidney Center in Riyadh.
Addressing a workshop organized by the Health Ministry for enhancing public awareness on kidney related diseases, he said renal failure cases are spreading all over the world.
“More than 600 million people around the world currently suffer from kidney diseases and they account for 14.2 percent of global population,” Al-Aumi told participants.
“It’s a silent disease that creeps into all parts of body and we’ll know its symptoms only after sometime,” he pointed out.
Al-Aumi underscored the ministry’s efforts to combat renal diseases. “It promotes public awareness to take precautions against the disease. These kinds of meetings help experts develop effective precautionary measures.”
He stressed the importance of conducting regular checkups in order to avoid complications. “Awareness programs will help relatives of patients to understand the best methods to deal with patients.”
Daleel Ghazi Al-Shammari spoke about the importance of educating patients and their families about the impact of kidney diseases and the need to correct their wrong notions.
“Every member of the society should know about it,” she said while highlighting the dangerous consequences of the disease.
The awareness program aims at informing the public about kidney functions and how its failure would affect a person’s health. Diabetes, obesity and blood pressure could lead to renal failure.
“The program also aims at encouraging the public to adopt a hygienic lifestyle, keeping away from smoking, reducing bodyweight, doing physical exercise and taking a balanced diet,” she said.

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