Often, early stages of kidney diseases do not come with specific signs and symptoms and most people will remain unaware of their condition. However, certain symptoms may be perceived that may indicate that a person is suffering from early stages of kidney failure. When you are diagnosed with kidney failure (also known as renal failure) in the initial stages, certain measures can be taken to retard the progression of the renal disease. This can also help reverse the condition and improve the quality of life of the patient. On the basis of a typical cause, the symptoms of kidney failure are grouped into specific categories that are given below. If you notice any of the specified renal failure symptoms, it is recommended to immediately fix up an appointment with your doctor and get your diagnostic tests done. 

Symptoms of Renal Failure from the accumulation of waste products in the body: 

Metallic taste in mouth 
Nausea and vomiting 
Facing difficulty in concentrating 
Loss of appetite 
Aversion towards meat (protein aversion) 
Itching or pruritus 
Symptoms of Renal Failure from the accumulation of fluid in the body: 

Dyspnoea or shortness of breath (this happens due to the accumulation of fluid in the lungs).
Swelling is seen in the feet, hands or face. 
Symptoms of Kidney Failure from damage to the kidneys: 

The amount of urine production changes, though it is not a reliable sign Haematuria or blood in the urine (usually in microscopic quantity). 
Frothiness or foam in the urine (usually happens when protein is present in the urine). 
Symptoms of Kidney Failure due to decreased blood production (anemia): 

Dyspnoea or shortness of breath. 
Fatigue Weakness. 
Confusion If you happen to feel cold all the time. 
The following diagnostic tests will be performed by your doctor in order to determine whether the symptoms are the manifestation of a kidney failure or not: 

Urine analysis - In this test, a sample of your urine is tested to find traces of blood, white blood cells or proteins which may indicate a problem in kidney function. 
Blood Tests - This includes tests for BUN and creatinine in the blood which are usually removed from the blood if the kidneys function properly. 
Actions must be taken when you show signs and symptoms of kidney failure: 

It is common that the symptoms of early renal failure are not always prominent, but if any of the above symptoms are witnessed, it is recommended to met a physician to determine whether they are caused by a kidney disease. You can pen-down the symptoms that you feel are related and bring it to the doctor when you fix up the next appointment. It is essential to know about your disease at the earliest as it will give you time and the ease of taking measures to retard the damage process and will decrease or delay the probability of undergoing dialysis or kidney transplant.

Kidney Failure - What Should You Know About it?

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

The bean-shaped organ kidneys in our body is one of the most important parts that helps in eliminating waste products from the body and also for maintaining the hormonal balance. But due to various reasons such as stress or wrong diet, often the kidneys may face irregular working disorder.

Of course, there are a number of medicines today and also medical treatments to cure various kidney diseases. But if you are not pretty sure of taking such treatments and wish to have something much secure, then trying the home remedies can be the best thing. Ayurveda has a list of remedies that help in curing such kidney issues.

Things To Avoid

Reducing Salt Intake: When the condition of the kidney is not feasible, consuming salt over it can make the situation even worse. If you are urinating, again and again, this means that your body already have an excess amount of potassium and the kidney failure is may be due to an abnormal balance of hormones in the body fluid. Hence, it is the best thing to take a low salt diet. Consuming frozen food items may also add extra salt to the body and hence an ideal practice is to go for fresh fruits, vegetables and meat items.
Lowering Protein Intake: Now, this is a tricky thing and you need to cross check this. There are many times when kidney problems take place due to the high amount of protein intake while some other times it takes place due to lack of protein in the body. So, lowering the protein intake can be done to cross check whether the condition is improving or not.
Remedies To Follow

Herbal Tea: Among various natural remedies that can be started to cure kidney ailments, one of the best one is to include herbal tea in the diet. There are a number of herbal tea options that can be included in your daily diets such as dandelion tea, blueberry tea and marshmallow tea, but the one that is said to affect the most is the green tea. Green tea is said to be high in antioxidant properties and hence they are great in curing kidney ailments.
Aloe Vera Juice: This one plant helps in curing a number of issues both externally as well as internally. Whether it is skin issue or intestine issue, aloe vera juice can be of great help. Aloe Vera has an anti-oxidant property and hence it is great in treating kidney infection and then curing the diseases of the kidney completely.
Water: This can be the simplest way to treat any kind of kidney problem. If you are in the initial stage of any kidney ailment, then the best way is to treat it with water. Drink at least about 6-8 glasses of water each day that will allow you to urinate more and hence the problem may get cured.
Yoga: Pranayam, suryanamaskar and meditation should be followed everyday. 
There are different medicines and also herbs available to treat kidney dysfunction. But these above mentioned can be the easiest methods of all.

