Kidney failure can be a very deadly and dangerous disease. Many things can be done to help prevent and also to help cure this disease. Along with chemotherapy, radiation treatments and a healthy and balanced diet people may overcome this terrifying occurrence. Patients suffering from renal failure have to follow a very strict diet in order to help clean out the patient’s blood and help the kidneys function better.
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In the average human body each person has two kidneys. Kidneys are made up of nephrons which in simple terms are just a bunch of really small filters. That is the kidneys main function, to filter the body along with balancing how much water is inside the body. As blood travels though the kidneys it is filtered out and the toxins are moved to the bladder to be pass out with urine. Healthy kidneys have many functions from balancing the body’s amount of water, to filtering the body’s blood, to produce certain hormones which take care of blood cells, bones, and control blood pressure. The kidneys are vital to a healthy life if a persons kidney stopped working they could become greatly ill.
If a person’s kidneys begin to start failing this is called kidney failure. There can be many causes to this but in most cases the cause behind a persons kidney failure is unknown. Among the most common causes is diabetes, high blood pressure, glomerulonephritis, inherited cysts in the kidneys, kidney infections as an adult especially child, and obstruction to urine flow. Each of these can cause great stress on the kidneys causing them to fail which could lead to much greater problems or even eventually death.
If the kidneys happen to be damaged then blood will become less clean as the kidneys are unable to filter out all the toxins. Even if the kidneys are damaged urine does not stop being produced. The wastes in the body will eventually build up enough and circle though the body enough to make a person sick. During the time of the toxins building up in the body if the kidneys are damaged they stop producing enough hormones which you body needs for bone marrow and the production of healthy red blood cells. This can all be a very quick process or a very slow process not easily identified. Symptoms such as felling sick, difficulties concentrating, loss of energy, shortness of breath, reduced appetite, nausea, swelling of legs, itching, altered taste, and increased production of urine at night. Symptoms are different for everyone and some may have very mild and some may have very heavy symptoms associated with kidney failure. After the disease is identified then treatment can begin which would make the kidney failure patient begin to feel much better than they previously have while having to endure the symptoms.
Kidney disease has become less of a so called threat as the year’s progress. Throughout the past few years new medications along with more understandings of this disease have occurred. Understanding the disease is a huge key in being able to treat and cure especially when this disease can kill. Chronic kidney disease as it is called is a condition in which the kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood as well as possible.(cdc.gov) This damaged that is caused causes waste in the body to build and cause multiple other health problems. Some of these health problems include heart diseases, cardiovascular disease, anemia, bone disease. All of these can be very deadly to the person it effects. The elderly are more likely to develop kidney failure than younger adults. Children are not seen to be affected often at all for kidney failure. Gender is also a factor in determining kidney failure. Females often develop kidney failure more often than males do. Also white people often develop kidney failure more often than African American or Hispanics. (cdc.gov) Understanding kidney disease helps to develop cures and treat the disease.
When suffering from kidney disease the person who is suffering is going to have to make some life style changes. There are a few big areas the patient needs to change. One of which would be their sodium intake and the patient should keep a goal to not go over 1,500 milligrams. This will greatly help the blood pressure. Keeping a healthy blood pressure should be a constant goal for someone who has kidney failure. Also helping to reduce blood pressure would be to exercise or get some sort of physical activity. Even if its only a little bit its by far better than none at all. If the patient smokes cigarettes then they are greatly recommended to stop smoking. Cigarettes cause great stress on the kidneys and may cause more damage to them. Obesity is also something the patient may need to think about changing. When a person is over weight their kidneys have to work much harder. Losing some weight would help you and kidneys out. If the person who is diagnosed with kidney failure happens to be a diabetic then they also need to watch their blood glucose level. During the time of kidney failure the patient will take a lot of different medications to help certain things during their treatment. Taking the medications just as the doctors recommend is vital to helping to cure kidney disease.
During the time of the disease the patient can experience many things such as anxiety and depression. This can greatly have an effect on the patient. Both of these are serious problems especially when cancer is mixed in with them. There is a few ways the patient can deal with anxiety and depression. Patients will often be prescribed medication for both of these issue if they are severe enough. For anxiety there are recommendations to stay with people. Having a company of people a few good friends may cause a more comfortable environment. Its also recommended to do research on kidney disease itself until the patient feels they know the situation enough and is an “expert” on the subject. Some patients find short term or simple goals, physical activity, or exercise helps to relief anxiety that they feel. These can be quick and easy resolutions for minion anxiety that comes along with kidney failure.
