Drink water, nature's health drink on International Water Day.

With over two million Australians showing some sign of kidney disease, Kidney Health Australia has chosen International Water Day to call on people to drink water, nature’s health drink.

Anne Wilson CEO of Kidney Health Australia said, ”the organisation would also be encouraging all companies to print out fact sheets from the Kidney Health Australia website for the workplace water cooler, to get the kidney health message out to millions of Australians”.

“Water is nature’s health drink and the linking of kidney health awareness with drinking water is a perfect way for getting our vital message out to the broader community.”

On average, five new patients are accepted onto the Australian dialysis program each day, the cost of treating a patient with dialysis is $72,000 per annum and the number of patients on dialysis is increasing at 6% per annum.

Research shows over 25% of all patients coming to dialysis and transplantation do not see a kidney specialist until less than 90 days before dialysis starts, which is a clear indication of the need for a national awareness campaign on understanding and recognising the early causes of kidney disease.

Ms Wilson said research has shown that many people do not understand the main job of their kidneys is to remove toxins and excess water from our blood.

“Every day our kidneys filter an average of 200 litres of blood – a quantity that would fill 20 buckets!

“Besides this impressive, daily feat, kidneys also help to control our blood pressure, to produce red blood cells and to keep our bones healthy.”

Kidneys gradually lose their ability to function making it a “silent” disease as it often goes unnoticed because it may not be “felt”, Ms Wilson said.

About Kidney Health Australia:

Kidney Health Australia is a national organisation committed to reducing the burden of kidney disease through funding and stimulating innovative research; providing education and support; promoting access to high quality healthcare, and increasing public awareness and commitment to advancing kidney health and organ donation.

Media Enquiries:Anne Wilson CEO Kidney Health Australia Mobile: 0400 165 391Ron Smith Corporate Media Communications (03) 9818 5700 Mobile: 0417 329 201.

I hope you find the above media release informative and helpful. My husband died of end stage renal disease and end stage cardiac disease following cholesterol embolism syndrome, commonly referred to as a cholesterol shower. Together, let us all embrace life, love our kidneys and love water.

Sue Bayliss. Cairns, Australia.

Do you know today is International Water Day?

22 March - World Day for Water 2007: 'Coping with Water Scarcity' is the theme under the leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

About World Day for Water.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution of 22 December 1992 by which March 22 of each year was declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in 1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). States were invited to devote the Day, as appropriate in the national context, to concrete activities such as the promotion of public awareness through the publication and diffusion of documentaries and the organization of conferences, round tables, seminars and expositions related to the conservation and development of water resources and the implementation of specific recommendations.

Where I live in Cairns, Far North Queensland, Australia, we are experiencing our monsoon season. There is so much water everywhere. It is a reminder to us of how fortunate we are when so many other areas of Australia are living in severe drought conditions. We are also aware of many areas around our world where people are in great need of water.

Sue Bayliss. Cairns, Australia.