Chronic Renal Failure

The other name of chronic renal failure is chronic kidney disease. It is a condition where the kidneys stops functioning properly. This disease develops over a period of time which can vary from a few months to a few years. The main functions of the kidneys is elimination of wastes and water from the body. When it fails to function normally, harmful wastes and water get accumulated in the body. This gives rise to various other health disorders such as high blood pressure, anemia, bone disorders and so on.

Chronic Renal Failure Stages
Based on the severity of the condition, there are 5 different stages. They are as follows:

Stage 1: In this stage, there is no significant damage in the kidneys and they function almost normally. Here GFR value is more than 90% (GFR stands for glomerular filtration rate and is used to measure kidney functioning). The damage can be detected only through pathological tests.

Stage 2: The function of the kidneys is mildly affected and GFR lies in between 60-89%. It can also be identified from blood tests, urine tests and imaging studies.

Stage 3: It is a more serious condition where kidney function drops to a moderate level and GFR is around 30-59%.

Stage 4: Here, kidney function is severely affected and GFR is as low as 15-29%.

Stage 5: This is the end stage where total kidney failure occurs. Here GFR is hardly 15% or less.

Causes and Symptoms
There are several underlying health problems that can affect the functioning of the kidneys. People suffering from Type I or Type II diabetes at a greater risk of getting this kidney disease. High blood pressure, enlarged prostate, kidney stones, kidney or bladder cancer can cause this kind of damage to the kidneys. Repeated kidney infection, autoimmune diseases such as lupus, hardening of the arteries, side effects of medicines are the other causes of chronic renal failure.

Symptoms depend on the stages of the disease. In the first two stages, there is either no noticeable symptoms at all or they are mild. They start showing up when there is an irreversible form of damage to the kidneys. During stage 3 and 4, the kidney failure symptoms are moderate in nature. A few of them are swelling in hands and feet, low urine output, fatigue, lack of appetite, slow digestion, back pain, etc. In stage 5, some more symptoms can be seen. They are: extremely low urine output or no urine at all, numbness in swollen hands and feet, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, itchy skin, bruises or bleeding may occur, skin discoloration, thirsty feeling, sleeping problems, confusion, lack of alertness of mind, etc.

Treatment
Unfortunately chronic renal failure cannot be cured completely. The main aim of the treatment is to keep its symptoms of renal failure in check and slow down the progression of the disease. For this reason, the underlying condition responsible for kidney failure is treated with proper medicines. For instance, patients with high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels are given suitable medications to keep these conditions in check. Swelling of hands and feet occur due to fluid retention in the body. Diuretics medicines are given to control the fluid balance in the body. As patients of renal failure are susceptible to various bone diseases, supplements of calcium and vitamin D are prescribed to maintain the bone strength.

The medicines should be accompanied by a suitable diet. It plays a major role in reducing workload of the kidneys. A low protein diet is recommended in this condition. The amount of protein to be taken is determined by the doctor or a dietitian. Salt intake as well as potassium, phosphorus and other such electrolytes should be restricted. Diabetic patients have to limit the amount of carbohydrates taken. In the early stages of renal failure, there is no restrictions on fluid intake but at a later stage fluid intake should be minimized.

Medicines and dietary changes work in the first four stages of chronic renal failure. In case, the kidneys stop functioning completely, then patients have to undergo dialysis regularly for the removal of wastes. In more severe cases where it leads to a life-threatening condition for the patient, doctors opt for kidney transplant.

Prevention of chronic renal failure is possible only with the help of a healthy lifestyle. It includes eating healthy foods, maintaining good body weight, limiting alcohol intake and avoiding smoking. If you have any underlying disease, then treat that condition with proper treatment to prevent any damaging effect on the kidneys.