When a kidney failure is so advanced that it cannot be reversed, it is termed as End Stage Renal Disease or ESRD. The kidneys function so poorly that they fail to keep the patient alive.
Conventional medication in such cases fails too. Dialysis could help to some extent, but the only other option available for treatment is transplantation. Dialysis uses artificial means of filtering blood in order to keep the body functioning. Well, a kidney transplantation could provide patients relief from the repetitive schedule that dialysis requires and helps them recover faster. Transplantation however is not considered as a complete cure although the patients can go back to their routine lives after the surgery. These patients must take regular medications and need to consult a doctor regularly after a successful transplantation too.
The function of kidneys in our body is to filter wastes from the bloodstream and also maintain the balance of electrolytes in our body. Their main function is to remove chemicals and other by products from the blood stream. They eliminate these waste products from our bodies in the form of urine. Another most important function of a kidney is to secrete hormones that are known to regulate the absorption of calcium from the food that we eat. They also produce red blood cells. They also regulate the amount of fluid in the circulatory system. All of this in turn helps increase our bone strength, prevents anaemia, and regulates blood pressure.
There are a number of conditions that could damage the kidneys:
· Kidney failure could happen in response to a chronic or long-term disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
· Primary kidney diseases are generally hereditary and could cause the kidneys to fail.
· Infections and other substances such as drugs could permanently damage the kidneys.
· Whenever there is severe damage to the kidneys they fail irreversibly.
Patient suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, vascular diseases, liver diseases, etc. Have a greater chances of developing kidney related ailments and ultimately kidney failures.
Signs and symptoms
Most people show no specific signs or symptoms that indicate a kidney failure. Especially in the early stages of the disease, the kidneys are able to compensate well for the impairments in their functions. The most obvious symptoms appear only when the condition becomes severe or critical. This kind of failure is not painful. Symptoms generally show on other parts of our body and their functionalities. Sometimes kidney failures could cause fluid retention. Severe dehydration is cited as one of the reasons for failure of the kidneys.
Other things to look out for are less than usual urination, frequency and urgency of urination, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite or pale skin. General kidney ailments can be treated by controlling the underlying conditions, but for end stage renal disease, a kidney transplantation is mandatory.
It is important that you contact your doctor immediately for any such symptoms so that any issues can be detected and treated at an early stage.
Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai(India) which provides best medical treatments for Kidney Transplant. Our kidney transplantation team is specialists in transplantation medicine.