Showing posts with label kidney disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidney disease. Show all posts

Sunday, June 29, 2014

What Is Kidney Disease?

What Is Kidney Disease?
The kidneys are known be vital body organs which are responsible for performing several important life-sustaining functions in the body. Principally, the kidneys cleanse the body by removing waste and excess fluids, maintaining salt and mineral balance in the blood, and also helping to regulate blood pressure.



When confronted with the question, 'what is kidney disease?' one can simply respond that it is failure of the kidneys to perform the functions that they are meant to perform. This means that consequently, waste products and fluid can build up in the body, leading to swelling of the hands, feet, difficulties in breathing and more commonly, problems with passing urine. This condition, if left untreated, may result in the kidneys failing and stopping to functioning completely. This is a serious, and could be a potentially fatal situation.



To understand properly what kidney disease is, it is necessary to understand the functions and importance of the kidneys as one of the organs of the body. Basically, the kidneys serve to filter off waste products from the blood. This is achieved through an intricate and complex process that the kidneys perform. Due to the nature of the kidney functions, they are constantly removing toxic substances from the body to maintain a balance in the body system. As a result, the kidney is also one of the most susceptible organs to infection in the body system due to constant contact with waste and poisonous substances.



The quicker the filtration of blood in the kidneys, the better their functioning. In understanding what kidney disease is, the basic fact to recall is that with a poor performing kidney, the rate of blood filtration is lower. Likewise, a healthy well functioning kidney is able to filter waste substances from the system at a faster rate.



A healthy kidney is able to maintain the body's balance of water and mineral concentration. These minerals include magnesium, potassium, sodium and phosphorous, which are contained in the blood, and must be maintained at certain levels for optimum body system functioning. Or else, they have the potential to turn into poison, and harm the body. Kidney disease or kidney failure can be caused by reduction of blood flow to the kidneys, kidney damage due to infection, or damage as a result of toxins or certain drugs. This may also be a result of lack of sufficient fluids and infection.








Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Stage 4 Kidney Disease

Stage 4 Kidney Disease
There is no likelihood of both kidneys failing at once when a case of chronic kidney is reported. There is always a slow progression of the disease over a period of years. This means that doctors have an opportunity to do something in order to prevent the chronic kidney disease situation from getting worse in case there is early diagnosis.



The National Kidney Foundation has come up with subdivisions that describe five stages through which patients of kidney disease go through. This demarcation of stages is meant to enable caregivers to do their work more efficiently in order for patients to live a higher-quality life.



Each level of the kidney disease requires special forms of treatment and care. Glomerular filtration rate is a measure of kidney function, which enables doctors to know the stage of disease that the patient is in. This function requires many variables include ones age, gender, race, and serum creatinine. This means that a doctor should order that a blood test be done. Creatinine is a waste product of muscular activity in the body. As the kidney continues to fail, levels of creatinine continue to rise.



Stage 4 kidney disease is characterized by advanced damage to the kidney. The decrease in Glomerular filtration rate that is recorded confirms that the patient's disease is in stage 4. Such a patient requires dialysis. Moreover, a kidney transplant should be carried out within the shortest time possible.



When there is a decline in kidney function, it results in a build-up of wastes in the patient's blood. This condition is known as uremia. At stage 4, many complications arise. Some of the problems experienced relate to anemia, high blood pressure, heart and bone diseases.



The symptoms that characterize stage 4 kidney disease include fatigue, sleep problems and nausea. Anemia makes patients feel very tired. This is because the kidney is unable to control the amount of fluid that is retained by the body. The legs swell, a condition known as edema. If there are protein deposits in the urine, it becomes very foamy. In case it contains blood, it turns reddish or tea-colored. A person urinates less often or he might urinate too often.



At stage 4, many patients experience kidney pain. One can easily locate the source of pain by touching the region that is near the kidneys. It also becomes difficult to get any sleep. One may also experience itchy feelings, restlessness and general discomfort that make it difficult to get sleep.






Renal Kidney Disease.

Renal Kidney Disease.
The kidneys are body organs responsible for the expulsion of waste products from the body system, usually in form of urine. When they fail, the condition is known as Chronic Renal Failure or simply as Renal Failure. Renal kidney disease is affects the kidneys, whereby there is a systematic decline in kidney function and urine output over time.



Mild renal kidney disease is whereby the condition of the kidney has not escalated to the point of Chronic Renal Failure or Chronic kidney disease. However, mild kidney disease can cause increased blood pressure and frequent urination at night. It can also lead to anemia and risk of heart attacks and strokes.



Many people suffering from renal kidney disease are usually unaware, until the later stages where it has worsened to the chronic level, then eventually to kidney failure. This is because the early signs can pass unnoticed, and it may take quite a while, even several years, from the condition to go from mild to chronic kidney disease to kidney failure. In fact, some people may live with kidney disease to chronic levels without ever reaching the point of kidney failure in their entire life.



