Thursday, October 1, 2009
Symptoms - Kidney Disease
The waste products accumulate in kidney disease and lead to different symptoms.
When kidneys become diseased or damaged, waste products and fluids build up in the body. You could have nausea or loss of appetite. You could also feel weak and irritable. There is water retention in the limbs or generally throughout the body called (called edema). The blood pressure can be raised (hypertension) and decreased production of red blood cells can lead to lowering of hemoglobin (anemia).
On testing blood and urine samples, the following changes may be seen:
Albuminuria or Proteinuria - Albumin, a vital protein component is lost in the urine.
Hypoalbuminemia - Inadequate amount of protein in the blood.
Hyperlipidemia - Excess of fats in the blood.
Anemia - Decrease in the number of red blood corpuscles.
Hypocalcemia - Inadequate amount of calcium in the blood.
Hyperkalemia - increasere in the level of potassium in the blood.
The blood also has elevated levels of Urea, Creatinine.
When kidneys become diseased or damaged, waste products and fluids build up in the body. You could have nausea or loss of appetite. You could also feel weak and irritable. There is water retention in the limbs or generally throughout the body called (called edema). The blood pressure can be raised (hypertension) and decreased production of red blood cells can lead to lowering of hemoglobin (anemia).
On testing blood and urine samples, the following changes may be seen:
Albuminuria or Proteinuria - Albumin, a vital protein component is lost in the urine.
Hypoalbuminemia - Inadequate amount of protein in the blood.
Hyperlipidemia - Excess of fats in the blood.
Anemia - Decrease in the number of red blood corpuscles.
Hypocalcemia - Inadequate amount of calcium in the blood.
Hyperkalemia - increasere in the level of potassium in the blood.
The blood also has elevated levels of Urea, Creatinine.
Kidney Disease:
The two most common causes of kidney disease are Diabetes and Hypertension.
Inflammation of kidney called Glomerulonephritis or infection of the kidney called Pyelonephritis can also lead to kidney failure.
Types of kidney diseases.
Acute & Chronic Glomerulonephritis:
This is due to inflammation of the "Glomerulus". Most kidney diseases attack the nephron causing them to loose their filtering capacity. This usually is a slow, gradual process and can sometimes take many years. Sometimes it can also happen in a short span of time. Glomerulus forms the sieve part of the nephrons. Depending on the extent of the inflammation either the glomerulus can recover completely or partially or not at all.This inflammation usually can occur three to four weeks after an attack of sore throat or tonsillitis. If they are destroyed by this inflammation, kidney failure sets in. Usually an acute glomerulonephritis recovers in 2-3 weeks. Acute glomerulonephritis can lead to long-term changes. If the glomeruli are damaged, they slowly become completely burnt out over months or years.This irrecoverable damage is called "Chronic Glomerulonephritis".
Pyelonephritis:
E. Coli is the commonest organism causing Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
this usually start as a urinary tract infection (UTI). The infection affects the kidney and the renal tubules are destroyed. Over years, the urine's concentrating capacity can be lost. This leads to dehydration and salt loss and eventually leading to kidney failure.
Diabetes & Kidney disease:
There are two types of Diabetes Mellitus. One is dependent on Insulin, and other are not dependent on Insulin .
In almost 25% of all diabetics kidneys can get affected at some stage leading to kidney failure. Usually this is a very gradual process. The incidence of kidney diseases in diabetes is even higher if there is associated Hypertension (raised blood pressure).
Nephrotic Syndrome:
A syndrome is a combination of signs and symptoms characteristic of a specific
What do the Kidneys do?
Kidney filters out waste products from blood stream. Normally 200 litres of water are filtered through the kidney daily and only about 2 liters are passed as urine.
Usually, there are two kidneys in each one of us. They are bean shaped and weigh about 150gms and are 12 cm x 5 cms in size. They are located in the middle of the back, just below the rib cage. Each kidney is made up of small, complex units called nephrons. The two kidneys contain about two million nephrons. The nephrons work continuously to filter out waste products from the blood stream, all of which come from the food that one eats and the fluid that one drinks. The kidney also regulates the concentration of most of the constituents of body fluids.
They also retain certain substances that are needed by the body. In addition, the kidneys stimulate the body to produce red blood cells, regulate blood pressure, keep bones healthy by converting inactive Vitamin D to its active form and maintain the water and pH (acidity / alkalinity) balance of the body
Usually, there are two kidneys in each one of us. They are bean shaped and weigh about 150gms and are 12 cm x 5 cms in size. They are located in the middle of the back, just below the rib cage. Each kidney is made up of small, complex units called nephrons. The two kidneys contain about two million nephrons. The nephrons work continuously to filter out waste products from the blood stream, all of which come from the food that one eats and the fluid that one drinks. The kidney also regulates the concentration of most of the constituents of body fluids.
They also retain certain substances that are needed by the body. In addition, the kidneys stimulate the body to produce red blood cells, regulate blood pressure, keep bones healthy by converting inactive Vitamin D to its active form and maintain the water and pH (acidity / alkalinity) balance of the body
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