Ten Early Warning Signs of Kidney Disease
As we all are aware the two kidneys in the body are mainly responsible for filtering nitrogenous waste materials like urea, creatinine, acid, etc. from the blood (all of which are products of metabolism in the body) and thus produce urine.
Millions of people are living with different types of kidney diseases and most of them are not even aware of it. This is why kidney disease is often referred to as a ‘silent killer’ because most people do not get diagnosed with the disease until it becomes severe. Although people get their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels checked regularly, they don’t get even a simple creatinine test in their blood to detect any problems with their kidneys.
There are many warning signs of kidney disorder, however, most of the time they are ignored or misunderstood as some other type of problem. In such cases one should visit a nephrologist and get his doubts clarified. But if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, a family history of coronary artery disease, and/or kidney failure, or if you are over the age of 60, you should get regular kidney checkups.
While the only sure way to diagnose kidney disease is to perform confirmatory tests, here are some early warning signs of kidney disease:
Ankles, feet, or heels: Edema will appear which pits when pressed. It’s called pitting edema. As the kidneys start to derange their perform, salt starts accumulating in the body, causing swelling in your shins and ankles. If a person shows these symptoms, he should see a nephrologist and get his kidney function evaluated immediately.
Swelling around eyes: Swelling around the eyes due to accumulation of fluid in the cells or tissues. This is one of the early symptoms of kidney disease. This is especially the case in individuals who have a large amount of protein leaking through the kidneys.
Weakness: A common symptom of kidney disease is early fatigue. This symptom becomes more pronounced as the kidney failure progresses. This is largely due to the accumulation of toxins and impurities in the blood. Being a non-specific symptom, it is often overlooked by most people and is not fully investigated.
Loss of appetite: Dueto the accumulation of toxins like urea and creatininea person’s appetite starts decreasing. In addition, as the kidney disease progresses, there is a change in the patient’s taste.
Morning Nausea and Vomiting: One of the early signs of kidney failure is early morning nausea and vomiting. This also reduces the appetite of the person. In the late stage of kidney failure, the patient has frequent vomiting and loss of appetite.
Anemia: Hemoglobin levels begin to drop, and the person may appear pale, without any blood loss from the body.
Change in the frequency of urination: One has to keep a very careful watch on one’s urine output. For example, the patient may have decreased urine output or may feel the need to urinate more often, especially at night (called nocturia). This can be a warning sign and may indicate that the filtering units of the kidneys have been damaged or are in the process of becoming damaged. Sometimes it can also be a sign of some urinary tract infection or enlarged prostate in men. Thus, a change (increase or decrease) in urine output should be reported to your nephrologist immediately.
Foam or blood in the urine: Excessive foaming of urine indicates the presence of protein in the urine (which should be negligible under normal circumstances). When the filtering system of the kidney is damaged or being damaged, proteins, blood cells, leak out of the urine. In addition to indicating kidney disease, blood in the urine can indicate tumors, kidney stones, or any number of infections. Also, pus discharge with fever or chills can be serious and again a sign of a serious urinary tract infection. Thus any change in the colour, consistency or nature of urine should be reported to the renal specialist at the earliest.
Dry and itchy skin: Dry & itchy skin can be a sign of chronic kidney disease. As kidney function declines, toxins build up in the body, causing itching, dryness, and foul odor on the skin.
Back pain or lower abdominal pain: Pain in the back, side or under the ribs can be an early symptom of a kidney disorder such as kidney stones or pyelonephritis. Similarly, lower abdominal pain can be associated with a bladder infection or a stone in a ureter. Such symptoms should not be ignored and should be further investigated by routine imaging studies.
High blood pressure: High blood pressure can be a symptom of kidney disease. Anyone diagnosed with hypertension should get a thorough investigation of kidney function and kidney imaging studies.
Renal disturbances and kidney failure can be avoided with awareness on recognition of the early warning signs and getting timely treatment.
