You're said to suffer from the problem of acute kidney failure if your kidneys suddenly stop working and lose their ability to eliminate waste materials including excess fluids and salts from the blood. The condition usually develops quickly over a few days or even a few hours. When this happens, waste materials accumulate in your blood, disrupting the chemical balance of your bloodstream.

So, what causes this problem?

Acute kidney failure can occur because of any one of these reasons:

1. A drop or slowdown of blood flow to the kidneys - Adequate blood circulation to the kidneys is of great importance as without it the kidneys may end malfunctioning. If blood flow to the kidney is hampered, a part of or the entire kidney may die. You may suffer from acute kidney failure if blood flow to the kidneys gets impaired due to conditions like

Heavy blood loss
Sepsis (body's inflammatory reaction to an infection, which can bring about organ failure, tissue damage, and death)
Injury
Use of certain drugs
Dehydration
Burns
Heart disease
2. Urinary obstructions - A sudden blockage that hampers your kidney's ability to eliminate urine can also bring about acute kidney failure. When this happens, it leads to a build up of toxins in the body, causing an overload of the kidneys. Conditions that bring about this urinary obstruction include:

Cervical cancer
Colon cancer
Bladder cancer
Kidney stones
Enlarged prostate
Prostate cancer
3. Disease within the kidneys - Even instances of clotting within the blood vessels of the kidneys can lead to acute kidney failure. This is because if the movement of blood cells within the blood vessels gets hampered, kidneys are not able to filter out toxins from the body. The conditions and diseases that may cause clotting, and subsequently damage to the kidneys include:

Scleroderma (an autoimmune disease that affects connective tissues and skin)
Build-up of cholesterol deposits
Glomerulonephritis (an inflammatory condition of the kidney's ball-shaped structures called glomeruli)
Hemolytic uremic syndrome (a condition that occurs due to untimely death of red blood cells)
Lupus (a disorder of the body's immune system that brings about damage to the body's own organs and tissues)

3 Causes of Acute Kidney Failure!

Kidney failure and other kidney problems are the leading causes of death nowadays. Common problems that lead to kidney failure include chronic blood pressure and chronic uncontrolled diabetes. However, there are a number of ayurvedic medications which help solve kidney failure and other kidney problems including;

1. Punarnava

Punarnava is commonly called hogweed as well but the medical name for it is boerhavia diffusa. It is extremely helpful in preventing micturition, a disorder which is characterized by unexplained fainting after urinating. However, that is not the only symptoms hogweed helps with as it also removes excess water from the body due to kidney failure.

2. Varun

Varun is commonly known as caper and is medically known as crataeva nurvala. The diseases which varun is best at dealing with are urinary tract infections and renal stones. Varun also helps in stopping the swelling and extra fluid accumulation after kidney failure.

3. Gokshura

Gokshura is known as tribulus terrestris and is an herbal tonic for the genito-urinary system. Gokshura is one of the best ways to avoid dialysis. This is because it stops infections from occurring and also clears obstructions in the urinary tract. It is also very good at regenerating the kidney cells.

4. Raktachandan

Rakt chandan is known as p. Santalinus or red sandalwood and is another excellent remedy for kidney problems. It acts as both a diuretic and an anti-infectant.

5. Palaash

Palaash, medically, is known as butea monosperma. It is a type of urinary alkalizer and it also stops micturition. A urinary alkalizer is a medication which allows the urine to pass more easily. This is yet another great remedy for kidney failure.

6. Kaasni

Kaasni is commonly known as chicory but its medical name is cichorium intybus. Kaasni gives strength to the kidneys and is also a very good alkalizer. However, its most valuable property is the fact that it helps in nephritis and nephrotic syndrome (disorder of the kidneys characterized by protein loss).

Ayurveda and Kidney Problems

Nephropathy is also known as renal disease. It is any type of damage or disease relating to the kidneys. Though not everyone with diabetes has nephropathy, however, diabetic nephropathy can cause kidney failure.

How does diabetes affect the kidney?
Kidneys are responsible for taking waste out from your blood. They have a lot of tiny blood vessels to do this. High blood sugar may kill such blood vessels. Once these blood vessels are destroyed, the kidneys may not function as well or it may even lead to kidney failure.

