Chronic Kidney disease is the gradual loss of the kidney functions; it is triggered when the kidney experiences severe harm. Thus, it loses the ability to filter the blood from poisons and let the waste matter out properly. This leads to having the poisons gathered in the body; consequently, complications take place affecting the health of humans. Kidney is made up of nephrons, and nephron is defined as the structural and functional unit of the kidney. Accordingly, the chronic kidney disease attack these units impacting them gradually over the course of months or years .
Functions of the Kidney include the following:
- Filtering the blood from wastes.
- Eliminating the wastes from the body through the urine.
- Getting rid of the surplus water in the human body.
- Regulating the blood pressure.
- Excreting some hormones.
Causes of the Kidney Disease:
- Diabetes.
- High blood pressure.
- Chronic kidney inflammation.
- Kidney artery blockage.
- Use of some medicines having long-term effect on the kidney.
- Birth defects in the kidney.
- Kidney stones.
Symptoms:
Detecting the chronic kidney disease is elusive as it slowly develops over the course of months or years. Therefore, its symptoms only appear when the disease reacheslate stages and noticeably impacts the kidney functions. Symptoms include:
- Kidney functions failure.
- Decline in the normal urinating pace.
- Edema: fluid accumulation in the body tissues.
- Fatigue.
- Appetite loss.
- Nausea.
- insomnia.
Diagnosis
Kidney disease can be diagnosed using several ways; they are:
- Blood testing identifying the keratin and nitrogen forming urea.
- Urine testing.
- Ultrasound imaging.
- CT scan.
- Kidney endoscope.
Risk Factors:
Risk factors related to the kidney disease can be summed as follows:
- Diabetes.
- High blood pressure.
- Cardiovascular diseases.
- High cholesterol level.
- Genetics.
Complications:
A spate of complications results from developing the kidney disease; they are as follows:
- Kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplanting a new kidney.
- High blood pressure.
- Cardiac diseases.
- Anemia.
- Osteoporosis.
- Fluid accumulation in the body; leading to the foot and leg swelling.
- Potassium level increase in the body, affecting the heart functions.
Treatment:
The treatment of the chronic kidney disease begins with identifying the causes triggering the disease. Diabetes and high blood pressure are seen as the principal causes of most of the chronic kidney disease cases; treatment is as following:
- Medicinal treatment: for treating symptoms and protecting against complications.
- Renal Dialysis.
- Nutritional treatment: following a diet depending on reducing sodium and protein.
- Kidney transplantion.
What can be done to preserve the kidneys?
There are many easy ways to reduce the risk of the kidney disease, as follows:
- Maintaining fitness and activity: Maintaining fitness helps to lower blood pressure, and therefore reducing the risk of chronic kidney diseases.
- Controlling the level of sugar in the blood: Almost half of the diabetics experience complications that may develop to kidney damage, therefore it is so important for the diabetics to keep levels of blood sugar at regular rates and check kidney functions regularly.
- Controlling blood pressure: Although many people may be aware that the high blood pressure can lead to a stroke or heart attack, but few of them do not know that hypertension is also the most common cause of kidney damage. It is therefore very important to maintain the level of blood pressure at the normal range as much as possible and monitor it regularly.
- Eating healthy food and maintaining an ideal weight: Maintaining a healthy weight, as much as possible, can help to prevent diabetes, heart diseases and others disorders related to chronic kidney diseases.
- Limiting intake of salt: The recommended amount of sodium is between 5-6 grams daily (about a teaspoon), in order to reduce the salt intake as well as the amount of junk food.
- Consuming a suitable amount of fluids on a regular basis: Although clinical researches have not agreed on the ideal amount of water and fluids to be consumed daily in order to maintain good health, but they proposed to abide by conventional wisdom, i.e. to drink from 1.5 to 2 liters of water daily during the winter and 2-3 liters during the summer.
- Quitting smoking: Smoking slows the blood flow to the kidney, and hence weakens their ability to function properly. Smoking also increases the risk of kidney cancer by 50%.
- Refraining from taking OTC medicines frequently without consulting your doctor: It is known that the anti-inflammatory drugs such as non-steroidal ibuprofen may cause kidney diseases if taken frequently. Such drugs may not pose a significant risk for healthy people, and can be used for emergencies only, but in cases of chronic pains, such as arthritis or the back pain, it is advisable to consult a doctor to find a way to control the pain without risking the kidney.
- Making sure to check kidney's functions, especially if you have one or more risk factors:
- Diabetes.
- High blood pressure.
- Obesity.
- A family member with a kidney disease.
