Looking after your kidneys

World Kidney Day is a worldwide campaign aimed at raising awareness of kidney disease and this year the theme is “Are your Kidneys okay?”

The Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) report found that at one in 10 people in Ireland are living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and worryingly only 10% of them were aware of it. The rates of CKD are even higher in those over 50 years of age (one in seven). The earlier stages of CKD are often symptomless and unfortunately a lot of harm can be done before the condition is detected when symptoms appear in the later stages. At present, CKD is predicted to be the fifth leading cause of years of life lost by 2040.

Thankfully CKD can be detected using simple blood and urine tests and there are effective treatments available to slow the progression of kidney damage. If you have any one of the risk factors for CKD, you should have a chat with your GP about getting tested. The earlier CKD is detected, the better your long-term outcomes.

This year to mark World Kidney Day, we held information stands in both Cavan and Monaghan Hospitals to raise awareness of kidney disease and to provide education to visitors and staff. Prizes for the raffles were sponsored by the Sean McCaffrey foundation in honour of Sean who was cared for in the Renal Unit for many years.

The unit is open in Cavan since 1995 and we care for patients with all stages of kidney disease. As well as routine care for large amounts of patients with CKD, with the help of the infusion suite we now facilitate IV treatments for patients with rare kidney diseases locally and over 12,000 haemodialysis sessions were provided to patients from the Cavan/Monaghan area and beyond in 2024.

Anyone living with kidney disease should get in contact with the Cavan/Monaghan branch of the Irish Kidney Association via their Facebook page as there are valuable supports available for both patients and their families.