However, it is very important to be aware if one is having this condition. Knowing about the symptoms of kidney disease can be helpful in getting timely treatment. The following are some of the symptoms of renal kidney disease.



Kidneys are the organs that make urine. Therefore, when the kidneys are failing, the urine becomes frequent with the person having to urinate several times at night. The urine becomes pale, may contain a lot of foam and traces of blood. Others are less frequent and smaller amounts than usual, and difficulty urinating.



Other symptoms include swelling of the legs, ankles, hands and feet. This is because the extra waste fluid in the body cannot be removed due to renal kidney disease. The person feels unusual and constant fatigue, severe itching of the skin, and bad breath or foul taste in the mouth, in addition to loss of appetite. Loss of appetite leads to weight loss. In addition, the person feels nauseated and vomits a lot.



Others include dizziness and diminished concentration, cold, difficulties in breathing, and sometimes the victim may also have back pains. Severe renal kidney disease leads to excessive retention of waste products in the body, and this makes dialysis necessary.






Kidney Disease Support

Kidney Disease Support
Chronic or Acute renal diseases can lead to renal failure. This failure may be complete or partial. Such patients require different kind of measures to support them and to maintain the normal physiological processes.



Hamemolysis:



Haemodialysis has saved many a kidney patient's life. It is very useful in chronic renal failure. It is useful when the uremia has become very severe An arteri venous fistula should be formed in the forearm, when the plasma creatinine is consistently above 600 micromol/ l .



Haemodialysis is carried out for 4-6 hours 3 times in a week, and many patients are trained to do it themselves. Within the first 6 weeks, there is a gradual reduction of the Uremic symptoms. Plasma creatinine and blood urea, do not return to normal, and anemia may improve but persists and osteodystophy may progress.





Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis:



This is a form of long term dialysis and involves insertion of a permanent intra peritoneal catheter in to the abdominal cavity. This procedure involves introduction of sterile dialysis fluid in to the peritoneal or abdominal cavity. The normal or usual quantity used is around two litres and then these two litres of fluid are allowed to remain in the peritoneal cavity. After about six hours, this fluid is again extracted out and disposed off. Now the abdomen is again perfused with a fresh sterile dialysis fluid. This alternate extraction and perfusion process is carried out repeatedly for about four times in a day. The best part is that it does not require the patient to be in bed and can move about and also do his regular routine work.



It is particularly useful for young children and the elderly patients with other diseases like cardio vascular instability and diabetes.



Patients have been known to continue, for 5 years on this treatment and it seems to be quite safe.



Renal transplantation:



This offers the possibility of restoring normal kidney functions and thereby correcting the many different electrolyte and metabolic dysfunctions of uraemia. The graft is usually taken from a cadaver donor or a coborn or the father or the mother.



Unless there is some support system available chronic renal diseases are always fatal. Information about the long term prognosis of patients on dialysis or transplant is really limited, because it has been recently started, but technology is changing fast now. Yet dialysis and transplantation can be considered as highly effective forms of treatment. There is an average of 80% survival of 5 years for patients on haemodialysis, 65% for transplanted kidney.






Kidney Disease Stages

Kidney Disease Stages
The symptoms in kidney disease stages are quite faint that it might usually take a couple of years to realize that a person has kidney disease. At the end of the day, you should have an idea whether you are at risk through studying the stages through which the malady is depicted. Always know so many kidney symptoms could be caused by other kinds of disease other than kidney associated malady, while the only superb way to confirm this being a regular checkup through your doctor.



The first stage in kidney diseases is only a mild damage. If you are undergoing the blood creatnine test, it will show the GFR to be between 90 and 100. GFR is Glomerular Filtration Rate in full. It is a determining factor in ascertaining how the kidneys are working. At this stage you might not notice anything.



In the second stage of Kidney diseases, The GFR will be around 60-89. At this stage, it is not easy to have symptoms at all, although the urine protein might start showing. Foamy urine is a perfect protein indication. In the third stage of kidney disease, you begin noticing an increase in the times you are urinating at night. At this stage you might feel overtly fatigued as you notice some signs of Anemia. You might even begin to experience some cramps in your legs or have a very itchy dry skin, while your GFR rate is 60 and below.



In the fourth kidney disease stage, you might have to visit a nutritionist who will offer you some special kinds of diet that might work towards the curtailing of sodium, potassium and phosphorus. At this stage, you might begin to have less urine than it is the normal case as you retain fluids, where you have your extreme swelling and edema, feeling holistically unwell. It is at this stage that together with your doctor you might want to make some future plans to have a dialysis of some kind. The GFR will be likely showing 15-29 results, signifying a huge loss in the function of the kidney.



At the fifth stage, you are at a very critical stage of your own kidney failure. At this stage, the symptoms are rather obvious in a high degree, where you have extreme swelling, vomiting and nausea as well as almost no production of urine or just a teaspoonful if you are lucky. At this stage, the kidneys have not been able to filter anything, signifying you are under dialysis for your own survival. The doctor could have taking some medications that include potassium and calcium binders so that the toxins in the blood might be kept down during the dialysis treatments.






