32-year-old man has kidney failure after many years of using 'kidney tonic, muscle building'

A 32-year-old man likes to go to the gym, but after a long time using muscle-building and kidney-strengthening supplements bought online, his kidney function has seriously declined.

Dialysis patients at Bach Mai Hospital - Photo: D.LIEU

Kidney failure due to "wrong" lifestyle

Doctor Duong Minh Tuan (endocrinology - diabetes department, Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi ) said that he recently examined a 32-year-old man with impaired kidney function.

Doctor Tuan said the young man was an office worker who loved the gym. However, he regularly used a functional food product "kidney tonic, muscle building" advertised online without a clear origin for a long time.

He came to the doctor because of fatigue, loss of appetite and little urination. Test results showed that kidney function had been severely impaired, possibly for a long time.

In addition, Dr. Tuan also received another case of kidney failure at a very young age. The patient is M. (21 years old, male), a senior student at a university. During his years of studying, he heard somewhere that every time there was an exam, he would take painkillers and energy drinks every day to stay up late.

When M. was taken to the emergency room by a friend after a long day of studying for graduation exams, suffering from swollen legs, constant vomiting, and fatigue, the doctor discovered that his kidney function was only below 20%.

Dr. Tuan said that in Vietnam, there are currently more than 8.7 million people with chronic kidney disease, or about 12.8% of the adult population. Notably, the rate of young people (under 40 years old) with the disease is increasing rapidly.

At many large artificial kidney centers such as Bach Mai Hospital and Cho Ray Hospital, the number of young patients accounts for 20 - 30% of regular dialysis cases.

What causes kidney failure?

According to Dr. Tuan, many people often think that chronic kidney failure in young people is mainly due to genes or genetic factors, but in fact, this is not the case. Although some kidney diseases are genetic or congenital, the majority of cases of chronic kidney failure in adults (including young people) are due to acquired factors.

The first is underlying disease. High blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, diseases that were previously only found in middle-aged people, are now increasingly appearing in young people due to a sedentary lifestyle, eating a lot of sugar, and obesity.

Diseases such as glomerulonephritis, lupus erythematosus, and polycystic kidney disease also contribute to silent kidney damage.

Second is an unhealthy lifestyle. Eating salty foods, drinking little water, abusing carbonated soft drinks, holding urine, sleeping little, prolonged stress... are all factors that harm the kidneys.

In this busy era, many young people do not have the habit of exercising, and often consume processed foods with a lot of salt, creating a burden on the kidneys day after day.

"Third, and also the most serious problem, is the abuse of drugs and functional foods. Painkillers (such as ibuprofen, aspirin), antibiotics, kidney supplements, weight loss, beauty products... if used without medical indications can cause interstitial nephritis and renal tubular necrosis. Many cases of acute kidney failure have occurred just because of taking a few oriental medicine pills bought online.

The consequences of kidney failure do not stop at health. Patients have to undergo dialysis 3 times a week, each time lasting 4-5 hours, along with high annual treatment costs, not to mention the impact on work, spirit and fertility," said Dr. Tuan.

What can young people do?

This expert recommends that to prevent kidney failure, you need to eat healthy, reduce salt, drink enough water, exercise regularly, not hold your urine, and get enough sleep. If you have an underlying disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure, you need to comply with treatment and have regular check-ups.

And especially: absolutely do not use any medicine on your own, even "natural herbal" medicine, without professional advice.

Another thing is to have regular health check-ups at least once a year, preferably every 6 months, to check kidney function. Just a simple urine and blood test can help detect early kidney damage.

"You may be young, healthy, and active, but don't ignore small, unusual symptoms. You need to learn to listen to your body sooner if you don't want to pay the price of... the rest of your life," Dr. Tuan warned.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chang-trai-32-tuoi-suy-than-sau-nhieu-nam-su-dung-bo-than-trang-duong-tang-co-20250623145954405.htm