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!

A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure that patients of kidney disease go through in order to replace a non functioning kidney with a live one that is healthy and functions well. Other methods to treat this disease also include dialysis, which basically is an artificial way of doing what our kidneys are designed to do. When dialysis does not work, many doctors recommend a kidney transplant. A replacement or donated kidney can come from a living donor or a non-living donor. This new kidney will mostly work towards keeping the blood clean, which is a function that stops when the old and diseased kidneys fail.
 
So, here's a list of five essential facts that you need to keep in mind if you are looking at a kidney transplant:

1. Donors: While there are living and non-living donors, the doctor will have to ensure that your donor is someone who has no medical history of complications, kidney disease or any other medical condition like diabetes or hypertension. Also, the donor would have to have two proper functioning kidneys. Further, one of the most important factors is the blood group. The blood group of the donor and the patient must match for the transplant to be possible.

2. Procedure: During the surgery, the patient will be under general anesthesia. The surgeon will make an incision in the lower abdomen area and the blood vessels of the new kidney will be connected surgically with the vein and iliac artery of the patient. Thereafter, any excess fluid will be drained before wrapping up the surgery.

3. Rejection: The patient's body may also reject the kidney. The immune system of the patient may mistake the new kidney as an attacking body and its natural defenses may work against it, which will lead to complications. For this, doctors usually prescribe immunosuppressant medicines that will help in preventing such an eventuality. 

4. Longevity: While a living donor's kidney may last longer, a non-living donor's kidney will not enjoy such a long life. In such cases, a second transplant can be conducted.

5. Diet: After the transplant, the patient will be required to go through a number of measures like coughing to show that the lungs are clear, as well as administration of fluids and some amount of examination and dialysis. Also, the patient will have to have a special diet that includes raw fruits and vegetables, and plenty of non-fat dairy ingredients.

A kidney transplant is a major operation that can change your lifestyle in the long run. 

5 Things You Should Know About Kidney Transplant

Kidneys are an important part of the human body. From filtering wastes from the blood to maintaining the blood pressure and red blood cell count in the body, the kidney does it all. Both the kidneys are essential organs and should there be any discomfort in the kidneys, one should consult a medical practitioner as soon as possible. Kidney failure is a common problem in people. This issue manifests itself with certain signs and symptoms. One should listen to these symptoms and act quickly before the condition worsens. Here are some of the signs and symptoms of kidney failure.

Interestingly, in the initial stages, kidney failure portrays no symptoms. It starts developing slowly and steadily causing discomfort in other parts of the body and hindering the working of other organs.

Weakness: If you are suffering from kidney failure, you will start feeling weak. Weakness is however not a symptom which can confirm a kidney failure. Weakness is caused due to many other health issues and thus, you need to verify with other symptoms to be sure of the fact that you are suffering from kidney failure only.

Shortness of Breath: You may start experiencing heavy breathing right after doing some rigorous work. In fact, you might feel shortness of breath or be panting for long moments after climbing just a set of stairs. Shortness of breath is quite common indicating that the body is getting tired after doing work. Such indication, more than once a day, calls for an immediate check up of the body.

Lethargy: While most people, especially the young generation to those in the early thirties jokingly declare themselves as lazy people; lethargy, however, is a symptom of many diseases. Various health issues develop if you feel lethargic of working. Apart from kidney failure, diabetes is also manifested in lethargic body movements. At times, just getting out of the bed in the morning seems very tiring and one continues to lie on the bed even after he/she is fully awake.

Stomach Pain: If you experience pain in the stomach, especially in the sides, then it should be immediately checked by a medical practitioner. Doctors say that kidney failure can bring about stomach pains.

Unusual Urine Discharges: This would include clear urine discharges which indicate that the kidney has stopped filtering the waste products.

Thus, these are some of the most important and common symptoms of kidney failure. If you notice any of these, it is advised to visit a doctor for a check up.

Symptoms of Kidney Failure

Causes and symptoms of acute tubular necrosis

Damage or destruction to tube-like structures known as tubules in the kidneys can bring about the development of acute tubular necrosis (ATN) and subsequently, acute kidney failure.

What causes acute tubular necrosis (ATN)?

A lack of supply of oxygen to the cells in the kidney is the most common cause of this condition. The reason as to why oxygen may not reach the cells and tissues of this organ could be restriction or blockage of the pathways. When this happens, the kidneys get damaged. Dehydration is the most important cause of ATN which may be because of loose motions, vomitings, heat stroke etc.

Health conditions such as diabetes, heart attack, and stroke can bring about a decrease in blood flow to the organs resulting in ATN and death of cells. Similarly, the presence of toxic substances in the blood can also lead to tubules damage and change the way the cells function in the tubules.

