The kidneys, just like the brain, heart, lungs, and liver, are vital organs essential to a person's overall survival, health experts say. This pair of bean-shaped organs primarily works by keeping the blood clean and chemically balanced and are responsible for eliminating excess water, wastes, toxins, and other impurities, regulating blood pressure, promoting the production of red blood cells, and maintaining the body's calcium levels. When a person has chronic kidney disease (CKD), his or her kidneys no longer work as they normally would, and without proper treatment, wastes can build to high levels in the blood. This holds a patient susceptible to serious health problems, including high blood pressure, anemia (low blood count), weak bones, poor nutritional health and nerve damage.
Fighting CKD is not an easy battle; it holds several physical challenges, and even emotional distress to those in the ring. But while that may be true, there are several things that patients may wield as their weapon against CKD. This includes seeking treatment, working with a doctor or a nephrologist, and most importantly, learning more about the potentially deadly disease, including four essential must-know facts about CKD.
Causes of CKD
A person develops CKD from a certain damage his or her kidney may have been incurred from a certain condition, or an injury. Diabetes, a group of metabolic disorders in which a person may have high blood sugar (glucose) levels or resistance to insulin, is the leading cause of CKD, according tonephrology experts say. People with high blood pressure problems also stand at an increased risk of developing CKD. Other related health problems cause permanent damage to the kidneys or affect renal function leading to CKD also include:
CKD is a slowly progressive disease in which loss of kidney function may take months or years, according to medical experts. A patient may not experience symptoms until the disease is advanced, or until the kidneys have reached 20 percent of its function or below.
Some of the early, nonspecific signs of CKD may include:
While CKD has been commonly seen to develop in older adults aged 65 years and older, others with the following risk factors also stand at risk of developing CKD.
Early detection and prompt treatment may help impede the progression of CKD, nephrologists say. However, CKD as a progressive disease may lead to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) -- the final phase of the kidney problem in which a patient experiences kidney failure, requiring renal replacement therapies such as dialysis or a kidney transplant for survival.
Government statistics shows that more than 84,000 patients in the United States that are currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. However, due to limited supply of organ donors in the country, most patients turn to dialysis for renal health treatment and to sustain life. While dialysis has been the most commonly used treatment for CKD or ESRD, a string of adverse effects involving certain drug solutions administered in dialysis treatments, such as GranuFlo, have also been reported to arise, warranting mounting GranuFlo lawsuits from many patients and their loved ones, and prompting the US Food and Drug Administration to carry out a Class I recall on some GranuFlo products.
Fighting CKD is not an easy battle; it holds several physical challenges, and even emotional distress to those in the ring. But while that may be true, there are several things that patients may wield as their weapon against CKD. This includes seeking treatment, working with a doctor or a nephrologist, and most importantly, learning more about the potentially deadly disease, including four essential must-know facts about CKD.
Causes of CKD
A person develops CKD from a certain damage his or her kidney may have been incurred from a certain condition, or an injury. Diabetes, a group of metabolic disorders in which a person may have high blood sugar (glucose) levels or resistance to insulin, is the leading cause of CKD, according tonephrology experts say. People with high blood pressure problems also stand at an increased risk of developing CKD. Other related health problems cause permanent damage to the kidneys or affect renal function leading to CKD also include:
- Kidney stones and infection
- Injury or trauma
- Certain toxic chemicals
- Inherited and congenital kidney problems including polycystic kidney disease
- Autoimmune disorders including scleroderma, glomerulonephritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus
- Blocked renal arteries that lead to or inside the kidneys
- Reflux nephropathy
- Long-term use of medications including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other drugs (such as cancer drugs)
CKD is a slowly progressive disease in which loss of kidney function may take months or years, according to medical experts. A patient may not experience symptoms until the disease is advanced, or until the kidneys have reached 20 percent of its function or below.
Some of the early, nonspecific signs of CKD may include:
- General ill feeling and fatigue
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Lack or loss of appetite
- Itching and dry skin
- Unintentional weight loss
- Vomiting
- Abnormally dark or light skin
- Bone Pain
- Drowsiness
- Confusion
- Decreased mental sharpness
- Muscle twitches and cramps
- Shortness of breath
- Sleep problems
While CKD has been commonly seen to develop in older adults aged 65 years and older, others with the following risk factors also stand at risk of developing CKD.
- Heart disease
- Obesity
- High cholesterol
- Family history of kidney disease
- Unhealthy lifestyle habits including smoking
Early detection and prompt treatment may help impede the progression of CKD, nephrologists say. However, CKD as a progressive disease may lead to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) -- the final phase of the kidney problem in which a patient experiences kidney failure, requiring renal replacement therapies such as dialysis or a kidney transplant for survival.
Government statistics shows that more than 84,000 patients in the United States that are currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. However, due to limited supply of organ donors in the country, most patients turn to dialysis for renal health treatment and to sustain life. While dialysis has been the most commonly used treatment for CKD or ESRD, a string of adverse effects involving certain drug solutions administered in dialysis treatments, such as GranuFlo, have also been reported to arise, warranting mounting GranuFlo lawsuits from many patients and their loved ones, and prompting the US Food and Drug Administration to carry out a Class I recall on some GranuFlo products.
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