Your kidneys are essential for good health. The kidneys are organs that filter toxins and get rid of excess waste by breaking it down to be excreted. When your kidneys aren’t functioning the way they should the toxins and waste in your body build up to dangerous levels and start to cause organ shutdown. Acute kidney failure can be fαтαℓ because without your kidneys your body is essentially poisoned by toxic waste.
Kidney disease is much more common than people think. According to the CDC there could be more than 37 million people in the U.S. who have chronic kidney disease, but up to 90% of them won’t know it until they enter kidney failure. The symptoms of kidney disease can mimic the symptoms of other medical conditions making it very difficult for someone to realize that they have it. Here are 8 of most outstanding symptoms that you should know
1. Swelling / Inflammation
This symptom is one of the most characteristics of acute renal failure and therefore listed as one of the first and is that any malfunction of the kidneys is a sign that the blood is not being purified, which in turn in accumulation of waste.
Fluid retention can generate swelling in both the legs and feet and is one of the easiest signs to detect to check if your kidneys are adequately meeting their function or not.
2. Pattern / urinary cycle
The health of your kidneys can be immediately detected by the color, texture and difficulty or ease of urination, the following symptoms are the main ones that notify you if you are under this pattern, if so, go to your doctor:
– Trouble urinating
– Need to exert extra pressure while urinating
– Dark or pale urine
– Uncommon gain and small amounts of urine
– Foamy urine
– Usual need to urinate at night
3. Rashes
When the body presents the accumulation of residues in the body, it can be noticed even though the texture and the color of the skin, an itching sensation, rashes and unhealthy skin are one of the many symptoms that may indicate that you are suffering from acute renal failure.
4. Fatigue
Erythropoietin or EPO is a hormone that is produced in the kidney and controls the secretion of red blood cells, so that, when they stop working, the production of the same hormone is affected and causes fatigue and loss of energy. If you feel dizzy and tired during the day and you also notice a change in texture in the urine, you should not delay the visit to the doctor.
5. Shortness of breath
Unpurified blood results from malfunctioning of the kidneys and when this happens the count is low, the lower the red blood cells in the organism, the lower the oxygen that the cells and tissues receive and therefore, shortness of breath.
6. Metal taste in the mouth
When the body has excess waste, it alters the way people test food, which also indicates that the kidneys are not filtering well the body fluids, leaving a metallic taste in the mouth and bad breath.
7. Low back pain
The kidneys in the body are situated a little closer to the upper part of the back of the body, in fact, when the frequent pain of acute renal failure occurs, it usually manifests in this region, indicating that something is wrong with your kidneys
8. Less concentration, nausea, and dizziness
The anemia normally generates less concentration, malfunction of the kidneys and also diminishes the blood supply to the brain, making the concentration is deficient. Often, those with acute kidney failure have to deal with problems of nausea, lightheadedness, and inability to remember things.
Acute renal failure can be complicated by other serious illnesses, sometimes the symptoms go unnoticed or may be attributed to another underlying disease. Usually, when you are under suspicion of suffering from such a disease, a series of blood and urine tests are performed. The following alterations may occur: reduced urine volume (less than 500 milliliters), increased blood urea and creatinine, and high electrolytes such as potassium.
Occasionally, an abdominal ultrasound and a renal biopsy may be necessary to determine the cause of acute renal failure. The faster the disease is determined, the more likely renal failure is to be restored, as this disease causes permanent loss of renal function and those who suffer require constant dialysis or kidney transplantation in order to survive.
Although it is a more common disease in those who are already hospitalized, such as those in intensive care, it is usually secondary to complicated surgeries, generalized infections or as a result of serious injury or when the blood flow from the kidneys is interrupted, however, this may be reversible because the severity is often variable and treatment may be required for a time.
However, a decrease in the filtrate can also be generated by lowering the filtration pressure due to a decrease in blood pressure or a significant hypovolemia, another cause of this disease is the one that occurs when there is an obstructive condition that does not allow elimination of the filtrate as when there is prostatic obstruction or urethral compression by masses or ganglia.
There are also other factors that predispose the onset of this disease: advanced age, chronic infection, diabetes, hypertension, immunological disorders, renal and hepatic base problems, prostatic hypertrophy and bladder obstruction. As you can see, kidney function is quite important in the body, if you are under one of the symptoms mentioned at the beginning, go to the doctor immediately for prevention, the faster you control it, the better quality of life you can have.
