Your kidneys can develop problems without making a sound. So how do you know if your kidneys hurt? Pain in your side or back, just below the ribs, can be a warning, especially if you also have fever or changes in your pee. But waiting for pain is a bad plan, because kidney disease can have no obvious symptoms early on.
Your kidneys filter waste from your blood, balance water and minerals, and help control your blood pressure. They do all of it quietly.
That’s why the everyday stuff matters. You can change a habit long before you feel anything wrong.
HABIT 1 — Too Much Salt
Salt is everywhere.
Not just in the salt shaker. It’s in bread, sauces, soups, chips, frozen meals, and fast food.
Too much sodium can raise your blood pressure, and high blood pressure can damage the tiny blood vessels your kidneys use to filter blood.
So how much salt is too much?
A practical starting point is to look at the sodium on food labels. One serving of soup or takeout can use up more of your day’s allowance than you’d expect, especially if you add salt at the table.
What to do instead:
Read the label before you put a packaged food in your cart. Cook at home when you can, taste your food before salting it, and use lemon, garlic, herbs, black pepper, or vinegar for flavor. Paying attention to habits that hurt your kidneys starts with choices like these, because the salt already in packaged food is easy to miss when you’re focused on what you add at the table.
You don’t have to give up salt. You have to notice how much is already in your food.
HABIT 2 — Not Drinking Enough Water
Your kidneys need water to make urine and carry waste out of your body.
Not drinking enough can leave your pee concentrated, which can raise the chance of kidney stones. Water can help lower that risk, though it can’t guarantee you’ll never get one.
Anyone who’s had a stone knows the pain can be hard to ignore. And no, you shouldn’t try to handle severe pain by chugging water and hoping for the best.
So how much water is enough?
There’s no single number for everyone. Your needs change with the weather and how active you are, as well as your health. Pale yellow pee is a useful rough guide, but it isn’t a diagnosis.
What to do instead:
Keep water where you can see it, have some with meals, and drink more when it’s hot or you’ve been active. Swapping a sugary drink for water is an easy place to start.
“But I drink plenty of water and I still got stones.”
We saw this in the comments. A lot. And it’s fair.
Water is only part of the story. Stones can keep coming back for reasons a water bottle won’t fix. If that’s happening to you, ask your doctor whether testing a stone or your urine could help identify what to change. Advice about flushing out kidney stones shouldn’t replace a checkup when the pain is severe.
And yes, too much water is a thing too.
Drinking huge amounts quickly can be dangerous. Sip through the day instead of forcing down gallons at once. Follow your doctor’s fluid instructions if you’ve been given them.
HABIT 3 — Holding Your Pee
You’re stuck in traffic. Then a long meeting. Then you’re too busy to get up.
Waiting once in a while happens. Making a habit of ignoring the urge can leave you uncomfortable, and regularly having trouble emptying your bladder deserves a doctor’s attention. A urinary infection can reach your kidneys, where it needs prompt treatment.
What to do instead:
Use the bathroom when you need to. Give yourself time to empty your bladder without rushing. Burning when you pee or a frequent urge to go, especially if you also see blood in your pee, is a reason to get checked, not a reason to wait for it to pass.
Your bladder isn’t a storage unit. You don’t get a prize for making it through another meeting.
Habit 4: Too Much Protein
Protein isn’t the enemy. Your body needs it.
The problem is deciding that more must always be better, then building every meal around extra meat and adding protein powder on top. Your kidneys process waste from protein, so a very high-protein diet deserves a conversation with your doctor if you have kidney disease.
Don’t assume a popular diet will improve your kidney function, either. A review of dietary trials in adults with obesity who didn’t have chronic kidney disease found no significant overall change in the rate at which their kidneys filtered blood. That finding doesn’t tell you what to eat if you already have kidney disease.
What to do instead:
Skip the extremes. Mix protein sources such as beans, lentils, eggs, yogurt, fish, and chicken. If you have kidney disease, ask your care team how much protein fits your situation before changing your diet.
More isn’t always better. Sometimes it’s just more.
Habit 5: Using Painkillers Too Often
A headache. Back pain. A long day.
