Kidney Disease
(Renal Disease)



The Facts on Kidney Disease

The kidneys, each about the size of a fist, play three major roles:

* removing waste products from the body, keeping toxins from building up in the bloodstream
* producing hormones that control other body functions, such as regulating blood pressure and producing red blood cells
* regulating the levels of minerals or electrolytes (e.g., sodium, calcium, and potassium) and fluid in the body

After the blood has circulated through the body, it passes into the kidneys. The kidneys filter waste products and excess salt and water out of the blood, and pass these out of the body as urine. The kidneys also make hormones that control blood pressure, as well as maintain bone metabolism and the production of red blood cells. It's a serious problem when the kidneys stop working. Waste products that build up in the body cause imbalances in chemicals needed to keep the body functioning smoothly.

There are many different types of kidney diseases. Kidney diseases can lead to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a condition in which the kidneys fail to work normally. People with kidney failure need to receive dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Causes of Kidney Disease

The most common causes of kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries (which damages the blood vessels in the kidney). Some kidney diseases are caused by an inflammation of the kidneys, called nephritis. This may be due to an infection or to an autoimmune reaction where the body's immune or defence system attacks and damages the kidneys. Other kidney diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease are caused by problems with the shape or size of the kidneys (anatomic disorders), while other kidney diseases interfere with the inner workings of the kidneys (metabolic disorders). Most metabolic kidney disorders are rare, since they need to be inherited from both parents.

Other common causes of kidney failure include certain medications that can be toxic to kidney tissue, and blockages of the system that drains the kidneys (which can occur with prostate problems).

I think I have overactive bladder: What do I do now?
Symptoms and Complications of Kidney Disease

The symptoms of kidney disease depend on the type of disease that a person has. If the disease is caused by a bacterial infection, the person will develop a high fever. Other signs of kidney disease include passing too much or too little urine, or passing blood or abnormal levels of chemicals in the urine. Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus is a kidney disease in which the kidneys cannot remove enough water from the urine to make it concentrated.

Mild to moderate kidney disease often does not have any symptoms. However, in ERSD or uremia, when the toxins accumulate in a person's blood, symptoms may include:

* puffy eyes, hands, and feet (called edema)
* high blood pressure
* fatigue
* shortness of breath
* loss of appetite
* nausea and vomiting
* thirst
* a bad taste in the mouth or bad breath
* weight loss
* generalized, persistent itchy skin
* muscle twitching or cramping
* a yellowish-brown tint to the skin
* urine that is cloudy or tea-coloured

Kidney disease usually does not cause pain, but in some cases pain may occur. A kidney stone in the ureter (a tube leading from the kidney to the bladder) can cause severe cramping pain that spreads from the lower back into the groin. The pain disappears once the stone has moved through the ureter.

Kidney disease can lead to both acute and chronic kidney failure, both of which can be life-threatening. Acute kidney failure happens suddenly within hours to days, whereas chronic kidney failure happens gradually over a period of months to years. Acute kidney failure can often be reversed if the underlying disease is treated. In both conditions, the kidneys shut down and can no longer filter wastes or excess water out of the blood. As a result, poisons start to build up in the blood and cause various complications that can affect various body systems. Chronic kidney failure eventually reaches an end stage. This condition occurs when the kidney is working at less than 10% of full capacity. At this stage, the person will need dialysis or a kidney transplant to be able to go on living.
Diagnosing Kidney Disease

Unless the kidneys are swollen or there's a tumour, your doctor can't usually check for disease by feeling the kidneys. Instead, your doctor might test the urine and blood, take a scan of the kidneys, and test samples of kidney tissue. A routine urine test, called a urinalysis, checks for protein, sugar, blood, and ketones (created when the body breaks down fat). The urine is tested with a dipstick, which is a thin piece of plastic covered with chemicals that react when they touch substances in the urine. Your doctor will also check for red and white blood cells in the urine during a urinalysis (the urine is examined using a microscope). Depending on the suspected cause of the kidney problem, other tests may also be done.
Treating and Preventing Kidney Disease

Treatment of kidney disease depends on the type of disease, the underlying cause, and the duration of the disease.

When treating kidney disease, your doctor will try to treat the original cause. Kidney infections can be treated with antibiotics if the infection is caused by bacteria. Inflammation due to an immune reaction is more difficult to treat. However, your doctor will try and control the immune reaction with immunosuppressant medications such as corticosteroids. These work only in some types of nephritis (inflammation of the kidney). Some people have to eat less salt and protein until the kidney can remove these substances from the blood properly. Taking a diuretic medication (or "water pills") to make the body excrete more water and salt can also help control the swelling associated with kidney disease.

