Excretory Systems

The kidney is like your body's filtering system, removing waste and excess water to make urine. When the kidney becomes diseased, it cannot filter properly, causing serious health problems. Common kidney diseases include chronic kidney disease, where the kidneys gradually lose function over time, and acute kidney injury, which happens suddenly when the kidneys stop working. Kidney stones are hard mineral deposits that form inside the kidney and cause severe pain when passing through the urinary tract. Diabetic nephropathy occurs when high blood sugar from diabetes damages the kidney's filtering units. Many Nigerians suffer from these conditions due to factors like untreated high blood pressure, diabetes, and dehydration. Some kidney diseases show no symptoms initially, making regular check-ups crucial for early detection. Advanced kidney disease may require dialysis or kidney transplantation to survive.

The liver can get infected by germs like viruses, bacteria, and parasites that damage its cells and prevent it from working properly. Hepatitis is the most common infective disease of the liver, caused mainly by viruses such as Hepatitis A, B, and C. When someone gets hepatitis, the liver becomes inflamed, causing jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes), weakness, and abdominal pain. In Nigeria, hepatitis B is particularly widespread because it spreads through contaminated blood, unsterilised needles, and unsafe childbirth practices. Another serious infective disease is bilharzia (schistosomiasis), caused by parasitic worms found in contaminated water bodies. These worms lodge in the liver and cause scarring that eventually leads to liver failure. People with these diseases often experience fever, dark urine, and pale stools as their liver struggles to filter waste properly.

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