Other causes that may lead you to develop ATN may be medications, radiology dyes, anesthetics and chemicals that cause your body to react adversely.

In addition to these causes, a number of factors can put you at risk of ATN and there are:

- An injury to the body, more specifically your kidneys can cause clotting of the blood vessels
- An adverse response to blood transfusion
- Instances of septic shock can slow down blood flow to the organs
- A major surgery that can interrupt blood supply to the organs

What are the symptoms of the condition?

The symptoms associated with the condition can vary depending on the severity of the problem.

You may experience:

- Troubles in waking up
- Drowsy feeling even during daytime
- Feelings of lethargy
- Feelings of excessive thirstiness
- Problems with urination
- Fluid retention problems
- Instances of confusion
- Feelings of nausea



Can Acute Tubular Necrosis Cause Kidney Failure?

The ideal diet after a kidney transplant

A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure where your kidneys are cleansed and rebuild using the kidneys of a deceased person, in order to flush out the excessive waste fluids from the kidneys. It is of paramount importance and your dietary patterns and lifestyle should be altered after you go through a kidney transplant. Your dietician will help you out by preparing your diet chart to clearly list out the foods that you should consume and those which you should avoid after the surgery. The diet chart that would be prepared for you would be highly subjective and it would totally depend  on your lifestyle, medical history, family health records, genetically transmitted conditions and such others. Apart from improving the condition of your kidney and assisting your transplant, the diet chart will also help you to lose weight, boost your metabolism and enhance your immune system. Some of the most common recommendations that your dietician may give you are as follows:

-Eating at least 5 full servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each day as both are an important part of a healthy diet for a person who has just undergone a kidney transplant. The vegetables should mostly be eaten after cooking/boiling as per the suggestions of your dietician.
-Having enough of fiber rich foods in your daily diet is essential as it speeds up the process of digestion and prevents constipation by promoting frequent and easy bowel movements.
-If you are a non-vegetarian, then you should be going for lean meat alternatives which are low on fat and high on nutritional value. -Examples of such meat are fishes and poultry. Additionally, you should also avoid all kinds of red meat as it is high on fat.
-Consume low-fat milk and dairy products as they help to prevent the fat accumulation inside the body and also maintain an acceptable level of calcium and phosphorus inside your body.
-Maintain a low level of iodized salt in your meals, as it helps to keep your blood pressure under control.
Over the counter health supplements like vitamins and proteins can also be taken, if recommended by your dietician.

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The Ideal Diet after a Kidney Transplant

Chronic kidney disease is defined as kidney damage or a decreased kidney glomerular filtration rate of less than 60, for 3 months or more, irrespective of the cause. This results in a progressive decline in kidney function, resulting in accumulation of toxic waste products, excess water and salts, increased blood pressure, anemia and many other complex symptoms. Chronic renal failure is divided into Stages I - V, out of which the first three stages are asymptomatic, and usually discovered incidentally, while doing routine blood tests.

Symptoms of chronic kidney disease

Most people do not have severe symptoms until the disease gets worse. However, you may:

Have less energy
Have trouble thinking clearly
Have a poor appetite
Have trouble sleeping
Have dry, itchy skin
Have muscle cramping at night
Have swollen feet and ankles
Have puffiness around your eyes, especially in the morning
Need to urinate more often, especially at night
The management of chronic renal failure consists of treatment of the underlying cause if possible, aggressive treatment of high blood pressure and other symptoms, liquid and diet control, cessation of smoking, and finally, with end-stage disease, resorting to dialysis or a kidney transplant.

The Ayurvedic treatment of chronic renal failure is based on three principles:

Treating the damaged kidneys
Treating the body tissues (dhatus) which make up the kidneys and
Treating the known cause.
For patients with chronic renal failure intending to take Ayurvedic treatment (or for that matter, any alternative treatment), the following points should be kept in mind:

All patients should be under the regular supervision and treatment of a qualified and experienced Urologist

Ayurvedic medicines should be taken in the form of additional treatment, and should not replace other, regular treatment or dialysis.

The advantage of using Ayurvedic medicines in chronic renal failure is that in most patients, the kidney damage can be either partly or fully reversed, the frequency of dialysis can be reduced, and the increased risk of death from cardiovascular diseases can be significantly reduced. Thus, Ayurvedic medicines have the potential for an important therapeutic contribution in all the stages of this condition. We are treating Kidney patients with excellent results. We have developed specific Panchakarma treatment protocol and specific medicines for kidney patients. 2 to 3 weeks Panchakarma treatments specially Basti karma, Shirodhara, abhayangam with medicated oil and special Ayurvedic diet plan gives tremendous relief.

Chronic Renal Failure - Ways Ayurveda Can Treat It!

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