(Kidney Disease)
Kidney (renal) failure is when kidneys don't work as well as they should. The term "kidney failure" covers a lot of problems. These problems can result in kidney failure:
Your kidney doesn't get enough blood to filter or
Your kidney is hurt by a disease like or
high blood sugar (diabetes) or
high blood pressure or
glomerulonephritis (dam age to the kidney's tiny filters) or
polycystic kidney disease or
Your kidney is blocked by a kidney stone or scar tissue
When kidney function falls below 10% of normal, dialysis or a kidney transplant is most often needed, especially if you have signs of uremia (a buildup of waste in the blood), like nausea and itching
To lower your chances of getting kidney disease, you’ll actually want to focus on two other conditions: diabetes and high blood pressure. They're two of the biggest threats to your kidneys.
Check with your care team if you plan to take any painkillers or nutritional supplements. These can sometimes affect your kidneys or interfere with your medicine.
Read more about pharmacy remedies and kidney disease.
Also speak to your care team if you have any concerns about the medicine you are taking, or if you're experiencing any side effects
Acute Renal Failure – ARF
ARF occurs when the kidneys suddenly stop filtering waste products from the blood. The signs of ARF can be:
Chronic Renal Failure – CRF
CRF builds slowly with very few symptoms in its early stages. A patient with CRF may not have any symptoms until kidney function declines to 20% or less. At that stage, these signs may appear:
ARF is most likely to happen with:
With ARF, the kidney often returns to normal or near normal after the cause is treated.
CRF is permanent loss of kidney function. The most common causes are: