Chronic kidney disease (CKD) also called chronic kidney failure is a serious health condition that occurs when you gradually lose your kidneys. When kidney failure becomes chronic, harmful levels of liquid, waste products, and electrolytes build up in your body leading to dangerous health complications.
In the early stages of kidney failure and acute kidney failure, the kidneys function but not that well.
But when it becomes chronic, you may lose both your kidneys and this will need a dialysis or kidney transplant. There are multiple treatment options for chronic kidney disease that usually control the underlying cause.
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Symptoms of Chronic Kidney Disease
During the early stages of kidney failure, it is hard to see the symptoms. However, most doctors see these symptoms when they are conducting other tests, mostly blood mad urine tests. When the condition reaches advanced levels, the signs and symptoms are noticeable, and seeking medical attention is important.
If you are at a higher risk of developing kidney disease, go for regular checkups so that you can prevent serious kidney damage in the future.
The most common symptoms of chronic kidney disease include:
- Swollen hands, feet, and ankles or face when it is severe
- Fatigue
- High blood pressure
- Having itchy skin which is persistent
- Finding it hard to get or maintain an erection
- Loss of appetite
- Frequent urination, especially at night
- Shortness of breath
- Unexplained weight gain or loss
- Vomiting and nausea
- Finding it hard to sleep and unexplained headaches
- Abdominal pain
- Presence of protein in urine.
If you have any or more of the symptoms above, this can be a sign of serious kidney problems. The best thing to do is consult your doctor to save your kidneys and your life.
Causes of Chronic Kidney Disease
Mostly, chronic kidney disease is caused by other conditions that make it hard for your kidneys to function perfectly for months or years. Some of the long-term diseases and conditions that lead to chronic kidney disease include:
- Diabetes mostly Type 1 and Type 2
- Kidney diseases
- Obstructed urine flow
- High blood pressure
- Fetal development problem
- Illegal drug abuse
- Physical injury or a sharp blow to the kidneys
- Long-term and regular use of certain medications
- High cholesterol levels
- Fetal development problem
- Malaria and yellow fever
- Autoimmune diseases.
What are the Risk Factors of Chronic Kidney Disease?
There are multiple conditions and situations that increase your risk of chronic kidney failure. The risk factors include:
- High cholesterol levels
- Family history of kidney disease
- Kidney disease that occurs at birth (congenital kidney disease)
- If you are 60 years and above
- Certain medications
- Overexposure to toxins
- Hypertension
- If you have a heart disease
- Bladder obstruction
- Obesity.
How is Chronic Kidney Disease Diagnosed?
Chronic kidney disease rarely shows symptoms until your kidneys are seriously damaged. When you go for a diagnosis, your doctor will ask about your symptoms. If you have health conditions that put you at a higher risk of CKD, don’t fail to mention them to your doctor.
Here are some tests doctors conduct to diagnose chronic kidney failure:
Physical Exam
During a physical exam, doctors examine you thoroughly to know what can be causing your symptoms. For example, if your kidney disease is causing fluids to back up in the heart or lungs, your doctor will have to examine them. Doctors listen to the organs using a stethoscope. The results will give your more information about your problem.
Kidney Scans
There are different kidney scans that can be done, including computed tomography, an ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging. All these tests help determine if there are blockages in the urine flow. Besides, they can reveal the shape and size of your kidneys. When the kidney disease has reached advanced stages, your kidneys will be smaller and uneven.
Blood Test
In a blood test, your doctor will know whether all the waste substances are filtered out well. When your kidneys are working perfectly, they filter out creatinine and urea adequately. If you have high levels of creatine and urea, your doctor will diagnose chronic kidney disease.
Urine test
A urine test is meant to show if there are any abnormalities in waste excretion. For instance, if you have excess amounts of protein in your urine, this shows that you have a kidney problem. Moreover, the urine sediment and cells found in the urine can be examined to show detailed results.
Biopsy
In a kidney biopsy test, a unique needle is inserted into your kidney. The test requires a strict sterile technique and it involves taking a small piece of kidney tissue for examination. The test is usually done when your doctor is unsure of the main cause of your symptoms.
After a sample of your kidney tissue is collected, your doctor will examine it under a microscope to determine what is causing your symptoms.
Chronic Kidney Disease Treatment and Prevention
Medication
If you have diabetes and high blood pressure, your doctor can give you medication because these diseases increase your risk of diabetes. If your cholesterol levels are high, you can take statins that help lower cholesterol levels.
Furthermore, if your body is not producing enough blood cells (anemia), your doctor can prescribe supplements that help increase red blood cell production. If your condition is worse, you will need a blood transfusion that will enhance your red blood cell health. Fluid retention is another problem that causes kidney failure.
Taking diuretics will help relieve swelling and it makes you urinate frequently to aid in waste excretion. Most individuals with chronic kidney disease have low levels of Vitamin D essential for calcium absorption. Your doctor will advise you to take Vitamin D supplements that will help reduce the risk of bone fractures.
