Kidney Failure Symptoms

Kidney failure, as the name suggests, refers to a condition wherein, the kidneys lose their ability to perform some very important functions in the body. These organs stay responsible for carrying out the filtration of wastes and excess fluids from the blood. Thereafter, these wastes are excreted in the urine. However, due to certain reasons, the kidneys fail to keep up with this work and thus repercuss in a severe condition of accumulation of fluids and wastes in the body. Kidney failure may occur in two forms; acute and chronic. Acute, as the name suggests, refers to a sudden deterioration in the health of the kidneys. While, when the organs are subjected to a gradual loss in their function, it is known as a chronic kidney failure. The below description is a presentation of the various kidney failure symptoms in elderly, young people and children.

Chronic Kidney Failure Signs and Symptoms

Due to obvious reasons, chronic kidney failure symptoms show up with a gradual pace, as the condition progresses at a slower rate. The symptoms which are typical of a chronic form of this disease include reduction in the output of urine or in some cases, there might be no urine at all. These symptoms may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, and disorders related to sleep. There could prevail fatigue and weakness, along with reduced mental concentration. Itching may get frequent, and so may muscle twitching and cramps as a result of a kidney failure. Swelling of feet and ankles may also be some of the common chronic kidney failure symptoms. What is to be known is that all these symptoms may mimic those of other medical conditions and that is why they are often non-specific. And in most cases, the occurrence of these symptoms indicate that the kidneys have faced a somewhat irreversible damage.

Acute Kidney Failure Symptoms

Some acute kidney failure symptoms may be similar to those with the chronic form. These may include decreased urine output, swelling of legs or ankles, fatigue, nausea and confusion. Other symptoms include drowsiness, shortness in breath, chest pain or a feeling of pressure in the chest area. Apart from these symptoms, some severe ones may also occur such as seizures and in extreme cases, coma. It has been noticed that most people do not experience all such acute kidney failure signs and symptoms. That is why they have to get the aid of laboratory tests to confirm or rule out the condition.

Treatment

A condition of acute kidney failure involves stay at the hospital. Now how long will the stay be, depends upon the underlying cause of the ailment and the condition of the kidneys. Tracking down the underlying cause and treating it, is what is the main aim of the treatment. There are certain complications which may arise when kidneys fail to work. This is the reason why, doctors also ensure that such complications are kept at bay so that the kidneys get enough time to recuperate. The treatment procedure may consists of medications to control potassium levels in blood, drugs to restore the levels of calcium in the blood, and dialysis to get rid of toxins which have build up in the blood. Also, patients might also be treated in order to keep a balance in the amount of fluids in the body. Although, aggressive treatment is required to treat an acute kidney disease, it is usually reversible in most cases.

In case of chronic kidney failure symptoms, the affected person must report it to the doctor as soon as possible. The treatment would focus on slowing down the progression of the disease to an end-stage kidney disease, which is, in most cases, a fatal condition. However, with the help of kidney transplant or dialysis, this condition may be corrected as well.

As it can be inferred from the above description, acute kidney failure symptoms have a sudden occurrence and are quite noticeable. However, this is not the case with the chronic form, whose symptoms do not show up easily until the condition has reached a critical stage. So best is to prevent the risks of development of such severe medical conditions in the first place. This may be done by sticking to moderate drinking, maintaining healthy weight, shunning smoking and staying up-to-date with one's doctor regarding any disease which might harbor the risk a kidney failure.