Tallaght Hospital to hold kidney health talk
Tallaght Hospital is hosting a talk on the topic of kidney health on Tuesday, March 6 in An Cosán, Kiltalown Village Centre, Jobstown, at 11.30am.
The free event is part of an initiative that Tallaght Hospital began last year in partnership with the Patient Community Advisory Council (PCAC) and will be the first of many regular public events featuring medical, nursing and allied health professionals discussing topical and common health issues in 2018.
The talk scheduled for March 6 will mark World Kidney Day with a discussion on the topic of Kidneys, particularly kidney health for women and why it is important.
Dr Peter Lavin, Consultant Nephrologist and Oonagh Smith, Renal Dietician from the renal team at Tallaght Hospital will discuss the significance of family and personal history, how to recognise signs and symptoms, the importance of regular kidney function tests and how staying active and controlling blood sugar levels can improve outcomes.
Speaking about the upcoming event, Dr. Peter Lavin, Consultant Nephrologist at Tallaght Hospital said; “World Kidney Day is all about raising awareness of the importance kidneys play in everyone’s health. These two organs play a vital part in the body, removing waste and excess fluid, controlling blood pressure, making red blood cells and keeping bones healthy. Kidney disease can affect people of all ages, and often at the early stages there can be no obvious warning signs. This public talk is a marvellous opportunity to explain how the kidneys function and provide advice on how to keep your kidneys healthy and what to watch out for.”
Catherine Heaney, Chairperson of the PCAC and Fettercairn Community Health Project Co-Ordinator said, “The feedback from the series of talks we launched last year was hugely positive and working with the Hospital we hope to grow the number of events in 2018 to respond to the demand from the community. The Hospital is now the second largest centre for dialysis in the country so they are quite the experts on kidney health, this talk is a marvellous opportunity to hear from a doctor and dietitian about what we can do as individuals to mind our kidneys and recognise the signs that all might not be well. The health needs of our community are constantly evolving as we grow and age. By working together we are increasing awareness about diseases directly affecting our population, I hope the women of Tallaght can join us at this event.”
Between eight and 10% of the Irish population have chronic kidney disease. Early onset of the disease can have no warning signs and patients can lose most of their kidney function before experiencing symptoms. Kidney disease is easily detected however, a simple urine test can detect certain proteins while blood tests can measure the level of creatinine in blood.
Signs of advancing chronic kidney disease include swollen ankles, fatigue, difficult concentrating, decreased appetite and foamy urine can indicate advancing chronic kidney disease.
