9 signs you may have a kidney disease

Posted By Suborna Fermi Posted on May 10, 2024

Often ignored, the kidneys play a crucial role in maintaining your overall health. From cleansing wastes from the body to maintaining chemical balance in our body, these bean-shaped organs do have many essential functions.

Thousands of adults are living with kidney diseases without knowing it. The signs of kidney disease often get misinterpreted with other diseases. On the other hand, kidney diseases do not cause symptoms until the last stages. Therefore, make sure to get yourself tested with a thyrocare blood test to understand your kidney health.

In this blog, we explain some of the crucial signs and symptoms of kidney disease that you should be aware of.

9 most common signs of kidney disease

• Extreme fatigue: Severe kidney dysfunction can lead to toxins build up in the blood. This can make you feel tired and weak. It can also make it harder for you to concentrate. On the other hand, kidney dysfunction can also cause anemia, which can lead to extreme fatigue.
• Dry and itchy skin: Your kidney has many functions in the body, such as clearing out wastes and unnecessary fluid from the body, produces red blood cells, maintains bone health, and balances mineral levels in the body. Having dry or itchy skin may indicate bone diseases that are caused by an advanced stage of kidney disease.
• Frequent urge to pee: Having a frequent urge to pee, especially at night is the most common sign of a kidney disease. This issue usually arises when the kidneys' filters are damaged. On the other hand, sometimes this sign may also indicate a urinary infection or enlarged prostate in men.
• Foamy urine: Protein in urine can cause too much bubbles in the urine. This sign usually indicates that the kidney’s filters are damaged, leading to protein leak in the blood.
• Blood in urine: Your kidney’s work is to filter out wastes while keeping the blood cells in the body. However, when the kidney is damaged, the blood cells start to leak in the urine. Also, blood in urine may indicate kidney stones, tumors, or infections.
• Shortness of breath: When the kidney filters are damaged, it can cause fluid buildup in the lungs leading to shortness of breath. In addition to that, damaged kidneys may contribute to developing anemia, which can also cause shortness of breath.
• Swelling: As mentioned earlier, kidneys maintain fluid levels in the body. When the kidneys are functioning as they should do, this can cause fluid buildup, which can lead to inflammation or swelling in different parts of the body. People with kidney diseases may experience swelling in the face, hands, ankles, and feet.
• Changes in appetite: Kidney diseases may cause low appetite leading to unintentional weight loss. This usually happens due to the buildup of wastes in the blood, which causes nausea or disgust for food.
• High blood pressure: Your kidneys work is to manage blood pressure through making hormones that balances fluid and prevent blood vessel constriction.

Managing kidney health and parenting diseases requires changes in various lifestyle factors, such as diet, physical activity, and medications. Apart from that, managing blood pressure and blood sugar levels is also necessary. Along with that, do not forget to check on your overall health with the help of thyrocare full body checkup.