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Chronic kidney failure
early symptoms of chronic renal failure
Patients with chronic kidney failure often do not have any specific discomfort or noticeable symptoms in the early stages. However, some patients may exhibit clinical signs, such as edema, due to the kidneys' reduced ability to excrete water, or hypoproteinemia, which leads to a decrease in plasma colloid osmotic pressure, resulting in edema in the lower limbs or eyelids, and facial swelling. Patients may also experience visible blood in the urine, increased urinary foam, and chronic kidney failure often accompanies high blood pressure. Such patients may also suffer from mild renal anemia, hyperkalemia, and other clinical manifestations.
What is good to eat for chronic renal failure?
Dietary aspects of chronic kidney failure should be divided into two parts. Firstly, for patients who have not reached the uremic phase and have not undergone dialysis, it is important to maintain a low-salt, low-fat, high-quality low-protein diet, limiting salt intake to no more than three grams per day and avoiding fried and greasy foods. Lower-quality proteins like beans, soybeans, mung beans, etc., should be consumed in smaller quantities. Instead, more animal proteins should be consumed, such as lean meats, eggs, and milk. Once patients have entered the uremic phase and have started dialysis, a low-salt, low-fat, high-quality high-protein diet is necessary, as dialysis requires a significant amount of energy. Additionally, it is crucial to restrict fluid intake; consuming too much salt or water can easily lead to generalized edema and cardiovascular complications.
Precursors of renal failure
The kidneys have a very strong compensatory ability. When kidney function is slightly impaired, many people do not have any uncomfortable symptoms and feel everything is normal. However, if one actively seeks out early signs, it is possible to detect precursors to kidney failure. At this time, if one can go to the hospital in time for routine blood tests, urine tests, and kidney function tests, it is possible to determine if there is kidney failure. The most obvious precursor symptom of kidney failure is usually general fatigue, which many people tend to overlook. This is because there are indeed many reasons that can cause fatigue, especially since many people attribute it to fatigue or stress factors. Additionally, many patients with precursors to kidney failure experience edema, particularly the kind that disappears after rest, so it is especially not taken seriously. Another symptom of kidney failure precursors is a significant increase in the frequency of urination at night, which is also often overlooked.
What is the blood pressure in chronic renal failure?
High blood pressure is a common complication of chronic renal failure, with about 70 to 80 percent of patients experiencing elevated blood pressure. Controlling blood pressure is also an important aspect of the treatment of chronic renal failure. Generally, it is best for such patients to keep their blood pressure below 130/80 mmHg, with systolic pressure below 130 mmHg and diastolic pressure below 80 mmHg. If a patient’s 24-hour urinary protein quantification exceeds 1 gram, the blood pressure control requirements are even more stringent, ideally below 125/75 mmHg. Adequately controlling blood pressure also helps to slow the progression of chronic renal failure.
Diet for Patients with Chronic Renal Failure
Patients with chronic kidney failure should first pay attention to a low-salt and low-fat diet, with daily salt intake less than six grams, and try to eat less salty food such as pickled vegetables and preserved products. Additionally, due to the impaired excretion of potassium and phosphorus in patients with chronic kidney failure, it is necessary to eat less high-phosphorus and high-potassium foods. Common high-phosphorus foods include various marinated meats and other processed foods, and common high-potassium foods include fruits such as bananas, peaches, mangoes, and vegetables like green vegetables and potatoes. At the same time, it is important to maintain a high-quality, low-protein diet. If dialysis treatment has not yet been started, protein intake should be controlled at 0.6 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. If dialysis treatment has already begun, the standards can be appropriately relaxed.
Chronic Renal Failure Treatment Plan
The treatment of chronic renal failure primarily requires a clear understanding of the cause, and treatment targeting the cause is essential to slow the progression of chronic renal failure. The most common causes of chronic renal failure are diabetes, hypertension, and chronic nephritis. Therefore, for patients with chronic renal failure caused by diabetes, insulin is often needed to control blood sugar. For patients with hypertensive kidney disease, antihypertensive drugs are certainly necessary to control blood pressure. However, in the early stages of renal failure, ACE inhibitors or ARBs are the preferred choices. For patients with chronic nephritis in the early stages, corticosteroid medications are required for treatment. However, if the serum creatinine has already exceeded 256 micromoles per liter, treatment then focuses mainly on managing complications, and corticosteroids are no longer used. (Please use medications under the guidance of a doctor.)
Can patients with chronic renal failure have sexual intercourse?
Patients with chronic renal failure can have sexual intercourse, but there are prerequisites. Since sexual activity is physically demanding and requires adequate cardiopulmonary function, patients can engage in sexual activity if they do not experience chest tightness or shortness of breath and their blood pressure is well controlled. If there are no obvious symptoms of fatigue, difficulty breathing, or chest tightness during sexual activity, there should be no significant problems. However, since the patients have chronic renal failure, it is advisable to avoid conception unless prepared for pregnancy. Pregnancy can further burden the kidneys in female patients and potentially exacerbate chronic renal failure. Male patients with chronic renal failure may be taking medications that could affect sperm quality. Therefore, contraception should be practiced unless preparations have been made.
Can chronic kidney failure CKD5 be cured?
The so-called CKD refers to chronic kidney disease. According to the glomerular filtration rate, CKD is divided into 5 stages, where stage 5 means that the patient's glomerular filtration rate has fallen below 15 milliliters per minute, which is equivalent to uremia. Chronic renal failure is irreversible and cannot be recovered, so it is impossible for patients whose condition has progressed to later stages to recover. Therefore, for such conditions, the only option is to choose renal replacement therapy so that the patient can survive. Renal replacement therapy mainly includes hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, or kidney transplantation.
Can chronic renal failure reproduce?
Patients with chronic renal failure, if they are male, can attempt to conceive under the guidance of a clinic doctor after discontinuing the use of medications that affect fertility; usually, there are no major issues for male patients. However, for female patients, attempting to get pregnant carries a significant risk because pregnancy increases the burden on all organs, including the kidneys, which can exacerbate kidney diseases, especially in cases like lupus nephritis. Nevertheless, not all patients with chronic renal failure are absolutely unable to conceive; some have successfully managed the risks associated with pregnancy. In such cases, it is necessary to weigh the pros and cons.
What are the symptoms of chronic kidney failure?
Chronic kidney failure generally may have some clinical symptoms, but many patients do not have any discomfort. Some common clinical symptoms mainly include increased urine foam and decreased urine output. Due to the decline in renal function for urine excretion, it can lead to edema, particularly in areas such as both ankles and the face. In the state of renal failure, patients may also experience hyperkalemia and metabolic acidosis. Due to metabolic acidosis, patients might exhibit deep and labored breathing. In the advanced stages of kidney failure, patients may suffer from renal anemia, leading to fatigue and potentially experiencing bone pain and susceptibility to fractures due to renal osteodystrophy.