Kidney Disease Stage 3

Kidney Disease Stage 3
People who suffer from chronic kidney disease usually don't experience kidney failure all at one time. This is promising news for those with this condition because if CKD is detected early, drug therapies and lifestyle modifications can help slow down the generative process and will keep you feeling better for a longer duration.



A person who is in kidney disease stage 3 will have a moderate decline in there GFR of about 30-60 mil/min. As the kidneys decrease in their function to expel waste products from the body, these toxins can build up in the blood creating a condition called urumia.



In the case of having kidney disease in stage 3 is more susceptible to inheriting complications such as high blood pressure, anemia and premature bone disease.



Symptoms of kidney disease stage 3 are:



-Fatigue- feeling tired all of the time is common for those with CKD and is often a result of anemia.



-To much fluid retention- The kidneys can lose their ability to balance how much fluid remains in the body, causing edema( swelling) in their lower body, hands or face and can even cause shortness of breath.



- Changes in Urinary Function- Urine can become dark orange and can contain blood if there is too much protein present. This causes infrequent or frequent urination in patients.



- Back Pain- It is common that those who suffer from CKD to have lower and mid back pain.



- Insomnia- Troubled sleep patterns are often prevalent with CKD and may experience muscle cramping or restless leg syndrome that will interfere with their sleep patterns.



As a person enters into kidney disease stage 3, they are usually referred to a nephrologist for examination, testing, and treatments for the disease.



Also, a person might be referred to a dietician because diet is a very important part of treating kidney disease stage 3.



A diet low in protein, fat, calcium, sodium, and carbohydrates is usually recommended for this stage of CKD.



A healthy diet consisting of raw foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean meats is suggested for the patient so that the kidneys do not have to work as hard to break down fats and toxins.



The nephrologists goal is to determine that the patients suffering from kidney disease stage 3 receives the best possible treatment in order to keep the kidneys functioning for as long as possible.






Kidney Disease Protein.

Kidney Disease Protein.
Protein is undoubtedly a necessary nutrient. However, for kidney disease patients, it is difficult to manage the condition with a high amount of protein intake. This is because when ingested by the body, protein waste products are produced. A healthy kidney is perfectly able to filter this waste which is then eliminated from the body in the urine. Therefore, for persons with kidney disease, protein intake has to be limited for effective management of the condition.



Kidneys that are not in perfectly good health have no capacity to remove protein waste from the body system. Kidney disease and protein are not compatible due to the fact that protein waste would easily build up in the blood if taken in sufficient amounts by a kidney disease patient. This would make the body to accumulate more and more waste as the kidney function continues to decline.



It is possible to measure kidney disease patients' protein waste levels in the blood. Doctors use this test to assess how functional the kidneys are. Usually, lower protein diets are prescribed to reduce waste accumulation in the blood of a kidney disease patient. It is believed that for a person with kidney disease, protein intake reduction is very helpful in slowing the severity and progression of the condition.



The vital consideration in determining a kidney disease patient's protein intake is the stage of the kidney condition he or she may be experiencing. The difference in stages is arrived at by determining the amount of blood the patient's kidneys are able to filter. The more the kidneys can filter, the better they are functioning. When blood filtration rates have dropped to the lowest levels and not much blood can be filtered by the kidneys, this is a pointer that the kidneys are barely functional, and a sign of imminent kidney failure. At this stage, dialysis is necessary.



Patients undergoing dialysis are often asked to increase their protein intake. When dialysis is the solution, it means that the kidneys are damaged. The only way to get rid of waste from the body is through dialysis. This means that whether the patient takes in more or limited proteins, it is only through dialysis that any waste will be eliminated from the body. Consequently, it is better for the patient to increase protein intake for a healthy diet because the waste will be removed through dialysis anyway.






Kidney Disease Patients

Kidney Disease Patients
Kidney disease patients are very prone to cases of heart diseases as well as frequently pursuing a low-fat diet. The kind of calories the patients take in a day is required towards keeping their nutrition status as healthy as possible and avoiding the onset of failure of certain body tissues. For the Kidney disease patients, protein and weight status must be habitually observed.



You can find out that so many centers of dialysis have dietitians who are able to work with patients as well as physicians in teaching all the kidney disease patients all that pertains to their own diets whilst within the process of dialysis. Patients with abnormal kidney functions, they are stressed to take a diet containing low proteins as they aim to put off the deterioration of their ailing kidneys. This diet is generally low in terms of the potassium and sodium within. A number of patients also have fluid constraints elaborated while within the diet.



Additionally, in case you suffer from diabetes together with some other kidney diseases, you might need a low carbohydrate diet. Remember that diets with low proteins are able to put off as well as decelerating growth of some types of kidney diseases. The capacity of protein you take is well founded upon how your own kidneys can work as well as the sum total of proteins required for one to maintain a good health. After you have suffered cases of kidney failure, there is a high propensity of urine that your body generates dropping off.