What increases your risk of getting diabetic nephropathy?
There are several factors which increase your risk of getting diabetic nephropathy including: \
1. High blood pressure
2. High cholesterol
3. Smoking
4. Being native american, african american or of hispanic origin, for whom risk factors have proved to be magnified
5. If you have family history of diabetic nephropathy

Symptoms and diagnosis:
There are very few noticeable symptoms, which appear when you have diabetic nephropathy, except swelling in your arms and legs. The diagnosis is done by checking for a type of protein in your urine known as albumin, which is not supposed to be there. Getting the diagnosis done early is crucial.

Preventive measures
You can prevent kidney damage by doing the following:
1. Keeping your blood sugar levels under control - keep hba1c &lt; 6-7%
2. Keeping your blood pressure under control in the range of 130/80
3. Eating healthy food
4. Exercising regularly
5. Not eating too much protein
6. Not eating too much salt
7. Reducing smoke or excessive tobacco usage

Medicines for treatment
If you do get diabetic nephropathy, here are some medicines, which can help cure it
1. Ace inhibitors which are also called angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors
2. Angiotensin ii receptor blockers (arbs)

Possible complications
1. Blood pressure may rise
2. Triglyceride levels and cholesterol levels may rise.

All About Diabetic Nephropathy

Urine is normally pale yellow or straw coloured. However, for various reasons, this can change. In fact, the change in the colour of urine is one of the first indications of a deeper underlying problem. This would also be one of the questions that the doctor would ask when suspecting any problem with the urinary tract, starting from infection to stones to cancer.

Hematuria is, therefore, a symptom and not a problem in itself. Some of the reasons for hematuria   presence of blood cells in the urine, producing a light pinkish urine, are listed below.

Urinary tract infections   starting from urethra all the way up to the kidneys

Glomerulonephritis

Kidney Stones-

Prostate enlargement

Tumours/cancers in the kidney, bladder, or prostate

Heavy exercises causing trauma to any of the internal urinary tract organs

Bleeding disorders

Certain medications

Appendicitis

Tuberculosis

As the disease progresses higher in the urinary tract, the severity of hematuria also increases. Though hematuria is a symptom in itself, there are some associated symptoms which are listed below-

Fever

Fatigue

Abdominal pain

Reduced appetite

Urge to urinate

Dysuria

Painful/burning urination

Feeling of incomplete emptying

Nocturnal urination (if prostate is enlarged)

Cloudy urine

Nausea, vomiting

Kidney pain (with stones especially)

Homeopathy believes in treating the person as a whole and not just the presenting symptoms. The doctor will ask a number of questions, some pertaining to unrelated organs, which will help them identify the reason for the hematuria. The treatment prescribed will be customised to the patient in question, but some of the common ingredients used in hematuria management are given below.

Hematuria from all causes can be managed with Terebinthina.

Bladder hematuria is better managed with Erigeron Canadense at 80% concentration while renal hematuria responds better to the same at 60% dilution.

Inflammatory hematuria can be reduced with Cantharis (80%)

Renal hematuria is better managed with Gossypium herbaceous (60%).

Renal colic with pain in the glans, groyne, and thighs responds well to Pereira brava.

Cocus cacti thrice a day is useful where there is itching of the urinary meatus along with the passing of red-coloured urine.

When there are small stones or sand particles in the urine along with pain at the end of the micturition process, Sarsaparilla thrice a day is known to be beneficial.

In some other people, Arnica Montana, Cantharis, phosphorus, and Hepar Sulphur are also used to relieve symptoms of hematuria.

As with any homeopathic treatment, the actual ingredient chosen would depend on the actual symptom that the patient presents with. Though these compounds are used, self-medication is not advisable. Talk to a specialized homeopath who will identify the right ingredient for a given clinical presentation.

Hematuria - Symptoms and Treatment

Blood circulation is one of the most important functions in our body because blood is the medium that carries oxygen and all the significant nutrients to the different organs. When blood circulation takes place, a certain pressure is exerted on the arteries of the heart and the blood vessels. However, when this pressure increases, a condition called high blood pressure develops whereby the systolic and the diastolic pressure escalate above the normal levels. High blood pressure not only leads to the damage of the heart, the brain and the eyes, it also leads to the impairment of the kidneys.

To combat a fast-paced life in an urban setting, we adapt certain lifestyle measures which serve some of the core purposes, like satiating our hunger, quickly. One of these measures includes the intake of canned products. With canned foods, cooking becomes faster and easier. But, one of the major downsides of canned foods is that too much of it can lead to the development of high blood pressure.

