Kidney disease affects more than one in ten adults worldwide. In the United States, more than one in seven adults suffer from some type of kidney disease, at a cost of over $114 billion annually. Millions more are at increased risk, which is why it’s so important to learn the facts about kidneys and kidney disease.

What Do Our Kidneys Do?

Our kidneys are amazingly complex organs. They keep us healthy by:

  • Filtering blood continuously
  • Producing urine
  • Secreting drugs and toxins
  • Regulating the amount of fluids in the body
  • Balancing the chemicals in the blood
  • Producing the hormones that regulate the production of red blood cells and support healthy bones
  • Producing the enzyme that controls blood pressure

What Causes Kidney Disease?

Diabetes, hypertension, and obesity account for 70% of kidney ailments in the United States. Other causes of kidney disease include:

  • Inherited diseases, such as PKD (polycystic kidney disease)
  • Congenital deformity leading to obstruction of the urinary tract
  • Obstructions caused by kidney stones, tumors, or an enlarged prostate gland in men
  • Repeated urinary infections, kidney infections (pyelonephritis), or blood infections (septicemia)
  • Reduced blood supply to the kidneys
  • Kidney cancer
  • Lupus
  • Drug overdose or ingestion of toxic substances
  • Intravenous drug abuse
  • Trauma or injury to the kidneys or renal arteries

What are the Symptoms of Kidney Disease?

Our kidneys are highly adaptable to changes in function. In the early stages of kidney disease, there may be few symptoms. Unfortunately, by the time symptoms do appear, the patient may already be seriously ill. Symptoms of kidney disease include:

  • Lethargy and exhaustion
  • Weakness
  • Shortness of breath
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Dizziness
  • Swelling in the legs, ankles, feet, hands, or face
  • Back or flank pain
  • Unexplained high blood pressure
  • Severe itching
  • Skin rash
  • Changes in urination frequency (less or more than usual), changes in color, foamy or bloody urine, nighttime urination
  • Metallic taste in the mouth or ammonia breath
  • Changes in appetite or lack of desire for meat or protein
  • Feeling cold all the time
  • Trouble concentrating

What Happens When Kidneys Fail?

Kidney disease is detected through medical tests such as blood pressure monitoring, tests that analyze protein in the urine and blood work. One of the most common tests is a measurement of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which indicates how much kidney function you have.

Kidneys can fail rapidly, over a period of a few days, or slowly over many months or years.

Acute kidney failure is the sudden loss of kidney function; it can occur for a number of reasons, such as trauma, shock, loss of blood flow to the kidney, obstruction of the urinary tract, ingestion of poisons or drugs toxic to the kidney.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) refers to the progressive damage and loss of kidney function that occurs slowly over time. CKD is divided into 5 stages, beginning with Stage 1, when kidney function is relatively normal, and progressing to Stage 5, when kidney function dips below 15%. When patients reach Stage 5 or end stage kidney disease, the kidneys are unable to eliminate toxic waste products and water from the body; patients no longer urinate or produce a lot less urine. When kidneys fail, transplant or dialysis are the only treatment options.

As kidneys fail, the major biological systems of the body are affected. Complications of chronic kidney disease include:

  • Anemia
  • Nerve damage in the arms and legs
  • Fluid build-up around the lungs
  • Congestive heart failure
  • Coronary artery disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Stroke
  • Hyperparathyroidism
  • Malnutrition
  • Seizures
  • Itchy skin
  • Weakened bones

Because the kidneys can’t get rid of minerals in the blood, patients need frequent lab work to determine how well dialysis is cleaning the blood.