Kidney Failure: Symptoms, Complications and Treatment

Contents 

In this article, we will take a look at:

• What is Kidney Failure?
• How does Kidney Failure occur?
• Who is prone to Kidney Failure?
• Symptoms of Kidney Failure
• Diagnosis of Kidney Failure
• Complications of Kidney Failure
• Treatment for Kidney Failure

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What is Kidney Failure?

Kidney failure is that stage when the kidney stops working completely. In this stage, the kidney gets damaged and stops performing its tasks. It is considered the last stage of Chronic Kidney disease and that is why kidney failure is also termed as “End-Stage Renal Disease” (ESRD).

It is caused when the kidney stops filtering the blood, resulting in the accumulation of wastes and the excessive amount of fluid. Kidney failure can affect the whole digestive system and the functioning of the body.

Kidney failure can be divided into three parts, relating to its capacity to excrete waste, concrete urine and maintaining fluid balance in the body- Chronic kidney failure, Acute Renal kidney failure and End- Stage Renal Disease.

Chronic Kidney failure

This can stretch for months and years but can be controlled through dialysis.

Acute Renal kidney failure

In this stage, the kidney stops functioning in its normal form.

End- Stage Renal Disease

Kidney completely stops functioning in this stage.

How does Kidney failure occur? 

Kidney failure can occur due to several reasons. It starts with the descending capacity of the kidney to filter and creating the number of imbalances in the system. High blood pressure and diabetes are considered as one of the major contributors in causing kidney failure. If a person is born with genetic diseases like nephrotic syndrome or polycystic kidney disease, then there can be chances of kidney failure.

Who is prone to Kidney failure?

You could be at the risk of facing a kidney failure if:

• You have any history of diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease
• You are suffering from any kind of kidney related problems
• You are overweight or obese
• You follow an unhealthy diet
• You have a history of liver damage or disease
• You have a low immune function
• You are taking hard medicines like antibiotics or blood pressure control medicines, which might affect the kidneys

What are the symptoms of Kidney failure? How is Kidney failure diagnosed?

Kidney failure can lead to the following symptoms

• Kidney pain
• Less or no urination
• Fluid retention and swelling
• Vomiting, indigestion, nausea or Diarrhoea
• Dehydration
• High blood pressure
• Back or abdominal pain
• Fever
• Nosebleeds
• Weakness and lethargy
• Breathlessness
• Rashes

Diagnosis

After suspecting kidney failure, the doctor might conduct few blood tests, to diagnose the problem. The blood tests are conducted to measure the level of Creatinine, BUN and Glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

What are the complications of kidney failure?

Kidney failure is the last stage of any kidney related disease. That is why there is no treatment for this; however, dialysis and kidney transplant can be the only available options for curing it.

• Chronic kidney diseases and failure leads to these complications
• Anaemia
• Poor nutrition
• Cardiovascular disease risk factors
• Hyperlipidaemia
• Abnormal growth of bone mass, also known as Osteodystrophy

What is the treatment for kidney failure?

There are two standard treatments for kidney failure, Haemodialysis and Peritoneal dialysis. The doctors perform several other types of treatments to remove the waste products from the body and clean the blood, which helps in preventing fluid retention and swelling. Dialysis helps in providing life to the patients, as there is no proper cure for kidney failure. The last option considered in this situation is Kidney transplant.