Along with anxiety it is accompanied by depression in most cases. Depression is when someone is in a state of sadness for an excessive amount of time. Its completely normal to be sad however not being able to regain happiness again is not normal. Patients may feel somewhat better if they find someone who understands the situation they are going through and talks to them about it. Being able to talk about every aspect and little thing the patient wants to may help him or her greatly in over coming their sadness. Along with talking to someone an anti-depressant may be prescribed to the patient to help them deal with small cases of depression. Depression is one of the common side effects of kidney failure.
Another common side effect of kidney failure is stress. Change is a big factor in causing stress and having kidney failure causes great amounts of change to diet, activities, and the general life style. Being stressed can cause many different things. These things can range from anger, anxiety, feel extremely anxious, being hostile, or even denial. There is a few things that can be done to handle the stress that comes along with kidney failure. One of which is talking to someone about the issues causing the stress. Talking to someone throughout your kidney failure treatment process can be very valuable and help in many ways from anger to stress to anxiety. Another thing that may help to deal with stress is doing an activity that the patient greatly enjoys. Listening to music and just simply relaxing can be a great help in reducing stress. Also some small activities and physical activities may be good stress relievers. There are quite a few things that may be done help reduce and prevent stress from happening. Stress is just one of the many side effects caused by kidney failure.
Yet another problem generally associated with kidney failure is sexual difficulties. Both for men and women there can be problems related to sex while having kidney failure. Hormones that cause the urge to have sex are greatly decreased during kidney failure. Being under radiation treatments and chemotherapy also reduces these hormones. This is a very common side effect associated with kidney failure.
Many things can be done to help to cure kidney disease from transplants, to eating right, to chemotherapy. One very big way to help defeat kidney disease is medication. During the process of having kidney failure the patient will receive large amounts of medications. Phosphorus binders, pain medications, laxatives, iron supplements, Erythropoietin and blood pressure pills are what the patient will most likely expect to receive to help fight off kidney failure. Medication is a big help in the fight of kidney failure.
Another why to help fight this disease is dialysis. Dialysis in simple terms puts is an artificial way to rid the body of toxins such as healthy kidneys do. Blood tests are generally used to determine if the patient needs to undergo dialysis. There are two different types of dialysis haemodialysis and Peritoneal dialysis. Haemodialysis is were a machine cleans the blood outside the body. Peritoneal dialysis is were the cleaning of the blood is done within the body. Depending on the patients prior conditions usually determines which dialysis they have to undergo. Dialysis is a very big impact of the treatment of kidney disease and is essential for the patient to recover.
If the patient is in bad enough shape and the kidneys have no sign of being able to recover then they are eligible for a kidney transplant. If in need of a transplant the patient would have to sign up for the transplant list and wait until a kidney arrives that is close to the same as their own in tissue type and blood type. This can be a long process. Kidneys are used to filter the blood but when one is removed the other filters the blood just as effectively as if there would be two kidneys working. This results in being able to give out kidneys to relatives who have kidney failure. Although this is a great option to treatment there is much high demand for kidneys than there are available kidneys for transplants. Even if a kidney is replaced however the body can still chose to reject it or it may not work at all. If either of these happens there is options for both. To stop the body from rejecting the new kidney doctors will prescribe the patient with a wide variety of medications to help the body to accept the kidney. If the body accepts the kidney and it just simply wont work well then the patient can easily have another transplant when another kidney that is a match comes around and in the mean time go back to dialysis. After receiving a successful transplant at which the body accepts the patient should feel greatly better and have an increased amount of energy. If the body accepts the kidney it may work for years but it might not work until the patient who received the kidney dies. Once the new kidney is the body it works just like any other kidney and may fail eventually and require the patient for another kidney transplant. Transplants are a very effective tool for fighting kidney failure if the patient is in bad enough condition.
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There are many things that can be done to treat kidney failure from chemotherapy, radiation, to healthy diets. Chemotherapy and radiation are considered more main forms of treatment for this problem. (Nkf.gov) Healthy diet is also a very vital thing in the treatment for this. When diagnosed with this the patient must change their entire diet to help deal with this. Changing your diet when having kidney failure can be very beneficial because it helps to keep your blood cleaner than it would be with a bad diet and having cleaner blood while having kidney failure will help to keep the patient healthier (Eat right). Watching what you eat will keep you healthy. When your kidneys are working properly they flush out the bad nutrients in your body. When they are not working they can’t do this. When you watch your diet you can eat foods that have less waste product in them so you kidney would not have to do as much work. (Eat right) Fluid intake reduction is also recommended. While on dialysis potassium can be very dangerous to the patient. Potassium caused the heart to beat much faster. Avoiding potassium is what most patients should do. Cutting back on avocados, bananas, kiwis, and dried fruit are great ways to reduce your potassium intake. (Eat right) Eating only have of some fruits such as eating half a banana instead of eating a full one can help reduce intakes. Many things may need to be reduced to help cure kidney failure.