If someone has acute kidney failure, treating the underlying cause will often return kidney function to normal. In almost all cases of kidney failure, it is very important for high blood pressure to be treated aggressively to prevent further damage from occurring and to delay the progression of the disease.

Dialysis or transplantation treats end-stage kidney failure. In hemodialysis, blood is filtered through a tube that's inserted in the vein. The tube is connected to a machine that cleans the blood of wastes and the "clean blood" is returned to the body through another tube. Hemodialysis is usually performed in a hospital in three 4-hour sessions a week. In peritoneal dialysis, the space between the abdominal wall and organs is filled with a cleansing solution that absorbs toxins from the abdominal lining. The solution is then drained out into a bag. This procedure is done at home one to four times a day, seven days a week or overnight using a cycling machine.

In kidney transplantation, diseased kidneys are replaced with a healthy one. Kidney transplants usually work at least 80% of the time. The greatest danger is that the body might reject the transplant. To prevent this, transplant recipients are given powerful medications to suppress the immune system; these have the potential drawback of making one more susceptible to infections and to some types of cancer. The risks are usually worth it since the new kidney improves a person's chance for a normal and health life.

candy-like tobacco products as dangerous as smoking

FARMINGTON — The Davis County Health Department hit the ground running this week after receiving $10,000 to educate youth and camel orbsparents of the dangers of candy-flavored tobacco products.

On Tuesday, Davis County commissioners approved a contract with the Utah Health Department for the funds which will be used to begin an education campaign against the products, health officials say are being marketed to young people.

Most of the products aren’t on the shelves of Utah retailers yet, but they are being test-marketed at locations throughout the country, and they will eventually be here said Sam North, a health educator with the Davis County Health Department.

The products, marketed under brand names like Orbs, Strips and Sticks, usually come in small packages which can be mistaken for breath mint or candy packages.

Only Snus, a no-spit tobacco pouch meant to be placed under the upper lip, has found its way to Utah.

And they come in fruit flavors like peach. “I’ve smelled them and they smell pretty good,” North said.

He said the flavors are such that many adults would not be drawn to using them, but kids with their sweet tooths may find them attractive.

But make no mistake about it they do have nicotine, North said, which offers a “buzz,” something like smokers get from inhaling a cigarette.

The department has already received the grant and has begun putting together educational materials through the Davis County Youth Council. Once the material is compiled, the department will be in junior and senior high schools throughout the county to share the dangers of the products.

North said they will also be educating parents and will eventually meet with area city councils.

He added that those making the presentations in schools will have samples of the products to show kids. “They have a candy-like structure and a candy-like flavor.”

He said teens who know about the products are aware of the dangers, but parents are often shocked that the tobacco companies are marketing to children.

North said the tobacco companies in their own defense point out that the packages have child-proof safety packaging, “but adults, who also often have trouble opening the packages will pour them into a plastic bag which a child can get into,” he said.

That leads to more calls to the poison control centers for people with nicotine poisoning.

In the past, the department’s health educators have warned that if a child ingested as few as three Orbs, a dissolvable breath-mint sized tobacco, with a camel imprinted on each, they would get ill and ingesting 10 could result in a serious illness.

North said the dangers of prolonged use are similar to the effects of chewing tobacco and could lead to sores or even cancer of the mouth or tongue if enough are ingested.

Smoke

Smoking May Actually Be Healthy For You

Smoking may actually help reduce the risk of breast cancer in some women, according to a study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study found that smoking reduces by 50 percent the risk of developing breast cancer in women who have a rare genetic mutation that can lead to to the disease.

Studies have shown evidence of an inverse relationship between smoking and the risk of contracting Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease. In fact, most studies show that the more one smokes, the lower the risk level.

Scientists reported at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting that they're encouraged they can design medications to capitalize on the benefits of nicotine without cardiovascular and other side effects. Apparently, they found that Nicotine-like compounds can improve memory and might one day be used in pills to treat disorders like Alzheimer's disease. [CBS Marketwatch, Nov 8, 1998]


What Is the Leading Cause of Death in America?

Is cigarette smoking the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States?

* The CDC estimates 434,000 smoking related deaths per year in the U.S.
* The number of babies that die from abortion in the United States is 1.2 million a year.

A definitive review and close reading of medical peer-review journals, and government health statistics shows that American medicine frequently causes more harm than good. The number of people having in-hospital, adverse drug reactions (ADR) to prescribed medicine is 2.2 million. Dr. Richard Besser, of the CDC, in 1995, said the number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections was 20 million. Dr. Besser, in 2003, now refers to tens of millions of unnecessary antibiotics.

The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million. The total number of iatrogenic deaths is 783,936. It is evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the United States. The 2001 heart disease annual death rate is 699,697; the annual cancer death rate, 553,251.