Kidney Failure

A lot of people around the world suffer from kidney failure, which is a serious condition that might lead to death if it isn’t managed.

Kidney failure

Kidney failure occurs when one or both of the kidneys stop working properly on their own, which means that they don’t filter the blood and remove toxins from it as they should. Renal failure might be short-term (acute kidney failure), which means that it progresses rapidly, or a long-term condition (chronic kidney failure), which means that it takes time to worsen.

Kidney failure is common worldwide, affecting about two million people.

Causes and risk factors leading to kidney failure

• The most prevalent causes of kidney failure are hypertension and diabetes.
• Common causes of chronic kidney disease: polycystic kidney disease, glomerular diseases, and autoimmune kidney diseases like lupus.
• Common causes of acute kidney disease: severe dehydration, urinary tract obstruction, some medications, and untreated conditions like heart and liver diseases.
• The risk of kidney failure increases in the case of having a family history, being over 60 years old, having an abnormal kidney structure, and taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for a long time.

Symptoms of kidney failure

Symptoms of renal failure vary among people, and many patients don’t feel any in the early stages. The symptoms include:

• Nausea and vomiting.
• Fatigue.
• Edema around the face, hands, and ankles.
• Changes in urination times.
• Muscle spasms.
• Loss of appetite.
• Itchy or dry skin.
• Confusion.
• Kidney failure could lead to hypertension, anemia, nerve damage, fluid around the lungs, bone disease, electrolyte imbalance, and death in certain cases.

Diagnosis of kidney failure

• Blood and urine tests.
• Imaging tests.

Treatment of kidney failure

There isn’t a cure for kidney failure, but the condition could be managed before it becomes life-threatening through:

• Medications.
• Dialysis.
• Certain cases might need a kidney transplant.