The link between BPA and canned foods
BPA or Bisphenol A is an industrial chemical that is present in high concentrations in canned foods and beverages. According to researchers, our body contains the reproductive hormone, estrogen in a particular amount. However, BPA mimics the properties of estrogen and tampers with the cells of the heart and our blood vessels that are otherwise sensitive to estrogen, thereby increasing the chances of high blood pressure. Because of that, same reason BPA can also lead to the development of cardiovascular disorders.

BPA is also the primary chemical used to prepare the food containers or the cans. That is why when people drink or eat from these cans, the body accumulates the chemical as well.

According to medical experts, the systolic pressure rises by 5 mm of Hg after consuming two bottles of canned beverages. To detect this effect better, a medical team conducted a study using 60 men and women, among whom some were asked to drink soy milk from canned bottles and the remaining drank the same product from glass bottles. After this, these 60 men and women underwent a urine test. The test results showed that those who drank from canned bottles had a significant amount of BPA in the urine, which concluded the fact that canned foods are not such a healthy option after all.

What can you do?
So instead of opting for canned foods, another option is basing your diet around fruits and salads. But not the canned variety, but the homemade ones. If you are strapped for time, then you can look for salad bars and cafes. Else simply look for easy to prepare recipes online, prepare the food and store them in your freezer.

How Can Canned Food Products Affect Your Kidneys?

Our kidneys act as filters which constantly flushes out toxins and excess minerals with water in form of urine. Urine contains lots of minerals which may precipitate and form stones. Urine has lots of pro-precipitating agents and anti-precipitating agents. When their balance disturbs due to some disease, stones start forming. These stones may often lead to abdominal pain which is referred to as renal colic. 

What exactly is renal colic? 

Renal or ureteric colic is the term used for typical pain in one side of abdomen in flank region starting from back and radiating forward towards lower abdomen up to scrotum. This is usually associated with nausea, vomiting and urinary discomfort. There may be blood in urine. 

How kidney stones are related to renal colic? 

Kidney stones usually form inside kidney and lies there without causing any pain. But whenever they are dislodged and stuck at mouth of kidney (pelvis) or anywhere in ureter, they block the passage of urine of that kidney. This causes swelling in kidney termed as hydronephrosis. This swelling in kidney causes renal / ureteric colic. This colic is protective phenomenon and tries to push out the stones. Small stones do come out in urine by this natural process. This spontaneous expulsion of small stones is common and many local practitioners used to get credit of it feigning benefit of their medicine. However large stones need some form of intervention to come out. Otherwise, they do harm to kidneys in long term. 

Symptoms of kidney stones along with renal /ureteric colic - 

Most stones which are lying in calyces of kidney are asymptomatic 
Nausea & vomiting 
Frequent urinary tract infections 
Fever with chills 
Foul smelling urine 
Hesitency, frequency and burning in urination 
Blood in urine (urine with a reddish, pink or brownish hue) 
Passage of small stones in urine 
Treatment of renal colic 

Treatment of ureteric/renal stones involves control of symptoms and stone removal. 

Expectant Treatment or Medical Expulsion Therapy: Small stones of less than 4 mm size usually pass on its own and some medicines like alpha-blockers and steroid hasten up their expulsion. Medium size stone (4-6 mm), sometimes passes with aid of these medications. But stones larger than 6 mm usually require intervention. 
Lithotripsy: This method involves breaking of stones by shock waves into small dusty particles which pass through urine on its own. This is usually suitable for stones upto 1.5 cm and lying in kidneys. This is non-operative treatment which can be done on OPD or Daycare basis. 
Ureteroscopy (URS): This method involves entry of very thin semirigid scope through urethra into ureter. Stone is broken by LASER and removed. This involves single day admission and spinal anaesthesia. 
RIRS- Retrograde Intra Renal Surgery: In this method very thin flexible scope in maneuvered through urethra into the upper ureter and pelvi-calyceal system of kidney. Stones in kidney or upper ureter are broken by LASER and removed. This is also done under anaesthesia and requires a day admission. 
Mini- PCNL: This method is suitable for large renal stones. In this technique, a small hole is made into the kidney through back and tiny scope is entered into the kidney. Stones are broken by LASER and removed. This is done under anaesthesia and require two to three days admission.

Renal Colic - Ways it Can Be Treated?

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