Even the quantity of fluids you can take each passing day should be founded upon the quantity of the urine you do generate within 24 hours. Other concerns whether the amount of fluid should be constrained include the fluid quantity that you maintain sodium levels in the diet, utilization of diuretics as well as if you have any case of congestive heart problem and failure. The complications that come with kidney disease are quite secondary to symptoms, conditions or even other disorders that might affect diseases of the kidney.



You might sometimes find the distinction between complications and symptoms being quite ambiguous. Kidney disease patients who have diabetes can decrease considerably their complications' risk in case they get good information that relates to their own disease, as well as understanding and putting into amicable practices those skills that are needed, to easily control blood pressure, blood glucose, levels of cholesterol as well as going for occasional check-ups from a medical practitioner. Kidney patients who smoke must stop with immediate effect while the ones with weight must maintain moderate weight.






Kidney Disease Treatment

Kidney Disease Treatment
Kidneys are one of the major and vital organs in the human body and they helps in excreting the waste product from the body. Kidney function is very important in a human body. Some of the major kidney related problems are described below.



1. Acute renal failure - this actually makes the kidney stop working properly, some of the major function like urination, purification and other kidney related functions. Kidney suddenly stops its normal activities. The major reason for this unusual activity of kidney is because of certain problems. Acute infection in the kidney is the major cause of acute renal failure.



Dialysis is the major treatment in these kinds of problems. Dialysis allows a machine to carry out all the functions on behalf of the kidney, which was previously done by the kidney. Medicines are also preferred to solve minor problems related to acute renal failure.



2. Kidney stones - this disease is caused by formation of some stones inside the kidney. These stones are formed because of the substances which are purified by kidney. These stones vary in sizes and they block the urinary bladder and creates problem in urination. Some of the major symptoms of stones in kidney are extreme pain which is colicky in nature, and may be felt in the lower abdomen, radiating to the back. This problem can be diagnosed by sonography.



This disease can be cured by medicine or by laser treatment. In laser treatment the stones are manually crushed in to small pieces by the laser rays. This process is very effective in curing this disease.



3. Urinary tract infections - in these disease infections are caused in the urinary tract which leads to extreme pain in the urinary tract while urination. This disease causes severe pain in the tract and they are treated by different antibiotics and also by symptomatic treatment to relieve the burning and pain.



4. Other techniques - some of the other techniques which are used to cure kidney diseases are acupuncture, kidney massage and drinking dandelion tea. Acupuncture is a Chinese method of curing diseases and they are used extensively in china for several disease. Kidney massage is also an efficient in treating kidney related problems. These methods are very famous in Asian countries like china and they are practiced for every kind of disease problems.



This kidney related problems are very much curable and they can be treated by any of the above mentioned methods.






Kidney Disease Failure

Kidney Disease Failure
When you have your fear confirmed that you have kidney disease failure, the world might seem to have started collapsing on you. It signifies a gradual loss of the functions of kidney leading to catastrophic results. If you have chronic kidney disease and is left untreated, it might lead to kidney failure permanently, where those individuals with the disease might be at very chronic risks of death through stroke or heart attack.



In the early stages before kidney failure, the symptoms hardly suggest the kidneys are performing as desired, but as the kidney disease progresses, the patient might begin to be fatigued, have frequent urination, itchy and dry skin, nausea, appetite loss, feet and hands swelling, feet and hands numbness, concentration problems, muscle cramps and darkening of the skin and others. With or if you have risks of kidney disease failure, you might have complications including anemia, nerve damage, heart disease and nerve damage.



With the ESRD or End Stage Renal Disease, you are under the menace of near loss of your kidney function. After kidneys have reached ESRD you must know the kidney damage has reached a permanent stage and is totally irreversible. For the individuals who have been diagnosed with cases of ESRD they might need to go under the process of dialysis daily or consider kidney transplant so that they might survive. If the progress of the kidney disease is detected early, kidney disease failure could be slowed down.



Remember that two-thirds of basically all kidney disease come as a result of diabetes or high blood pressure, where controlling the blood glucose and blood pressure levels could be key in kidney disease prolonging. In addition, it is very much recommended that individuals having kidney disease follow up an eating plan with low proteins as they maintain the levels of their cholesterol, because high cholesterol has the tendency to cause cases of high blood pressure.



You might want to maintain a rather healthy weight as you quit smoking and you would have slowed the progression of the kidney disease and protecting a premature failure. You might want to consider the valuable doctor tests that could be performed in ascertaining if the kidneys are working and functioning as they should. Remember that only about fifty percent of the population with kidney disease know they have it.






Kidney Disease Education

Kidney Disease Education
Kidney disease education centers have been established all over the world to provide support and to educate those who are diagnosed with late stage chronic kidney disease or kidney failure.