Kidney Dysfunction - Ayurvedic Remedies For It!

Kidneys and Kidney Diseases

The kidneys are organs which aim to filter out huge amounts of blood to produce 1-2 quarts of urine. They also perform the task of filtering out the excessive waste materials from the blood stream.

However, there can be cases when infection enters your bloodstream and affects your kidneys. This can cause serious kidney diseases such as cysts, stones and cancer.

Diabetes: What is it and how does it affect your kidneys?

Diabetes is a condition which is caused when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin (Type 1 Diabetes) or when your body doesn t react to the insulin in a normal way (Type 2 Diabetes). The sugar in your food cannot be broken down effectively which can result in problems in your kidneys.

The glucose content in your blood causes considerable damage to the filters in your kidneys. When the filters in the kidney are damaged, a particular protein called albumin releases into your blood and your urine. The damage in the kidneys can affect the kidney function and obstruct the filtering out of wastes from the blood.

Thus, diabetes could be attributed as a major cause of kidney disease.

Managing Diabetes-

Managing diabetes is crucial to avoid kidney diseases. However, diabetes doesn t have a proper cure which is why it is even more important to take care of your health in such cases.

Here are a few ways in which diabetic patients can aim to be healthy and prevent kidney diseases:

Quit Smoking: Smoking increases diabetic complications such as nerve damage and heart strokes which can in-turn affect your kidneys  functions adversely. Hence, it is advisable to quit smoking to keep diabetes under control.

Healthy Meals: Opt for healthy meals which are balanced and packed with nutrients as they help in increasing the insulin function in your body. Foods such as green leafy vegetables, legumes, fruits and lean meat should be included in your meals.

Engage in Physical Exercise: A diabetic person needs to engage in physical exercise in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Obesity can increase your chances of complications and can be detrimental to your kidneys as well.

How Does Managing Diabetes Help 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?

At a point when our bodies process the protein we eat, the procedure creates waste products. In kidneys, millions of tiny blood vessels act as filters since they have even tinier holes in them. As blood flows through these vessels, little molecules such as waste items may press through the gaps. These waste items turn out to be a part of the urine. Helpful substances, such as protein and red blood cells are too enormous to go through the gaps in the filter and stay in the blood.

Diabetes and kidneys: Diabetes can harm the kidneys. Abnormal amounts of glucose make the kidneys filter a lot of blood. After a couple of years, they begin to spill and helpful protein is thereby, lost in urine. Having low protein levels in the urine is called micro albuminuria.

Medication: When kidney disease is analyzed on time, during micro albuminuria, a few medications may keep kidney disease from getting worse. Having elevated levels of protein in the urine is called macro albuminuria. When kidney disease is looked up some other time during macro albuminuria, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) usually follows.

Causes: Strain on the organs may cause the kidneys to lose their filtering capacity. Waste items then begin to develop in the blood. Finally, the kidneys start to fail. This failure, ESRD, is intense. A patient with ESRD needs a kidney transplant or a blood filtration by a machine (dialysis).

Other complications: Individuals with diabetes will probably have other kidney-related issues such as bladder infections and nerve damages in the bladder.

Preventing complications: Not everybody with diabetes goes through a kidney disease. Elements that can impact kidney disease improvement include genetics, blood-sugar control and blood pressure. The more a person keeps diabetes and blood pressure under control, the lower the chances of getting a kidney disease.

Keeping your glucose level high can counteract diabetic kidney problems. Research has demonstrated that blood glucose control diminishes the danger of micro albuminuria by 33%. For individuals who suffer from micro albuminuria have now a reduced danger of advancing to macro albuminuria. Different studies have recommended that blood glucose control can reverse micro albuminuria.

Treatment: Essential treatments for kidney infection include control of blood glucose and blood pressure. Blood pressure dramatically affects the rate at which the condition progresses. Indeed, even a gentle increase in blood pressure can rapidly aggravate a kidney infection. Four approaches to bring down your blood pressure are:

Shedding pounds
Eating less salt
Maintaining a strategic distance from liquor and tobacco
Exercising regularly
A low-protein diet can decrease the amount of lost protein in the urine and increase the protein levels in the blood. Never begin a low-protein diet without talking to your physician or nephrologist.

Diabetes & Kidney Problems - Know The Complications!

Don't wait any longer, manage your Bartter Syndrome online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Bartter Syndrome - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES