What Is Kidney Disease? An Encyclopedia of Facts!

Types of Kidney Disease:

There are two main types of kidney disease...chronic and acute. Chronic kidney disease (or CKD, as it's usually called) is a condition that develops over time. Acute kidney disease (AKD), however, begins from an injury or obstruction to your renal organs.

What Are The Causes of CKD? 

Usually, CKD is caused by high blood pressure or diabetes. Diabetes causes the kidneys to hold fluid inside your body, which in turn, leads to dehydration (which is one reason why people with diabetes urinate so much). Hypertension (a fancy word for 'high blood pressure') causes constriction of the blood vessels, usually causing restricted blood flow to the kidneys. In rare cases, it could be caused by abnormal development of the renal organs.

What Are The Causes of AKD?

AKD can be caused by a traumatic injury, but can also be caused if you have another medical condition that inhibits blood flow to your kidneys. The condition can also be caused by the ureters becoming blocked, prohibiting wastes from coming out of the body via the urine.

Conditions that affect blood flow that may cause AKD may include:

1. Heart attack 

2. Heart disease 

3. Use of NSAIDS (ibuprofen, Advil, Motrin IB, aspirin, Aleve, Naproxen, etc)

4. Liver failure 

5. Blood pressure medications (such as ACE inhibitors)

6. Infection 

7. Severe dehydration 

8. Severe allergic reactions 

9. Glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidney's filtration system)

10. Lupus (a disease that causes glomerulonephritis)

11. Blood clots 

12. Alcohol (beer, wine, spirits), or illicit drug usage (marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, etc)

13. Colon cancer 

14. Bladder cancer 

15. Kidney stones 

Diagnostic Tests:

The most common diagnostic tests used to determine kidney disease are urinalysis and blood tests. Urinalysis is used to measure how much protein (called albumin) is excreted into the urine. Blood tests, however, are used to measure GFR levels (GFR just measures how well your kidneys are functioning). Rarely, a stool sample may be used as well.

Treatments:

Hemodialysis: A large machine, or dialyzer, is used to filter out waste from your bloodstream. The blood is then returned back into your body.

Peritoneal dialysis: "Peritoneal" usually just means the abdominal region. This type of dialysis works by cleaning your bloodstream, but unlike hemodialysis, it usually works with a catheter that protrudes from your belly. The peritoneum acts as a natural filter, and helps to remove toxins from your body. After a certain amount of time, fluid with the filtered waste flows out of your body and is usually discarded. 

Renal transplant: One surgeon will remove a kidney from the donor, while another connects it to the blood vessels and bladder. The procedure usually takes about four hours. 

Remember: Transplant is NOT a cure for kidney disease, it is a treatment. In fact, there's no known cure for this condition. 

How To Prevent Kidney Disease

To prevent this condition, you could start by keeping hydrated and eating a healthful diet full of fruits and vegetables. As health experts recommend, you should be drinking a minimum of eight glasses of water per day to keep yourself hydrated, and should eat sugary or salty foods in moderation. If you're a smoker, you should quit...especially if you drink alcohol. Lose weight if you're overweight, try some athletics if you're inactive, and set a target goal to keep your blood pressure below 140/90 (if you suffer from hypertension). Take medications as directed by your physician, and if you are suffering from diabetes, try to keep your blood sugar in the target goal range as often as possible. Avoid red meats, such as beef or lamb or pork, because they contain substantial amounts of saturated fat (a type of fat that raises LDL cholesterol, or 'bad' cholesterol). Trans fats should be limited as well. In fact, "The American Heart Association recommends all people should reduce their intake of trans fats and saturated fats from 5 to 6% of total kilocalories" (cited from www.heart.org).

Prognosis:

Chronic kidney disease have many different types of seriousness, from Stage 1 to Stage 5. If left untreated, the condition can lead to an early cardiovascular disease or kidney failure. Once the kidneys are severely damaged, dialysis or transplant is usually the option needed for the patient's survival. 

Well, that's a wrap, folks! I hope this encyclopedia of facts has helped you all through you or a loved one's journey with kidney disease. Come back for more! I'm sure you'll love my next book!