Diabetes impacts Kidneys:
Posted by on Sunday, 12th April 2009
The most common prescription for diabetes is Insulin and Insulin often causes damage to the small blood vessels of the body. This damage also impact the retina of the eye and result in loss of vision and slowing this damage is extended to the delicate blood vessels in the filters of the kidneys. Diabetes may also damage the nerves in the body including the bladder; it may be difficult to pass urine with infected bladder. The pressure from urine building up in the bladder can cause kidney damage.
Chances of a diabetic person developing a kidney disease are very high (more than 60%). If left untreated, this could lead to more kidney damage or kidney failure.
One can have serious kidney damage without being aware of it. There are usually no specific symptoms of kidney disease until the damage is severe. However, if you have diabetes, you should be tested once a year to see if diabetes has affected your kidneys. Your doctor can arrange a urine test for protein (a random urine test for “albumin to creatinine ratio”), and a blood test to check how well your kidneys are functioning (the “serum creatinine”).
Symptoms:
Early symptoms of kidney disease show high level of protein in the urine. Eventually excess loss of protein from the blood causes the water from the blood to move into the body tissues causing swelling (edema). Itchiness, breathlessness and tiredness may also occur before the kidney failure occurs.
Cause of kidney disease:
Kidney infection is another major cause of kidney failure. Diabetic patients show high level of sugar in their urine causing the growth of bacteria. People with diabetes must take special care to avoid infections and have them treated immediately.
Kidney failure:
When the kidneys are about to fail you might experience tiredness, nausea and vomiting. You could also retain salt and water, which could cause swelling of your feet and hands, and shortness of breath. You may also find that you need less insulin than usual. When the kidneys fail, wastes and fluids will accumulate in your body and you will need dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant. You may be referred to a nephrologist (a kidney specialist) if your doctor thinks the damage to your kidneys is severe.
What can you do to prevent kidney damage?
There are special treatments (including proper food choices and medications) which may help to delay kidney failure. It is necessary to start these treatments as soon as your doctor notices any of the early signs or risk factors.
There are many things you can do to help prevent kidney damage:
* Have your urine, blood and blood pressure checked regularly by your doctor
* Maintain good control of your blood sugar
* Control high blood pressure (less than 130/80* on most readings)
* Stop smoking
* Exercise regularly
* Make the proper food choices
* Avoid excess alcohol
* See your doctor if you think you have a bladder infection
* Get enough sleep
If you are suffering from kidney failure and would like more information on alternative medicine, please visit www.kundankidneycare.com
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Hypertension (blood pressure) and Kidney Disease
Posted by on Sunday, 12th April 2009
High blood pressure is the second most leading cause of kidney failure, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Blood pressure measures the force of blood against the walls of the blood vessels. Extra fluid in the body increases the amount of fluid in blood vessels and makes blood pressure higher. Narrow, stiff, or clogged blood vessels also raise blood pressure.
High blood pressure makes the heart work harder and, over time, can damage blood vessels throughout the body. If the blood vessels in the kidneys are damaged, they may stop removing wastes and extra fluid from the body. The extra fluid in the blood vessels may then raise blood pressure even more. It’s a dangerous cycle.
People with kidney failure opt to one of the two choices, either receive a kidney transplant or have regular blood-cleansing treatments called dialysis. Both options do not offer any assurance that the person will live a normal life. Dialysis is not a cure but a temporary solution to blood-cleansing and with transplant a regular medication is required and there are too many other complications. One of the things that may help avoid kidney failure is to keep the blood pressure under control.
Like high blood pressure early kidney disease is a silent problem and does not have any symptoms. People may have CKD but not know it because they do not feel sick. A person’s glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a measure of how well the kidneys are filtering wastes from the blood. GFR is estimated from a routine measurement of creatinine in the blood. The result is called the estimated GFR (eGFR).
Creatinine is a waste product formed by the normal breakdown of muscle cells. Healthy kidneys take creatinine out of the blood and put it into the urine to leave the body. When the kidneys are not working well, creatinine builds up in the blood. This reading alone can give a good indication if there is any abnormality about kidneys.
Another sign of CKD is proteinuria, or protein in the urine. Healthy kidneys take wastes out of the blood but leave protein. Impaired kidneys may fail to separate a blood protein called albumin from the wastes. At first, only small amounts of albumin may leak into the urine, a condition known as microalbuminuria, a sign of failing kidney function. As kidney function worsens, the amount of albumin and other proteins in the urine increases, and the condition is called proteinuria.
Many people need medicine to control high blood pressure. Several effective blood pressure medicines are available in modern and Alternate medicine. The most common types of blood pressure medicines doctors prescribe are diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), beta blockers, and calcium channel blockers. Diuretics, also known as “water pills,” help a person urinate and get rid of excess fluid in the body. A combination of two or more blood pressure medicines may be needed to keep blood pressure below 130/80. In Ayurveda Sarpgandha, Vacha, Brahmi, Punarnava, are the herbs which can control mild to moderate blood pressure.
All these medicines may be required to keep the blood pressure low however, the bigger question is how to cure the disease? Transplant or Dialysis is not a cure but a temporary solution to the situation.
To find out more about the alternative herbal cure for kidney disease, please visit http://www.kundankidneycare.com
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