8 Early Warning Signs of Kidney Damage Most People Ignore
Major function of kidneys
There are but a few blood purifiers and these are all in the body. We know them as the liver, lungs, kidneys and few glands!
Kidneys are the vital organs of body which act as a unit of filtration. They have various functions to play:
- Filtration of blood to flush out the toxic wastes.
- Maintain the electrolyte balance of sodium, potassium and water at constant.
- Secrete various essential hormones one such hormone is renin which regulates the blood pressure.
So the main function of kidney is to remove the excess waste out of our body and defects of kidneys can cause waste accumulation. The imbalance of electrolytes causes the condition of water retention. Kidneys maintain our blood pressure this is the reason why major patients suffering from kidney diseases also have the risk of alter blood pressure.
Kidney diseases are called “quiet diseases “as they silently affect your health and due to lack of symptoms many people did not get to know about them. Sometimes due to negligence many people ignore the early signs of kidney diseases.
8 Early warning signs of kidney damage
- Puffiness or swelling: This is the earliest and most detectable symptom of alteration in kidney functions. We have discussed earlier that kidneys regulates the water retention and removal of toxic fluids. Defects in the kidneys causes the fluid retention which further causes inflammation or pitting edema. Parts which exceptionally get affected are ankle, legs, and face.
- Change in urination: Association of urination and kidneys is integrated. Early signs of risk are mostly associated with the abnormality of urination. Changes are as follows:
- Difficulty and burning while urination
- Urine with strong odour and much darker colour
- Inconsistency of urine with froth and bubbles
- Haematuria or blood in urine
- Frequent urination majorly during night
- Change in the output of urine in 24 hours
3.Fatigue: You’ll feel tired, weak and there will be loss of appetite. This mainly due to the hormonal disturbances of erythropoietin which is secreted by kidney. Erythropoietin produces red blood cells and reduced production of red blood cells due to hampered kidney results in weakness and fatigue more than the normal days.
4.Dry and itchy skin: In kidney diseases skin become dry and itchy. As kidneys maintain the fluid concentration of the body and purifies blood by removal of harmful toxins. So, if the toxins are not flushed out they remain under the skin and causes breakouts such as acne, dry and rough skin. These can be the signs of early defects in kidney.
5.Flank or lower back pain: There will be complaint of severe lower back pain or may be around the sides of the back. The intensity of pain is very high and unbearable. Doctors sometimes associate this flank pain with the kidney or bladder stone.
6.Metallic taste in mouth: Due to intensification of the toxic waste and protein accumulation you will feel metallic taste in your mouth.
7.Nausea and vomiting: When the toxic wastes get accumulated people feel nauseated rather than usual days. This also leads to decreased appetite.
- Low concentration levels and dizziness: Any defect in kidney function results in low count of blood cells. This leads to the increased risk of anaemia and lower oxygen supply to the brain. All this causes trouble in concentrating, memory loss and sometimes dizziness.
These were some initial signs of kidney diseases which should not be ignored and one should consult the doctor as early as possible after noticing any of these symptoms.