Everything you need to know about kidney failure
what is kidney failure?
your kidneys are pair of organs located toward your lower back. One kidney is on each side of your spine. They filter your blood and remove toxins from your body. Kidney send toxins to your blader, which your body later removes toxins during urination.
Kidney failure occurs when your kidneys lose the ability to sufficiently filter waste from your blood. Many factors can interfere with your kidney health and function, such as:
- toxic exposure to environmental pollutants of certain medications
- certain acute and chronic diseases
- severe dehydration
- kidney trauma
Your body becomes overloaded with toxins if your kidneys can't do their regular job.
This can lead to kidney failure, which can be life-threatening if left untreated.
Symptoms of kidney failure
usually someone with kidney failure will have a few symptoms of the disease. Sometimes no symptoms are present. Possible symptoms include:
- a reduced amont of urine
- swelling of your legs, ankles, and feet from retention of fluids caused by the failure of the kidneys to eliminate waste
- unexplained shortness of breath
- excessive drowness or fatigue
- persistent nausea
- confusion
- pain or pressure in your chest
- sezures
- coma
Early signs of kiney failure
Symptoms of early stage kidney disease may be difficult to pinpoint, They're often subtle and hard to identify. if you experience early signs of kidney disease, the may include:
- decreased urine output
- fluid retention that leads to swelling in limbs
shortness of breath
Causes of kidney failure
kidny failure can be the result of several conditions or causes. The cause typically also determines the type of kidney failure.
People who are most at risk usually have one or more of the following causes:
Loss of blood flow to the kidneys
- A sudden loss of blood flow to your kidneys can prompt kidney failure. Some conditions that cause loss of blood flow to the kidneys include:
- a heart attack
- heart disease
- scarring of the liver or liver failure
- dehydration
- an allergic reaction
a severe infection, such as sepsis
High blood pressure and anti-inflammatory medications can also limit blood flow.
Urine elimination problems
When your body can't eliminate urine, toxins build up and overload the kidneys. some cancers can block the urine passageways, such as:
- prostate (most common type in men)
- colon
- cervical
- bladder
Other conditions can interfere with urination and possibly lead to kidney failure, including:
- kidney stones
- an enlarged prostate
- blood clots whithin your urinary
- damage to your nerves that control your bladder
Other causes
Some other things that may lead to kidney failure include:
- a blood clot in or around your kidneys
- infection
- an overload of toxins from heavy metals
- drugs and alcohol
- vasculitis, an inflammation of blood vessels
- lupus, an autoimmune disease that can cause inlammation of many body organs
- glomerulonephritis, an inflammation of the small bloo vessels of the kidneys
- hemolytic urine syndrome, which involves the breakdonwn of red blood cells following a bacterial infection, usally of the intestines
- multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells in your bone marrow
- scleroderma. an autoimmune condition that effects your skin
- thrombotic thromboytopenic purpura, a disorder that causes blood clots in smal vessels
- chemtherapy drugs that treat cancer and som autoimmune disease
- dyes used in som imaging tests
- certain antiboitics
- uncontrolled diabetes
5 types of kidney failure
There are five different types of kidney failure:
Acute prerenal kidney failure
Insufficient blood flow to the kidneys can cause acute prerenal kidney. The kidneys can't filter toxins from the blood without enough blood flow. This type of kidney failure can usually be cured once your doctor determines the cause of the decreased blood flow.
Acute intrinsic kidney failure
Acute intrinsic kidney failure can result from direct trauma to the kidneys, such as physical impact or an accident. Causes also include toxin overload anad ischemia, which is alack of oxygen to the kidneys.
- severe bleedin
- shock
- renal blood vessel obstruction
- glomerulonephritis
Chronic prerenal kidney failure
When there isn'nt enough blood flowing to the kidneys for an extended period of time, the kidneys begin to shrink and lose the ability to function.
Chronic intrinsic kidney failure
This happens when there's long-term damage to the kidneys due to intrisic kisdney disease. intrinsic kidney disease devolops from a direct trauma to the kidney, such as severe bleeding or a lack of oxygen.
Chronic post-renal kidney failure
A long-term blockage of the urinary tract prevents urination. this causes pressure and eventual kidney damage.
kidney failure test
There are several tests your doctor can use to diagnose kidney failure.
Urinalysis
Your doctor may take a urine sample to test for any obnormalities, including abnormal protein or sugar that spills into the urine.
they may also perform a urinary sediment examination. This test measures the amount of red and white blood cel, looks for high levels of bacteria, and searches for high numbers of tube-shaped particles called cellular casts.
Urine volume measurements
Measuring urine output is one of the simplest tests to help diagnose kidney failure. For example, low urinary output may suggest that kidney disease is due to a urinary blockage, which multiple illnesses of injuries can cause.
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