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What are the signs of kidney failure?
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Kidney failure occurs when the kidneys can no longer perform their primary function.
When the kidneys do not filter properly and fail to remove waste, water and salt from the body, the chemical makeup of the blood can become unbalanced.
Several medical problems can cause kidney failure including conditions in which the kidneys do not receive enough blood to filter (eg, because of an infection, use of aspirin and related drugs, heart disease, severe dehydration or severe allergic reaction), when there is direct damage to the kidneys (eg, due to blood clots in the veins and arteries surrounding the kidneys, inflammation of the filters in the kidneys, swelling of the kidneys from a drug or infection or lupus) or when the urine drainage tubes become blocked making it so that wastes cannot exit the body through the urine (eg, due to kidney stones, an enlarged prostate or blood clots in the urinary tract).
There are two types of kidney failure: acute and chronic.
Acute kidney failure occurs when the kidneys suddenly can no longer filter waste products from the blood. Once the cause of acute kidney failure has been treated, the kidneys tend to return to normal.
Chronic kidney failure often occurs slowly, and symptoms may not be noticeable until kidney function has declined to 20% or less. It is the permanent loss of kidney function wherein patients may require dialysis or transplant.
Common signs of kidney failure include:
- swelling of the hands, feet and face (caused by fluid retention);
- foamy urine (due to the kidneys releasing protein that should be kept in the body);
- fatigue;
- nausea;
- seizures or coma;
- abnormal blood and urine tests; and
- high blood pressure.
Additional information can be found by searching the following websites:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kidney-failure/symptoms-causes/syc-20369048
https://www.kidney.org/news/ekidney/august14/10_Signs_You_May_Have_Kidney_Disease
https://www.urologyhealth.org/urologic-conditions/kidney-(renal)-failure