Drink at least 5 litres of water daily: Two to three litres of fluids daily are enough to maintain kidney health.
Patients have trouble passing urine properly: More than half of kidney disease patients have no problems with urination. Less than 10 per cent of patients with kidney disease have absent urine output.
Kidney disease indicates damage to only one kidney: Kidney damage indicates dysfunction of both kidneys simultaneously. If one kidney is damaged or absent, the other kidney hypertrophies and compensates till 80% of original function is restored.
Lower back pain is a symptom of kidney disease: Kidney disease is a painless disease. The only situation when kidney disease causes pain is when a stone blocks the ureter (the tube that connects the kidney to the urinary bladder)
Kidney disease is genetic and passed down from generations: Less than 5 per cent of kidney diseases are genetic.
Once dialysis is started, should it be continued for life: Dialysis is continued for life only if the patient has long standing kidney disease which has progressed to end stage kidney failure. Sometimes, patients with recent onset kidney disease need temporary dialysis till the underlying cause is identified and treated.
Before kidney transplant the original kidneys are removed surgically: The original kidneys are not removed before kidney transplant. The donated kidney is added on so that the patient has three kidneys. In very, very rare instances, (when the original kidneys are full of pus or too big and occupying space), the native kidneys are removed.
Kidney donors die early and cannot lead a normal life: On the contrary, long-term studies have shown that kidney donors live longer than the general population. This is probably because donors are extensively tested before kidney donation and are proven healthy individuals.