Six signs that your kidney is in danger

 

While we become more concerned about the most talked about lifestyle induced conditions like hypertension, blood pressure, diabetes, we often forget that our vital organs also need equal care and attention. Some of the signs of organ failure are so subtle that you never know you were suffering from something grave until you reach a point from where there is no turning back. The story is the same with your kidneys too. This is one reason kidney failure is usually detected very late. However, your body sends you warning signals much before, only if you pay heed to the same. Here are some early signs of kidney failure:

1. Change in urine pattern
The first sign of kidney failure is problems with your urine pattern or urination. The early signs of kidney malfunction might start with frequent urination at night, increase or decrease in urine output, dark coloured urine, an urge to urinate without being able to do so. And you can gradually suffer from painful urination indicating a urinary tract infection, foamy urine (due to protein leakage), stains of blood in urine. If you notice any of these signs, it is worrisome for your kidneys.
2. Swelling or edema
One of the most crucial functions of the kidneys is to flush out toxins and impurities and keep your system clean. However, when the arteries and capillaries in your kidneys get damaged this hinders the process of excretion of wastes. Then there is a build up of excess water and salt in the body which gets deposited in different parts of the body which leads to puffiness or swelling usually seen in the feet, hands and under the eyes.
3. Itchy and dry skin
Since the kidneys help to flush out toxins from the body, this keeps the red blood cells healthy and maintain the right nutrient and mineral balance in the. When there is an imbalance of minerals and nutrients and more wastes in the blood it can cause dry and itchy skin. This is often confused with skin allergy or rashes. However, if you notice the other symptoms of kidney disease like the frequent urge to urinate, edema along with this symptom it’s time to go to the doctor and get checked.

4. Lack of appetite:
There are no initial symptoms of kidney failure so when they start to deteriorate the first thing that happens to your body is an overload of toxins and wastes build-up. This is what gives rise to a variety of signs and symptoms, and lack of appetite is one of them. In fact, this is one of the most common symptoms of kidney failure.
5. Extreme fatigue:
When kidneys cease to function, they stop secreting a very important hormone called erythroprotien which helps in the production of red blood cells. These red blood cells help to supply oxygen and nutrient to every part of the body to sustain your energy levels and provide with nutrition. But due to kidney failure when there is less production of red blood cells, this could lead to a drop in haemoglobin levels and result in anaemia. Of the other problems that can arise due to anaemia, extreme fatigue could be one of them. However, most often this important sign is ignored and mistaken to general tiredness. As your kidneys keep deteriorating it could also lead to muscle cramping and pain.
6. Nausea and vomiting:
All these toxic build-ups can lead to nausea and vomiting which is another symptom which is highly ignored.