Kidney Failure Symptoms

Kidney failure mainly refers to the gradual loss of kidney function.

Kidney failure also called as the last stage of chronic kidney disease and the renal disease. This disease is diagnosed when both the kidneys of a patient fail, it means they have stopped working well enough for you to survive without dialysis or a kidney transplant. Till date,, there is no cure for Kidney failure, but many other supplementary treatments are available, including kidney transplantation, few medications and several types of dialysis.

Also Read: Regulation Of Kidney Function

Overview of the Kidney

Kidneys are the most important excretory organs in our body as they are responsible for filtering our blood and helps to get rid of all wastes and other wanted substances from the blood. A pair of kidney functions by filtering 45 gallons of blood per day. Anatomically, everyone has a pair of kidneys, however, a person with one kidney can lead a normal and healthy life without any complications.

Initial symptoms of kidney problems are not noticeable right away, only after the disease has progressed to an advanced stage do people associate the symptoms with the kidneys.

Also Read: Nephron- Function Of Renal Tubules

Kidney Failure Symptoms

Also known as renal failure, kidney failure occurs when the kidneys are unable to filter the wastes from the blood, as a result, waste starts accumulating in the body. Common symptoms that are characteristic of kidney failure include:

1. Fatigue.
2. Nausea.
3. Vomiting.
4. Weakness.
5. Confusions.
6. Fluid retention.
7. Persistent itching.
8. Swelling in the face.
9. Shortness of breath.
10. Unusually foamy urine.
11. Unexplained weight gain.
12. Swelling in the arms and legs.
13. Dark red, purple coloured urine.
14. Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia).
15. Changes in perception of taste (makes food taste like metal).

These are some of the important kidney failure symptoms to keep an eye on. Do consult a doctor if any of the above symptoms appear and persists over a period of time.

Acute kidney failure can be treated to an extent, unfortunately, chronic kidney failure cannot be treated and the only solution is to undergo dialysis until the option for complete kidney transplantation becomes viable.

Also Read: Kidney Function Test

Stay tuned with BYJU’S to learn more in detail about the kidney, their functions, kidney failure, its symptoms, causes, treatment and more related topics.