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.