The Roaring Silence of Kidney Failure

Chinyere was 27, a hustler by default. She worked two jobs, supported her younger siblings, and was the “strong one” in the family. She had constant headaches, swollen feet, weakness, back pain — but she kept going. She thought it was just stress. She never went to the hospital because “Who has time for that?”

Until her body shut down.

The doctors said it was kidney failure. Stage 5. No warning — except all the warnings she had ignored.

What Is Kidney Failure?

Your kidneys are your body’s natural filters — removing waste, balancing fluids, and helping control blood pressure. Kidney failure (also known as end-stage renal disease) occurs when these vital organs can no longer perform their essential functions.

There are two main types:

• Acute Kidney Failure: This is when the kidneys suddenly lose their ability to function. It may develop within hours or days and it is often temporary.

• Chronic kidney failure: A slow, often silent decline over months or years that may lead to dialysis or transplant.

Why You Should Care

We’re seeing more and more young people — people in their 20s and 30s — being diagnosed with kidney failure.

• Over 850 million people globally are affected by kidney disease.

• In Nigeria and many parts of Africa, late diagnosis is common, often because symptoms only appear when damage is severe.

• High blood pressure and diabetes are the leading causes — both are increasingly common due to lifestyle changes.

The kidney with a stethoscope

"How We’re Killing Our Kidneys — And Calling It Normal"

The Painkillers. The Herbs. The Hustle. The Silence. This is how kidney failure becomes our inheritance.

The Hidden Enemy: Stress as a Biological Weapon

Let’s break this down.

Chronic stress — the kind we swallow daily — triggers a constant release of cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones raise your blood pressure, damage blood vessels, and overwork your kidneys. Add poor sleep, processed food, painkillers, and dehydration… and your kidneys start to burn out silently.

We’re not just talking about emotional stress.

We’re talking about:

·       The burden of survival in a broken economy

·       Silent grief, unprocessed trauma

·       Poverty, which forces people to choose between transport fare and a check-up

·       Domestic violence, where fear keeps you locked in pain

·       The pressure of being “the responsible one” when no one’s checking on you

These are kidney killers. And nobody is talking about them.

The Medications We Abuse Are Poison in Disguise

Paracetamol. Ibuprofen. Herbal bitters. Slimming teas.

Daily cocktails of damage.

We don’t just self-medicate in Nigeria — we worship drugs.

Kidney failure isn’t always from one big event. It’s often death by a thousand pills. And yet pharmacists warn us, doctors preach it, but we don’t listen. Why?

Because relief is more urgent than reality.

Healthcare Distrust: Another Silent Killer

You know what else is killing kidneys?

Fear of hospitals. Bad experiences with rude nurses.

Clinics where your symptoms are dismissed.

Hospitals that ask for tests you can’t afford.

So people stay home. They drink garlic water. They Google cures. They die quietly — with kidneys that could have been saved.

A young man having a dialysis session

How is Kidney failure managed

A diagnosis of kidney failure is not the end — but it’s a hard new beginning.

Here’s what management involves:

🔹 Dietary Changes

🔹 Medications

🔹 Dialysis: This is a life-saving option when kidneys can no longer do their job. It comes in two forms:

·       Hemodialysis (machine-based, 2–3 times a week)

·       Peritoneal dialysis (done at home using abdominal lining)

🔹 Kidney Transplant: For some, a kidney transplant is the only long-term option — but it’s expensive, and getting a donor is tough. Post-transplant care also requires lifelong medications.

Dialysis Is Not for the Poor

Let’s stop sugarcoating it. Dialysis is a luxury.

Lets do a Nigerian analysis

·       One session costs ₦70,000–₦120,000.

·       You need it 2-3 times a week.

·       That’s ₦560,000 a month, minimum.

·       And you don’t just need money — you need strength, transportation, time, blood tests, and support.

So guess what happens?

People choose to die.

Not because they gave up, but because the system gave up on them.

What Are We Going to Do About It?

If we are serious about reducing kidney failure, we need to:

🔴 Talk beyond food and fitness.

Mental health, poverty, trauma, stress — they must be part of the conversation.

🔴 Train people to stop abusing medications.

The painkillers you pop like groundnuts? They’re burning your kidneys from the inside.

🔴 Make routine kidney screening a culture.

If you’re over 25, get a urinalysis and serum creatinine at least once a year.

🔴 Push for preventive healthcare, not just emergency dialysis.

Because prevention is cheaper than treatment — but not as dramatic. That’s why it’s ignored.

A health awareness post that prevention is better than cure; let's imbibe healthy lifestyles

The Final Word: This Is Personal

You may not feel sick now. But your kidneys don’t scream — they whisper.

Listen early.

Act fast.

Question everything.

Don’t normalize fatigue, swelling, or persistent back pain.

And don’t play tough with your body — it will lose.

This is your wake-up call. Don’t sleep on it. Because kidney failure won’t knock. It will kick your door down and take everything.

I mean everything

This Is Bigger Than Health. It’s About Survival.

Kidney failure isn’t just a diagnosis. It’s a system of silence, stress, misinformation, and neglect.

And if we don’t shout now — shout loud — we will keep watching young people die from a preventable disease, buried with hashtags and GoFundMe campaigns.