Another thing that needs to be reduced when you have kidney fail is phosphors. Phosphor is a mineral that is found in many types of food. Having too much of this phosphors in your blood will cause it to pull calcium from your bones. Too much of this mineral in your blood can also cause nasty side effects such as very bad itching on the skin. When kidneys are not functioning they will not decrease the amount of phosphors in your blood so this could be very threatening. (Eat right) Reducing your intake on milk can greatly help keep your phosphors under control. Certain medication is also recommended to help control levels of this mineral such as Renagel, PhosLo, Tums, or calcium. These medications help to absorb the phosphors and then it can be excreted out. Even though things may be needed to be taken out of the patient’s diet it can be greatly beneficial towards them in the long run.
Protein on the other hand is one of the few things people with kidney failure are recommend to increase in their diet. Protein is very important in the body and helps to repair damaged tissue and muscle. Having a high protein diet will help the patient to remain much healthier during the process of their treatments. High protein in the diet will also help during the recovery process of surgeries and help to greatly prevent infection. High quality protein foods are much more recommended over not such quality ones. Fish eggs and poultry are high quality foods. (Eat Right) Proteins break down in the body into a substance called urea. Having too much of this in the blood will cause the patient to become greatly sick. Low quality protein foods cause there to be a greater buildup of this in the blood while high quality protein does not break down into as much urea. (Eat Right) There are two different types of protein foods, animal and plant. Animal protein food tend to be more heavy in protein than plant protein foods. (nih.gov) Protein may be the only food source the doctor recommends to increase while having kidney failure.
Sodium is another one of the minerals kidney failure patients will be told to cut back on. Sodium is found in many different foods. While having kidney failure doctors say to look for food products with such labels as low sodium. (Eat right) Sodium also increases thirst and fluid intakes are supposed to be reduced. Sodium may be replaced in food by adding certain varieties of herbs and spices. This can prove to be very beneficial for the patient. Sodium is a key thing to cut back with kidney failure.
Calories may be caused to increase to a kidney patient’s diet or they may be decreased. This all depends on the patient. Some patients that are on dialysis are recommended to increase their intake on calories depending on their weight. If recommended to increase the calorie intake then patients can easily do so. Calories are found in everything and are very easy to increase in the diet. Vegetable oils and olive oils contain a lot of calories without giving effects such as clogging arteries like what butter would do.(KPG.org) Stick butter is more likely to cause this than spreadable butter in a tub. Hard candy, sugar, honey, jam, and jelly provide great amounts of energy and calories. These are highly recommended for patients. (Eat Right) This recommendation quickly changes if the patient has diabetes. Calories can be easily and healthily added to your diet.
Vitamins and minerals are one other thing doctors talk to their renal patients about. There are many different vitamins and minerals ready for use off the shelves in most convenient stores. Although there are so many some may be not so good for you when you are suffering from kidney failure. Most say not to take additional vitamins because they may contain things that may be very damaging to the body that the patient is completely unaware of. Most doctors just recommend staying away from them while on the kidney failure treatment. Some doctors may also prescribe a vitamin supplement that is not found on the shelves of stores if the patient is deficient in some mineral or vitamin.
Fluids may also be another thing the patient with kidney failure would want to reduce or control. A main function of the kidneys is to balance how much fluid there is in the body. Having to much fluid in the body may cause the patients blood pressure to rise. Water levels in the body can reach a dangerous point when a person begins to swell, this typically beings in the ankles. If the patient continues to ignore the swelling from the excess water in the body the water may settle in lungs which would cause an extremely threatening disease called pulmonary oedema. During the time of kidney failure the patients water intake is reduced so thirst can become a very big problem for the patient. Some doctors recommend sucking on some ice cubes or chewing gum to cause mouth to salivate. Fluid intakes will always be reduced for kidney failure patient it just depends on the patient and doctor towards how much is reduced during this time period.
Though out the process of kidney failure doctors recommend patients get involved in a support group and family and friends close by if possible. This can cause great encouragement towards the patient and may help their time going through the disease more manage able with health social activity with loved ones. There are many support groups available to patients who need them and many people are will to educate on the disease and also listen about the disease.
Many things may need to be changed during the treatment of kidney failure. Getting though this is a very tough and extreme process but can be made simpler by some of the steps and diet changes the doctor may recommend. Changing your diet during kidney failure can help you to feel much better during the entire process. The entire process is a very difficult one but can be managed and people can easily make it though kidney failure. Many different things can be done to help the treatment of this failure. Kidney failure is a very deadly disease but may be cured simply by following set instructions and going through treatments doctors recommend.
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