Your kidneys (From Salisbury Journal)

Your kidneys

4:16pm Friday 2nd June 2006

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Your two kidneys are located one to each side and beneath the lower ribs in the back.

They are highly specialised filters to clean waste from the blood out of the body as urine.

To do this millions of folded tubes share the work, which begins at the top of each tube where a microscopic filter embraces a tiny blood vessel.

In addition to this the kidney makes some chemical messengers (or hormones) that help regulate the colour of the blood, the strength of bones and blood pressure.

Many diseases can affect the kidneys. Sometimes this is very sudden but more often in a progressive and slow or 'chronic' way.

This is more likely if you suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, have a family history of kidney disease or in the case of men an enlarged prostate gland (which can put pressure back on the kidneys and damage them).

If this chronic damage occurs you may feel tired, get muscle cramps, puffy ankles or urinate more often, especially at night.

However, there may be few symptoms until the problem is advanced.

If you are in a risk group do see your doctor to discuss having a kidney check, and for more information take a look at the websites of the U.K. National Kidney Federation www.kidney.org.uk or the U.S. National Kidney Foundation at www.kidney.org.

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