Renal Failure

Introduction

Acute renal failure and chronic renal failure are the two types of it. For a healthy person, the toxins in body gets filtered by kidney are thereupon passed to the bladder whereupon they are removed by the micturition. The failure of kidney in effectively removing the toxins from the body to the condition of renal failure.

Causes of Renal Failure

Normally it has been seen that the failure of the kidneys takes place as a result of some infectious diseases. Generally, the symptoms of the disease are not shown in the patients who are already suffering from an intrinsic renal disease or below grade chronic obstruction. Experts say that people suffering from the disease of diabetes mellitus, or high blood pressure have more tendency of getting the disease.

Figure 1: Renal Failure

One can be affected by renal failure because of some kind of acute and chronic disease, too much dehydration, traumas of the kidneys, and subjection to any kind of pollutants or intake of too much medicine.

Types of Renal Failures

Usually, renal failure can be of two categories and they are chronic renal failure and acute renal failure. Individuals suffering from chronic renal failure usually do not show any symptoms until and unless the functionality of the kidneys reduces to about 20%.

A person suffering from chronic renal failure shows signs of nausea, vomiting, pain in the chest, itching, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, high blood pressure, seizures, and many more.

When the kidneys stop filtering the blood there is a challenge of acute renal failure. Some of the symptoms of acute renal failure are confusion, internal bleeding, high blood pressure, seizures, and swelling of the face, hand and feet. There are three types of renal failures namely intrinsic, prerenal and post-renal.

The intrinsic renal injury can be determined through the direct damage of the nephrons. The process might be complicated and secondary to other illnesses. Acute tubular necrosis or the ATN can take place through the prerenal factors. The other causes include microangiopathic states (hemolytic uremic syndrome, DIC, TTP), glomerulonephritis (acute streptococcal and others), and vasculitis (polyarteritis nodosa, Wegener’s granulomatosis, and Lupus).

Figure 2: Stages of Renal Failure

The prerenal acute renal failure can take place due to the lack of blood flow to the kidney. The process is not due to the direct destruction of the nephron. The other causes include, anaphylaxis, Addisonian crisis, syndrome of the salt wasting, vasodilation due to the reaction of the drug, active hypovolemia sepsis, enteropathy of the protein loss, loss of blood or gastroenteritis, active hypovolemia sepsis, reduced cardiac output, altered hemodynamics or dynamics of blood flow caused by dehydration and many more. Prerenal failure can also take place as a result of less amount of flow of blood in the kidneys due to intrarenal redistribution, which takes place due to vasoconstrictors, anaesthesia, stress and injury.

The post renal intrinsic renal injury takes place due to the obstruction in the urine’s flow leading to the back pressure to the kidneys that leads to the destruction of the nephrons, and urethral strictures thereby narrowing the urethra, posterior urethral valves, production of the ureteral stones, and hemorrhagic cystitis or the blockage of the bladder from the clots.

Prevention as well as Treatment of Renal Failure

The signs and symptoms of the disease are not usually detectable in the course of the disease. They usually develop on the progression of the disease. Many of the times it have been noticed that the signs go undetectable until the hampering is done to both the kidneys such as expanded collection of fluid and waste in them. Some of the common symptoms of the disease include cramps in the muscles, fever, rashes, diarrhoea, and many more.

Prevention of the disease is very important after detecting the failure of kidneys. Sometimes it has been seen that the dangers of the failure of the kidneys can be determined as the reduced secondary perfusion to the surgery of the abdomen, nephropathy of the uric acid, loss of blood during the trauma, surgery of the coronary bypass. In such cases, preventive measures can be very beneficial.

Figure 3: Symptoms of Renal Failure

At times when patients with the risk factors for the development of renal failure are subjected to surgery, the health practitioner must make sure about it that the tendency of the development of renal failure and therefore take precautionary measures involving the stoppage of the intake of medicines that might lead to the renal destruction.

Conclusion

Renal failure is the failure or the proper functioning of the kidneys that can take place due to any disease, traumas of the kidneys, too much dehydration, and many more. There are two types of renal failure disease. The symptoms are not visible initially but some of the common ones include fatigue, vomiting among others.

FAQs

Q1. Can chronic renal failure be cured?

Ans. Chronic renal failure does not have any cure. The normal treatments are those against the signs and symptoms, the complexity of the disease, and decreased flow of the illness, for lowering the effects of the disease. In severe cases, treatment might be required for the last stage of the disease.

Q2. What are the symptoms of renal failure?

Ans. Generally, the signs of renal failure are not detected easily, but when destruction leads to both kidneys. Some of the symptoms of renal failure include fatigue, shortness of breath, confusion, nausea, irregular heartbeat, weakness, confusion, and reduced output of the urine, although, normally the result of the urine does not change.

Q3. What is the early sign of kidney failure?

Ans. Early signs of the disease include foamy urine, blood in the urine, puffiness around the eyes, trouble sleeping, feeling tired very often with less amount of energy, problems in focusing or concentrating, turning of the skin in dryness and itching, frequent urination, and many more.