Manage High Blood Pressure and Diabetes
Chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes largely increase your risk of chronic kidney disease. Controlling these conditions will reduce the chances of developing chronic kidney failure and other complications. After visiting your doctor, always follow instructions, recommendations, and advice to be on the safer side.
Live a Healthy Lifestyle
Living an unhealthy lifestyle is one of the main causes of diseases and death. For instance, smoking, alcohol/drug abuse, eating unhealthy foods, and not being active are the main causes of liver cirrhosis, obesity, liver failure, kidney failure, etc.
You should avoid smoking at all costs and quit bad lifestyle habits. Still, maintaining a healthy body weight will make it easy for the body to do it’s work without straining. Furthermore, seek advice from your doctor before taking over-the-counter medications supplements.
Dietary Changes
A healthy diet helps you stay protected from a wide range of health problems. If you have chronic kidney disease, dietary changes will be necessary. One thing you have to reduce is protein intake.
As the body produces protein, it creates more waste products that your kidneys filter. So, reducing protein intake will make the job simple for your kidney.
Still, monitor the levels of potassium, salt, and phosphate intake because they can make the kidney’s work to be hard if they are in excess.
You should know which foods are high in these substances and which are low so that the kidneys can work efficiently. If your kidneys are not working well, they will not filter out the substances with ease.
If you have chronic kidney failure, you have to watch how much potassium you consume because high levels of potassium lead to heart paralysis or heart function abnormalities which can be life-threatening. Furthermore, individuals with chronic kidney failure lose weight fast, and consuming enough calories will help them regain their weight.
However, you should take to a dietitian before taking calories because they can easily cause fatty liver disease when taken in excess.
Avoid Exposure to Certain Substances
Long-term exposure to alcohol, drugs, and lead leads to chronic kidney failure. You should avoid long-term exposure to the substances to keep your kidney safe. Still, avoid exposure to solvents, pesticides, perfumes, fuel, and other toxic chemicals.
Stay Active
Exercise is one of the activities that protect you from multiple health conditions. Regular exercise helps you manage diabetes, cholesterol, and high blood pressure levels. Talk to your doctor about the best exercise program that will suit your weight, fitness level, healthy, and age.
End-stage Treatment
Sometimes, it can become hard to control chronic kidney disease through medication and dietary changes. This mostly happens when your kidneys have suffered serious damage.
The stage is called end-stage kidney disease. At this stage, kidneys fail to eliminate waste products as fast as they are being produced by the body.
The best way to treat this stage is by kidney dialysis or kidney transplant, but most doctors try to avoid them because they are fatal.
1. Dialysis
A dialysis is a treatment option that involves filtering excess fluids and waste products out of your blood. Dialysis is done in two ways: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
Hemodialysis:
In hemodialysis, a machine and unique filter are used to filter the blood outside your body for cleaning and sent back. Your doctor gets access to your blood vessels and it requires minor surgery, usually by arm. The best thing about hemodialysis is that it can be done at home or in a hospital, but more preferable in a hospital.
Peritoneal Dialysis:
In peritoneal dialysis, a cleansing fluid is inserted in the abdomen lining to give access to the abdominal cavity. The abdomen lining filters and removes the waste products from the blood. After some time, the fluid with the waste flows out of the abdomen and is discarded easily.
The treatment is done 4 to 6 times a day and the duration should be 3 to 5 hours per day. However, peritoneal dialysis puts you at risk of infection.
2. Transplant
Secondly, we have kidney transplant which is only convenient when you find a perfect donor. In a kidney transplant, your donor needs to have the same blood type as you for it to work. The best matches are siblings and close relatives or a deceased donor who matches your blood group.
However, sometimes the transplants fail, but the cases are low. Most patients who get a kidney donation live up to 5 years after surgery, but it puts you at a higher risk of infection during surgery.
Complications of Chronic Kidney Disease
If chronic kidney diseases advance to kidney failure, the complications below can happen easily:
- Dry skin or skin color changes
- Low levels of red blood cells production (Anemia)
- Central nervous system damage
- Fluid retention
- Poor sex drive and reduced testosterone
- Erectile dysfunction in men
- Insomnia
- Weak immune system
- Stomach ulcers.
Wrapping Up
Do you know that the health of your kidneys affects how other systems and body organs function? If your kidneys are not working well, multiple complications will occur. These complications include stroke, nerve damage, infertility, dementia, erectile dysfunction, fluid build-up in the lungs, bone fractures, and cognitive impairment.
When you live a healthy lifestyle and take medications, you can survive many years with chronic kidney failure. Sometimes, this condition can be reversed when your kidneys recover fully and start working efficiently. However, it needs a lot of sacrifices, determination, patience, and readiness for change.
You have to maintain a kidney-friendly to be on the safer side. If the condition reaches end-stage kidney disease, a kidney transplant or dialysis will be required. Otherwise, if it is left untreated, the disease leads to death.
