Chronic Kidney Disease, also known as CKD or Chronic Kidney Failure, is characterized by the progressive loss of the kidneys' ability to filter the blood, causing the patient to experience symptoms such as swelling in the feet and ankles, weakness and the appearance of foam in the urine, for example.
Generally, chronic kidney disease is more frequent in elderly, diabetic, hypertensive patients or in people with a family history of kidney disease. Therefore, it is important that these people do urine and blood tests periodically, with the creatinine measurement, to check if the kidneys are working properly and if there is a risk of developing CKD.
Symptoms of Chronic Kidney Disease
The main symptoms related to Chronic Kidney Disease are:
- Urine with foam;
- Swollen feet and ankles, especially at the end of the day;
- Anemia;
- Tiredness that is often related to anemia;
- Increased urinary frequency, especially at night;
- Weakness;
- Malaise;
- Lack of appetite;
- Swelling of the eyes, which usually only appear at a more advanced stage;
- Nausea and vomiting, at a very advanced stage of the disease.
The diagnosis of chronic renal failure can be made through a urine test, which detects the presence of the protein albumin or not, and a blood test, with creatinine measurement, to check its amount in the blood. In the case of chronic kidney disease, there is presence of albumin in the urine and the concentration of creatinine in the blood is high. Learn all about the creatinine test.
How the treatment is done
Treatment for chronic kidney disease should be guided by a nephrologist, and the use of drugs that help control symptoms is usually indicated, including diuretics, such as Furosemide, or medicines for high blood pressure, such as Losartana or Lisinopril, for example.
In more advanced cases, treatment may include hemodialysis to filter the blood, removing any impurities that the kidneys cannot, or a kidney transplant.
In addition, patients with chronic kidney disease should eat a diet low in protein, salt and potassium, and it is important to have guidance from a nutritionist. indicated by a nutritionist. Check out in the video below what to eat in case of Kidney Failure:
CKD stages
Chronic Kidney Disease can be classified according to the type of kidney injury in some stages, such as:
- Stage 1 chronic kidney disease: Normal kidney function, but urine or ultrasound results indicate kidney damage;
- Stage 2 chronic kidney disease: Reduced loss of kidney function and test results indicating kidney damage;
- Stage 3 chronic kidney disease: Moderately reduced kidney function;
- Stage 4 chronic kidney disease: Kidney function severely affected;
- Stage 5 chronic kidney disease: Severe reduction in kidney function or end-stage renal failure.
Chronic kidney disease cannot be cured, but it can be controlled with drugs indicated by the nephrologist and diet guided by a nutritionist. However, in cases of stage 4 or 5 kidney disease, hemodialysis or kidney transplantation is necessary. Understand how kidney transplantation is done.
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