These kidney disease education centers provide information on transplants, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, nutrition, family concerns and financial problems related to treatment options. There are qualified nurses, dietitians and social workers present at these centers to provide information, answer questions and educate those suffering from kidney disease. The patient's family members are strongly advised to participate in these sessions to show support and to cope with their loved ones who were diagnosed with kidney disease.



Professional institutions are making it their number one priority to educate and provide professional training facilities for nurses, dietitians and social workers and in developing patient education aids, so that families as caregivers are better experienced to handle patients with kidney disease. Most families are still getting over the shock of their loved one actually suffering from the disease, education programs are the best way of taking the shock and fear away from families by educating them.



There are other institutions such as community groups, public health agencies, youth groups, professional associations, charitable and voluntary organizations that are providing patients and their families suffering from kidney disease, educational aids and support networks.



The kidney disease education programs organized by various institutions help to provide the following,



Educate people with kidney disease on how to stay healthy



Taking control of the disease and in leading a normal life as much as possible



Provide education on the various stages of the disease and what to expect



How to prolong the disease



Medication that is available and what option to choose



How to maintain your life style and cope with the disease



Eating healthy



Indulging in normal activates and hobbies that the patient once loved doing



Emotional stress



Dealing with work pressure



Financial stress



General fear of the disease



Prolong the kidney function



A common playing field to share common problems and concerns associated with the disease



Improving the quality of life



What happens to the kidneys through different stages of kidney disease



How to cope with the various stages of kidney disease



Those who visit these kidney education centers have a lot of positive feedback to share and they look forward to visiting these education centers on a regular basis. Families are also finding these education centers rewarding and encouraging.






Kidney Disease Diet

Kidney Disease Diet
Diet for Kidney Disease (Dialysis Diet)



The operations of kidneys are artificially carried out by the process of Dialysis when the original kidney fails, obviously dialysis cannot replace a kidney-(A natural source) Patients on dialysis will have to gradually change their diet. Diet schedule in the initial state of kidney failure is subjected to application of dialysis and transplants. Well improvement of health can start at any point of time by avoiding smoking, intake of healthy food that is food rich in proteins and energy, regular exercises and finally these habits might definitely help in losing weight if the patient is obese.



Obesity is also one of the major reasons for kidney failure, and can cause physical problems for people on dialysis. Obese people with fat arms can have fussy problems with entrance for haemodialysis.



Iron:



Mostly people suffering from kidney failure also suffer from lack of iron and this is called as Anaemia. Once the patient has found to have iron levels below the average and is confirmed to be an anemic he/she has to regulate the diet. Example Bittergourd, spinach and dates are all iron rich foods.



Phosphate and Calcium:



Patients with Kidney troubles or dysfunctions have high amount of blood calcium levels and lower levels of blood phosphate concentrations. Since the phosphate and calcium are both very important minerals in the formation of bones and maintaining their health, it becomes necessary to maintain the levels through proper dietary supplementation.



Calcium rich foods like milk and milk products may be avoided. Phosphate is found in dates, fruits and also in vegetables. Moderation of intake of these items in food may be advised. Additionally a phosphate binder may be needed to be taken along with meals, to reduce the amount of the phosphates absorbed from the diet.



Potassium:



Potassium is highly important in maintaining optimum heart function and health. High levels of Potassium can literally cause a heart failure and low levels are also equally dangerous with resulting cardiac arrhythmias. The patients undergoing haemodialysis need to avoid high potassium foods like chocolate and also certain potassium rich foods like bananas etc. this restriction applies only to Haemodialysis patients, whereas peritoneal dialysis patients may not require such a dietary control.



Protein



Protein is higly essential and necessary for effective muscle growth and also in maintaining many physiological processes of the body. It also helps in tissue repair and is an important constituent of blood. The patients with Kidney disease have a problem with effective excretion of urea which is a by product of protein digestion. So it becomes very necessary to limit the protein intake by these patients. But since protein cannot be altogether avoided, special protein supplements need to be given to these patients.






Kidney Disease Dialysis

Kidney Disease Dialysis
Your kidneys are primarily responsible for filtering the waste products in your blood for excretion. Basically, kidneys are the two bean-structured organs found on either side of the abdominal cavity, towards the back. In acute kidney complications, doctors may determine that a patient's kidneys are no longer functional. Nevertheless, the need to purify the blood still exists. This is where dialysis comes in.



As such, dialysis is a medical procedure that used to substitute for normal kidneys functions if the kidneys are dysfunctional. In most cases, a dialysis allows the kidney patient to normal, productive and healthy lives henceforth, despite having dysfunctional kidneys. In the US today, over 200,000 individuals are on dialysis in an ongoing basis.



By kidney disease dialysis, we refer to any kidney complications that result to the adoption of dialysis techniques. Essentially therefore, dialysis aides the body in performing those functions usually left to the kidneys in the event that an individual's kidneys fail.



A normal kidney has a host of roles in the body. Such roles include:



1. Regulating the body fluid balance



This is done by adjusting excreted urine and sweat volume such that when the body has less water, les urine and sweat are excreted through the kidneys and vice versa.



