ROWESVILLE – Early screening for chronic kidney disease and the importance of individuals taking responsibility for their own health were two points stressed by S.C. House District 66 Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter at Wednesday night’s National Kidney Foundation of S.C. outreach presentation at the new Rowesville Community Center.

Cobb-Hunter said Health and Human Services budget cuts bring home the need for people to take care of themselves and stay healthy and get early health screenings.

Leanne Thompson, director of medical and community projects for the National Kidney Foundation of S.C., was the guest speaker. She said the leading causes of kidney disease are diabetes and hypertension, or high blood pressure. Thompson said approximately 540,000 people suffer from kidney disease in South Carolina, and the state has only about 126 kidney specialists.

According to the National Kidney Foundation Web site, chronic kidney disease means there is damage to the kidneys and, without treatment, CKD can lead to kidney failure which requires dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. The symptoms of CKD do not appear until it is too late – when dialysis or a kidney transplant is needed. CKD also puts people at greater risk for heart problems.

Thompson urged those at Wednesday’s dinner to visit their primary care physicians on a regular basis and to be screened for chronic kidney disease, emphasizing that early intervention saves lives.

The National Kidney Foundation reports that getting a Kidney Count is the best test to tell how well a person’s kidneys are working to remove wastes and excess fluid from their blood. The Kidney Count is done by health care providers from a simple blood test, along with information on a person’s age, body size and race. The Kidney Count is sometimes called the GFR, or glomerular filtration rate.

When a Kidney Count is completed, an individual is given a number. The best number to have is 90 or above, according to the NKF.

For more information on kidney disease, go to www.kidneysc.org, or call toll free 800-488-2277.

T&D Correspondent Valerie Ditton can be reached by e-mail at wildwest06@gmail.com.

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