In most cases, chronic kidney disease evolves without symptoms until it reaches its most advanced stage. However, there may be some signs such as:
- Nausea and vomiting; Loss of appetite without apparent cause; Excessive tiredness during the day; Difficulty falling asleep; Changes in the amount of urine during the day; Difficulty concentrating or thinking; Muscle cramps or tremors; Constant itching throughout the body; Swelling of the feet and hands; Feeling of constant shortness of breath.
Generally, chronic kidney disease is more common in people who suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes, but who do not receive adequate treatment. This is because excess pressure in the vessels and high blood sugar levels cause damage to the small blood vessels in the kidneys which, over time, lose their ability to properly filter blood and eliminate toxins.
So, as this is a silent disease, it is advised that people at higher risk, such as the elderly or patients with high blood pressure or uncontrolled diabetes, do a urine and blood test once a year to assess the quality of the kidney filtration.
What can cause kidney disease
Kidney changes are usually caused by other health problems such as:
- Uncontrolled diabetes; High blood pressure; Kidney inflammation; Benign prostatic hypertrophy; Recurrent kidney infections.
After identifying the chronic kidney disease, it is important to know the specific cause that is causing kidney damage, in order to initiate the appropriate treatment and avoid worsening the situation.
How the treatment is done
The most important step in treating chronic kidney disease is to identify what is causing kidney damage and start treatment for that problem. Thus, if it is possible to eliminate the cause, it is possible to cure kidney disease, if it is in a little advanced stage.
In addition, it is recommended to eat a diet with more carbohydrates and less protein, sodium and potassium to facilitate the functioning of the kidneys. Learn more about how to treat this problem.
In the most severe cases, where the disease is very advanced or the cause cannot be identified, kidney damage can cause kidney failure, which needs to be treated with frequent dialysis or kidney transplantation, for example.