2. Removing waste products from the blood, that usually result from normal body processes like metabolism



3. Regulating chemical constituents of the blood to prevent build up of toxins or high levels of the chemicals that could be injurious to body cells



When dialysis techniques are adopted, the dialysis helps execute these functions. Before a patient is diagnosed to be in need of dialysis, the blood-borne wastes have accumulated in to very high levels. This shows that the kidneys are no longer functional. Although the toxin levels build up pretty gradually (Hence the usual delay in diagnosing kidney failure), when they do accumulate for a long time, they can be lethal.



Doctors can measure two main blood chemical levels while diagnosing the need for kidney diseases dialysis. These two blood chemical levels are creatinine level and blood urea nitrogen level. Their continued rise indicates a decreasing ability of an individual's kidneys to cleanse his or her blood.



Currently, we have two main types of kidney disease dialysis namely, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. For hemodialysis, doctors use a special filter to effectively remove all excess waste products and any excess water from the blood. In peritoneal dialysis, doctors use a fluid (placed into the individual's stomach cavity via a plastic tube) so as to remove any excess fluids and waste products from the body.






Kidney Disease Diagnosis

Kidney Disease Diagnosis
Kidney disease is a condition that affects many people, although it is more prevalent in individuals of age 60 and above who suffer from hypertension and diabetes. Kidney disease can lead to both chronic and acute kidney failure, conditions which are life-threatening to say the least. Chronic kidney failure occurs in a gradual pace over an extended period of time say months to years. On the other hand, acute kidney failure occurs suddenly in a matter of hours to days, however, it is reversible if the underlying cause is treated as soon as possible.



The first stages of kidney disease diagnosis are characterized by nausea, fatigue, trouble when urinating, problems with concentration and sleeping, feeling thirsty all the time, and experiencing lower back pain. Generally, the kidneys once affected will shut down and not be able to filter excess water off the blood or wastes from the body. This results in accumulation of toxin in the blood causing a number of complications that affect different body systems. Chronic kidney failure will reach a point of no return, whereby the kidney will be working at less than 10% of its full capacity. This results into a kidney transplant or dialysis for normal living of the patient to continue.



Unless there is a tumor in the kidneys or they are swollen, kidney disease diagnosis can be difficult because the doctor may not be able to detect the disease by simply feeling the kidneys. Kidney disease diagnosis is done by taking a blood and urine test, scanning the kidneys, as well as doing several tests on samples of the kidney tissue. Urinalysis, or urine test if you like, is the most common test for the diagnosis of kidney disease that tests the blood, sugar, protein, and ketones (formed as a result of the body breaking down fat).



Urinalysis for kidney disease diagnosis is done using a dipstick i.e. a thin plastic that is coated with chemicals and which reacts once it comes in contact with the different substances found in urine. Urinalysis also calls for checking of the white and red blood cells whereby the urine will be examined under a microscope for proper diagnosis to be made. Note however that even though these are the commonest tests for proper kidney disease diagnosis, depending on the alleged cause of the kidney problem, the doctor may order more tests to be done.






Kidney Disease Cure

Kidney Disease Cure
On the whole, your health depends on the proper functioning of your kidney. The proper functioning of your kidney is inextricably linked to the blood pressure levels.



To demonstrate the importance of the kidney, sample this: once in every half an hour, the whole blood stock of your body passes through the kidney. It filers the wastes and passes them to the bladder as urine.



Kidney diseases are many and do not announce their arrivals. It is upon the patient to realize their symptoms and seek medication. They can be chronic or acute and attack almost everyone. Examples of kidney ailments are kidney stones, arthritis and even the revered diabetic condition among other examples.



Treatment of kidney diseases has all to do with controlling the blood pressure of your body.



The following is a summary of five natural methods of treating kidney ailments.



Keeping the blood pressure low



It is highly recommended that your blood pressure is kept under 130 over 80. It is down to your doctor to prescribe ways of keeping your blood pressure in check.



Watch your diet



Always ensure that you have enough intakes of protein and at the same time keeping your cholesterol in check. While your doctor may recommend less intake of protein so that your kidneys are not overworked, your body needs enough proteins to repair the worn out tissues. You need to talk to a dietitian to find out the best diet to meet both demands of the body and of the doctor.



Quit cigarette smoking



Cigarette smoking has two real threats to your life - it not only increases your blood pressure but also makes you more susceptible to contracting kidney diseases. You will find that it is difficult to quit smoking but the health benefits that come with that are just so many.



Check your sodium intake



Unchecked intake of salt and foods rich in sodium are known to increase your blood pressure, which in turn leads to the inevitable contraction of kidney problems .Limiting the amount of sodium you consume is a natural way of curing kidney illnesses.



Watch the amount of potassium you have in your diet



Although potassium is a healthy mineral and is normally found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, it is not very good for a kidney that is diseased. This is because it makes it hard for the kidney to process it and excrete excess amounts of it from the body.






