Kidneys serve the body as a natural filter of the blood, and remove water-soluble wastes which are diverted to the bladder. In producing urine, the kidneys excrete wastes such as urea and ammonium. They are also responsible for the reabsorption of water, glucose, and amino acids. The kidneys also produce hormones including calcitriol and erythropoietin. An important enzyme renin is also produced in the kidney which acts in negative feedback.
Kidneys are essential to the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and regulation of blood pressure (via maintaining the salt and water balance).
Initially kidney failure may cause no symptoms but the inability to remove potassium from the bloodstream may lead to abnormal heart rhythms and sudden death.
Acute kidney failure which is one of the major kidney failure, is the sudden loss of your kidneys’ ability to eliminate excess salts, fluids, and waste materials from the blood. When kidneys lose their filtering ability, body fluids can rise to dangerous levels. The condition will also cause electrolytes and waste material to accumulate in your body.
It occurs in connection with another medical condition or event, the conditions that can increase your risk of acute kidney failure include: when you have a condition that slows blood flow to your kidneys, you experience direct damage to your kidneys, your kidneys’ urine drainage tubes (ureters) become blocked and wastes can’t leave your body through your urine, impaired blood flow to the kidneys.
There are numerous causes of kidney failure, the diseases and conditions that may slow blood flow to the kidneys and lead to kidney failure include: blood or fluid loss, blood pressure medications, heart attack, heart disease, infection, liver failure, the use of aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), naproxen (Aleve, others) or related drugs, severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), severe burns, severe dehydration, damage to the kidneys.
The two types of treatment for kidney failure are dialysis or transplantation. There are two different kinds of dialysis: hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. During hemodialysis, tubes connect the patient to a machine that filters the blood. Hemodialysis is usually done three times a week for 3-4 hours each time.
They commonly treat chronic kidney disease (CKD), polycystic kidney disease (PKD), acute renal failure, kidney stones and high blood pressure and are educated on all aspects of kidney transplantation and dialysis.
Treatment of the underlying cause of kidney failure may return kidney function to normal. If the kidneys fail completely, the only treatment options available may be dialysis or transplant.
On a final note, if you are not in the hospital, but have signs or symptoms of kidney failure, make an appointment with your family doctor or a general practitioner. If your doctor suspects you have kidney problems, you may be referred to a doctor who specializes in kidney disease (nephrologist). – Leadership.
