Key takeaways
- Smoking harms kidneys by reducing blood flow.
- Chemicals from smoke impair kidney function.
- Increased risk of various kidney diseases.
- Worsens existing kidney conditions like CKD.
- Raises risk of kidney cancer due to DNA damage.
Smoking, we all know, isn’t the healthiest choice. It’s linked to lung cancer, heart problems, and various other conditions. So, it’s no surprise that smoking can also play havoc with your kidneys.
Kidneys clean your blood and toss out the trash. It’s also responsible for keeping your fluid balance in check. The dangerous chemicals from cigarette smoke impair their performance, reducing your quality of life and making you experience a ton of preventable problems along the way.
In this article, we’re diving into how smoking messes with your kidneys and why it’s always a good time to kick the habit.
Reduced Blood Flow
Picture this: Your blood vessels are like tiny highways delivering essential goods to your organs. Smoking throws a spanner in the works by making these highways narrow and stiff. It’s like traffic slowing down, and your kidneys suffer.
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This can lead to a condition called ischemic nephropathy, where your kidneys don’t get enough oxygen and nutrients. The result? Damage to those precious kidney tissues.
Plus, reduced blood flow can crank up your blood pressure, making your kidneys work harder and causing even more damage.
Impaired Filtration Function
Your kidneys work effectively because of nephrons – small filters that clean your blood and ensure all waste materials go into your urine for disposal.
Chemicals from cigarette smoke, unfortunately, damage these filters and reduce their efficacy.
Think of nephrons like a tea filter – only that because of smoking, its composition gets impaired and lets more tea leaves into your drink. In the case of your kidneys, it’s a buildup of waste products and toxins that can cause a whole heap of problems to them and the entire body.
Smoking doesn’t stop there; it messes with the hormones that keep your kidneys in check, throwing off your fluid and electrolyte balance.
Increased Risk of Kidney Disease
Chemicals in cigarette smoke raise your odds of getting various kidney conditions like glomerulonephritis, diabetic nephropathy, and hypertensive nephrosclerosis.
Simply put, if you’re always smoking, you can expect your kidneys to suffer frequent bouts of inflammation, scarring, and hardening. Over time, these conditions can lead to kidney failure as the organs fail to work properly.
Worsening of Existing Kidney Conditions
It makes sense to stop smoking if you already have existing kidney conditions like CKD or kidney stones. You’re adding fuel to the fire if you don’t. And if you’re on meds for your kidneys, smoking can throw a wrench in the works, making them less effective.
As mentioned, the dangerous chemicals in tobacco smoke cause damage to the kidneys, which significantly reduces their performance and functionality.
If your blood isn’t filtered regularly (or not at all in severe cases), you will face frequent infections and other problems, such as anaemia and bone disease.
Association with Kidney Cancer
Now, let’s talk cancer. Chemicals in cigarette smoke do not play nice with your DNA, increasing your risk of kidney cancer.
The chemicals in cigarettes, like nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, severely damage your kidney cells and increase the risk of cancer.
A 2023 study has shown that about 15 to 20% of kidney cancer patients have been regular and still-active smokers upon diagnosis.
Impact on Proteinuria
Proteinuria is when you’ve got too much protein in your urine, a sign that your kidneys are already taking a beating from various other causes. Smoking makes this condition worse, cranking up the protein levels and increasing the risk of developing kidney stones.
Kidney stones also put you at a higher risk of life-threatening danger. While it might not cause death on its own, the associated conditions – especially if you have comorbidities – are proven to be lethal if left untreated.
People with kidney stones also experience excruciating pain, swelling and fatigue. They also have foamy urine, a visual symptom of the condition.
Influence on Treatment Efficacy
If you’re in the trenches fighting kidney issues with treatments like dialysis and transplants, smoking is something you should have stopped long ago.
As mentioned, smoking slows down the flow of blood to your organs, including your dialysis or transplant site. The slowdown increases the risk of infection, clotting, and bleeding.
Smoking even messes with the drugs meant to help – affecting their absorption, metabolism, and elimination, making them less effective and harming you and your kidneys in the process.
Summary
Given the facts we’ve listed above, it’s clear to see that smoking has a significantly problematic effect on your kidneys. If you stop now, you can still free yourself of the burden of preventable diseases that cigarettes can cause.
However, we understand that stopping smoking can be extremely difficult. But, we can help.
Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around!
If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good.