Kidney Disease Pain

Kidney Disease Pain
Patients who suffer from kidney disease that is associated with cormobid problems often experience a lot of pain. In this case, one should make use of analgesic medications since they have the ability to reduce nephrotoxic risks. A doctor should first examine the patient very carefully before determining which pain management approach is the best in each particular case.


There are many methods that a doctor can use in determining the best perspective of managing the pain. One of them is the non-comparative method. In this case, a clinical audit has to be relied on. In this case, the primary diagnosis has to be chronic kidney disease.


In most cases, kidney disease patients experience many types of pain. The best form of analgesics is that which is non-opioid in nature. The effect of these medications should be monitored very closely. If pain persists, the medication should be discontinued and alternative treatments opted for.


One should also understand that there are many reasons why pain comes about. One of the reasons why pain occurs is burdening the kidney with too many detoxification tasks which it is not able to effectively handle. After all this failure in itself is the one that constitutes the kidney disease.


In order for pain to be proactively controlled, it has to be incorporated into the holistic treatment program that is being undertaken by the doctor. For this reason, painkillers should be avoided at all costs. Additionally, every patient has some individual needs that need special attention. As a doctor it is important to base your treatment system on these needs. Matters of age and status of dependency will also determine the approach that the doctor takes in order to manage the pain.


Everyone who suffers from kidney disease as well as the pain which results from it should be given information on all helpful treatment options that exist. In case there are decisions that should be made by the patient, he should be given an opportunity to do so. It is imperative that health professionals learn how to overcome all barriers that come in the way of effect management of pain in kidney disease patients.


Pain that is associated with kidney disease can be as a result of surgery. It can also be as a result of peripheral neuropathy or even osteoarthritis. It is important to understand that these painful conditions also contribute to kidney disease pain. It is important for the appropriate pharmacological pain management measures to be taken depending on the cause of this pain.






Kidney Disease Anemia

Kidney Disease Anemia
Research has established that patients suffering from chronic Kidney Disease have a high risk of developing an anemia condition. When a patient suffers from anemia after having a preexisting chronic kidney disease, we refer to that condition as kidney disease anemia.



The human blood incorporates two types of cells namely the white blood cells and the red blood cells. The white blood cells protect the body from infections while red blood cells primarily transport oxygen from your lungs to the muscle tissues throughout your body. Red blood cells are made up of a red protein called hemoglobin, which mixes with oxygen and is thus transmitted to muscle sites.



Now, anemia is the condition that results when a person has low numbers of the red blood cells in the blood. If the red blood cells are below normal, there will be a marked decrease in the available hemoglobin for oxygen transportation. To test the amount of red blood cells in the blood, medics conduct the hematocrit test, which basically represents a percentage of blood occupied by red blood cells.



If for instance you have 40% of each one ounce of your blood is occupied by the red blood cells, then you have a hematocrit of 40%. A normal hematocrit measure should be 36% to 51%. Men have a higher hematocrit level than normal women, given that women live with regular blood to the menstrual cycle. For one to be diagnosed of kidney disease anemia, he or she must display a hematocrit less than 42%. If it is less than 36%, the anemia is acute.



So what is the connection between kidney disease and anemia? Red blood cells in the body are manufactured at the bone marrow sites consequent to the influence and regulation of the erythropoietin hormone (EPO). The EPO hormone is primarily produced in the human kidneys. If therefore a person has kidney disease, it will mean that even the production of the EPO hormone is severely affected. The worse or rather the more chronic the kidney disease, the severe the decrease of red blood cells produced by a person's bone marrow. Consequently, in almost all cases of chronic kidney disease, the patient develops an anemia condition.



However, the degree of chronic kidney disease anemia is also influenced by other nutritional factors like inadequate intakes of minerals, proteins and vitamins useful in the production of red blood. Heavy blood loss consequent to menstrual periods, injuries or surgery may make the anemia more serious. To bring down the effect of chronic kidney disease anemia, proper dieting must be the rule of the thumb.






Kidney Disease Causes

Kidney Disease Causes
There are those types of risk factors that will always put you in the danger of contracting kidney disease. The kidney disease causes might be depicted by the appearance of symptoms later or early, although you must know the kind of disease you might be staring at as well as what you could do in the prevention of what it might affect in your life.



Some of the causes, such as age and family history are hardly easy to control, although there are those risk factors that can definitely be controlled. It is worth it learning the causes and those that can be controlled so that you can slow the disease down, or even prevent it. An example is the fact that you can control your own blood sugar and pressure and you would have helped your own kidneys to do their work normally for a longer time more than they would in case they lack a rather conscious attempt on diet aid.



After understanding these causes and risk factors of kidney disease, you might consider getting to your doctor so that you can together formulate a plan that could delay any cases of kidney failure as well as preventing it all the same. About forty percent with dialysis patients have diabetes already, which makes diabetes a very serious risk factor when it comes to kidney diseases. In type 2 case of diabetes, you have the number one cause of kidney failure, where it is responsible for more than a third of all novel dialysis cases.



