What is a kidney ? The kidneys are two fist-sized organs that filter your blood. Your kidneys are part of your urinary system.
Healthy kidneys filter about a half cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and extra water to make urine. The urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through two thin tubes of muscle called ureters, one on each side of your bladder. Your bladder stores urine. Your kidneys, ureters, and bladder are part of your urinary tract.
table of contents
Functions of kidney
- Excretion of Waste Products
- Regulation of Blood Pressure
- Balancing Body Fluids
- Red Blood Cell Production
- Regulation of Electrolytes.
- Detoxification and Drug Elimination
What is kidney disease ?
Kidney disease occurs when the kidneys can no longer remove waste and excess fluid from the bloodstream normally. In contrast, chronic kidney disease progresses gradually and is frequently irreversible, with severity ranging from mild dysfunction to kidney failure. People with kidney failure typically require dialysis or kidney transplantation to survive.
It can affect your body’s ability to clean your blood, filter extra water out of your blood, and help control your blood pressure. It can also affect red blood cell production and vitamin D metabolism needed for bone health.
When your kidneys are damaged, waste products and fluid can build up in your body. That can cause swelling in your ankles, nausea, weakness, poor sleep, and shortness of breath. Without
treatment, the damage can get worse and your kidneys may eventually stop working. That’s serious, and it can be life-threatening.
Statistics of kidney disease by WHO
An estimated 674 million people have chronic kidney disease worldwide; most reside in low- and middle-income countries.
Signs of kidney disease
When the kidneys aren’t filtering properly, toxins stay in the blood rather than leaving the body through the urine. This can make it difficult to sleep. There is also a link between obesity and chronic kidney disease, and sleep apnea is more common in those with kidney disease, compared with the general population.
Changes in Urination
Since the kidneys produce urine, any significant change in your bathroom habits is worth attention
The Frequency needed to urinate more often, especially at nnight. Urine that appears foamy or bubbly, which may indicate protein (albumin) is leaking into the urine.
Blood in urine
Healthy kidneys typically keep the blood cells in the body when filtering wastes from the blood to create urine, but when the kidney’s filters have been damaged, these blood cells can start to leak out into the urine. In addition to signaling kidney disease, blood in the urine can be indicative of tumors, kidney stones, or an infection.
Dry and itchy skin
Healthy kidneys perform many functions. They remove wastes and extra fluid from your body, help make red blood cells, keep bones strong, and work to maintain the right amount of minerals in your blood. Dry and itchy skin can be a sign of the mineral and bone disease that often accompanies advanced kidney disease, or when the kidneys are no longer able to keep the right balance of minerals and nutrients in your blood.
Shortness of Breath
This symptom is usually linked to kidneys in two ways:
- • Extra fluid in the body can build up in the lungs.
- • Anemia : shortage of oxygen-carrying red blood cells leaves your body starved for oxygen, making you feel winded even after light exertion.
Bad sleeping cycle
Studies show a possible link between sleep apnea and kidney disease , which over time damages your organs and may lead to kidney failure. Sleep apnea may hurt your kidneys in part by preventing your body from getting enough oxygen. Chronic kidney disease in turn may cause sleep apnea by narrowing your throat, toxin buildup, and other ways.
Swollen Face and Feet.
When your kidneys can’t get rid of sodium well, fluids build up in your body. That may lead to puffy hands, feet, ankles, legs, or a puffy face. You might notice swelling especially in your feet and ankles. And protein leaking out in your urine can show up as puffiness around your eyes.