Reaching for an over-the-counter painkiller can feel automatic. But medicines called NSAIDs, including ibuprofen and naproxen, deserve a second look when you’re taking them often, especially if you’re dehydrated or have kidney disease.
Check what else you take, too. A review of five studies found a higher risk of sudden kidney injury when an NSAID was used along with a diuretic, sometimes called a water pill, and a blood-pressure medicine that blocks a hormone system controlling blood pressure. Sudden kidney injury means the kidneys have quickly lost some ability to filter blood.
What to do instead:
Follow the label, and ask a pharmacist or doctor before using an NSAID if you take regular medicines or have kidney problems. Don’t stop a prescribed medicine on your own. Pain that keeps coming back needs an explanation, not another week of covering it up.
Habit 6: Sugary Drinks
Soda. Sweet tea. Energy drinks. Juice with added sugar.
They go down easy. Too easy.
Having them often can add a lot of sugar to your day. High blood sugar over time can damage the small blood vessels in your kidneys, which is why diabetes and kidney health belong in the same conversation.
What to do instead:
Try water or sparkling water more often, or tea without added sugar. Eat fruit instead of always drinking juice. If you’re concerned about your blood sugar, ask your doctor whether you need a test rather than guessing from how you feel.
You don’t have to be perfect. Replacing one regular drink is a start.
“So What Should We Even Eat?”
You asked this question often under our video.
“Everything is bad for you.”
I get why it feels that way. A warning about salt followed by a warning about protein can make lunch sound like a test you didn’t study for.
Keep it ordinary. Oats with fruit or eggs and toast for breakfast. A lunch with vegetables and a protein you like. Beans or lentils with dinner. Water when you’re thirsty, and less salt from packaged food.
Your needs may be different if you’ve been told you have kidney disease. Get advice for your own test results before following a restrictive diet you found online.
Other Things That Matter
Your blood pressure deserves attention even if you feel fine. High blood pressure often has no obvious symptoms, so get it checked rather than trying to sense it.
Move regularly, too. A review of exercise trials in adults with high blood pressure found that combined exercise training lowered the top blood-pressure number compared with standard care. That number measures pressure when your heart beats. You don’t need to turn every walk into a workout program to make movement part of your day.
Sleep and regular checkups matter as well. Bring your questions to an appointment instead of trying to read your kidney health from a single day’s pee color.
Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore
Kidney problems can be silent. But changes in your body still deserve attention.
Watch for swelling in your feet or around your eyes, pee that looks foamy repeatedly, blood in your pee, or a lasting change in how often you go. Tiredness that won’t let up is worth mentioning to your doctor, even though it can have plenty of causes.
And how do you know if your kidneys hurt? Pain can show up in your side or back below the ribs. Pain alone can’t tell you it’s your kidney, but pain with fever or nausea, especially if you also have urinary symptoms, needs medical attention.
A kidney check usually involves blood and urine tests. Those tests can tell your doctor more than symptoms alone.
When to See a Doctor
Book an appointment if you keep noticing foamy pee, swelling, a change in how often you pee, or side pain that doesn’t go away. Ask about kidney tests if you have diabetes or high blood pressure, even when you feel fine.
Get urgent medical care for severe side or back pain, especially with fever or vomiting. Seek urgent care if you see blood in your pee, can’t pee, or feel very unwell. Don’t wait for a routine appointment to sort those out.
The Bottom Line
Your kidneys don’t ask you to make your life complicated.
Notice the salt in packaged food. Drink enough water without forcing it. Pay attention to changes in your pee, and ask before using painkillers often, especially alongside regular medicines.
Kidney pain isn’t a reliable early warning. Your habits and your checkups matter long before anything hurts.
Which habit would be hardest for you to change? Let me know in the comments.
Sources
- Effect of dietary interventions on kidney function in adults with obesity without chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in nutrition, 2026. Full text (PubMed Central)
- Acute kidney injury and morbi-mortality associated with “triple whammy” combination: Systematic review and meta-analysis. British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2025. Full text (PubMed Central)
- Non-pharmacological interventions for blood pressure management in hypertensive patients: selection of exercise regimens-a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Frontiers in endocrinology, 2026. Full text (PubMed Central)
This article is for informational purposes only and isn’t a substitute for medical advice. Talk to your doctor about any health concerns.