Simply because you have diabetes, it hardly means you will attain kidney diseases. Readings of moderate blood sugar and pressure could aid in preventing kidney disorders. The symptoms will definitely be a way of alerting you in case your own body will be edging its way towards kidney diseases, and there is no point in waiting for all that time to act. Keeping a very tight rein on the levels of your own blood and sugar pressure there is likelihood you can lower the risks of kidney diseases.



In addition, high pressure of blood does put a lot of stress on your own blood vessels and in all parts of your body, as well as those vessels writhing your kidneys. It is also another prominent cause of serious cases of kidney failure. The good thing is that with weight control and exercise, as well as with the use of medications, you could slow or halt the kidney disease progression towards kidney failure. Remember to take the blood pressure drugs as prescribed and you will do a great deal of good to yourself.






High Blood Pressure Kidney Disease

High Blood Pressure Kidney Disease
The kidneys have a very crucial role to play in keeping an individual's blood pressure in its required normal range, although blood pressure can affect the health status of the kidneys. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can adversely affect the kidneys and lead to chronic kidney disease. High blood pressure can be described as the force of blood against walls of the blood vessels. When there is an increase in the amount of fluids in the blood vessels, it will heighten high blood pressure. Stiff, narrow, and clogged blood vessels will also heighten high blood pressure.



High blood pressure kidney disease occurs when the heart is forced to work extra hard which as a result can damage the blood vessels in the whole body. When the blood vessels in the kidneys get damaged, their normal functioning i.e. excreting wastes and extra fluid from the blood, will cease. The excess fluid present in the blood vessels will automatically raise the blood pressure, and the cycle, although very dangerous, will go on.



High blood pressure kidney disease, otherwise known as end-stage renal disease, is a very serious condition that may force sufferers to get a kidney transplant, or dialysis - regular blood-cleansing routines. There are no symptoms associated with high blood pressure, and the only way to detect is when the doctor measures the blood pressure using a blood pressure cuff. The result will be expressed in two figures where the top figure represents the pressure of the blood when the heart is beating and the bottom figure will represent the pressure when the heart rest in between beats.



The signs and symptoms of high blood pressure kidney disease are equally not noticeable in the early stages. Someone can have the end-stage renal disease and not know it because they will not feel sick. However, by measuring the competence level of the kidneys to filter waste using the glomerular filtration rate (DFR), one can be able to detect the condition. The only way you can control high blood pressure kidney disease is through medications, and changing lifestyles to ensure that the blood pressure remains below 130/80. Everyone is susceptible to high blood pressure kidney disease, although diabetics are at a greater risk. As such, it is always advisable to ensure that proper diagnosis is made at the earliest available opportunity so that one can manage the condition and avoid future complications.






Monday, June 23, 2014

Health And Kidney Disease

Health And Kidney Disease
The Kidneys are one of the vital organs of the human body. The Kidneys complete the excretory functions of the body and help in effective removal of the toxic substances and waste products out of the body.



The importance of the kidneys cannot be stressed, because the human body is designed in such a way that each of the processes in the human body, be it respiration, digestion, circulation, creates a lot of waste products or toxic substances.



These waste products are highly harmful to health, and can even cause death and mortality, if left unremoved. The Kidneys bear the brunt of all the processes going on in the body, and effectively filter out all the unwanted matter out of the body through the renal system. The filtration is so effective that the quantities of the waste matter are in micro units.



Other than the basic function of Excretion, Kidneys perform other vital functions like maintenance of the water content of the body and tonicity of body fluids. About 2/3 rd of the filtered water is again reabsorbed in the proximal tubules of the kidneys and thus the hydration of the body is maintained.



The Kidneys also maintain the normal electrolyte balance of the body. The electrolytes like Sodium-Na? and Potassium- K? are very important in effective functioning of the heart and any disturbance in the normal levels of these electrolytes in the circulation can even cause sudden death, as the heart muscles are very sensitive to the concentration of these electrolytes.



The Kidneys also maintain a normal acid-base balance in the body. The basic mechanism is to regulate the excretion of hydrogen ion- H? and re-absorption and regeneration of the base bicarbonate-HCO??.



The Kidneys secrete a hormone called Renin, which helps in regulation of the blood pressure. The cells of the Kidney are sensitive and respond to the incoming arterial pressure, the changes in the composition of the tubular fluid and any change in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.



The kidneys also secrete Erythropoietin which plays an important role in production of red blood cells.



Thus it is clear that Kidneys play a pivotal role in maintaining optimum health. Any disease affecting the Kidneys can immediately affect the health in a profound way.



The common Kidney diseases are Glomerulonephritis, Benign familial Haematuria, Alport's disease, Adult polycystic disease, Kidney stones, Diabetic Nephropathy, Good Pasteur's syndrome, Chronic renal Failure, Bright's disease, Nephro calcinosis, Renal Carcinoma etc.