Kidney Failure: Recognizing the Symptoms
Kidney failure is an extremely serious kidney problem. It can even be life threatening. At the the very minimum, it can mean a lifetime of kidney dialysis, or kidney transplantation surgery.
Symptoms of kidney failure often go unrecognized until the disease has progressed to a very dangerous stage.
The first sign of a developing problem may appear in your body chemistry. Electrolyte balances become abnormal. The kidneys also begin eliminating excess fluids and filtering out toxins less efficiently. These are two of the kidneys’ major bodily functions.
As the kidneys lose their efficiency, they also produce fewer red blood cells. Aiding in red blood cell production is one of the other important kidney functions.
As kidney failure continues to progress, the patient may start to experience these symptoms:
- a lack of energy,
- general lack of strength,
- dyspnea, or shortness of breath,
- swelling in various areas of the body.
The Importance of Recognizing Symptoms of Kidney Failure
Failure to recognize the above symptoms can have serious consequences, including:
Low red blood cell count - This results in weakness and fatigue because tissues and organs don’t get the oxygen they require to work properly.
Inadequate potassium excretion – When potassium levels in the body get too high, they can cause fatal heart rhythm problems.
Metabolic acidosis – Your body isn’t making enough bicarbonate, which means there’s an increase in acid levels in your body. When this happens, enzyme and oxygen metabolism is affected, which leads to kidney failure.
Uremia - Urea the primary solid component in urine. It is a waste chemical produced during the digestion of protein. The kidneys filter urea from our blood and it leaves the body in our urine. Rising urea levels in the blood can affect muscle, brain and heart function. Clearer symptoms of kidney failure begin to present themselves, including
- loss of appetite
- low energy levels and even extreme fatigue,
- decreased mental and cognitive abilities.
By this point, there may be so little kidney function left that the patient may go into a coma.
At advanced stages of kidney failure, the body cannot cope with rising acid levels, which causes rapid breathing an increase in blood pressure due to excess fluid, possibly leading to congestive heart failure.
Medical intervention is critical at this point if the patient is to survive.
For additional information and resources related to this topic, click on symptoms of kidney failure.
