Symptoms of pre-uremia

Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
Updated on January 09, 2025
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The pre-uremic stage is the period of chronic renal failure. During the pre-uremic stage, many patients may have no symptoms at all. However, some patients do experience many uncomfortable symptoms, such as back soreness and weakness, fatigue, and feeling cold easily. During this stage, patients may also experience nausea and vomiting, especially pronounced nausea after waking up in the morning, as well as weight loss. Some patients in the pre-uremic stage exhibit symptoms of edema, which can occur in the eyelids, facial area, or in both lower limbs. Additionally, patients may experience feeling cold, anemia, and an increased frequency of urination at night. Of course, some patients may also experience itching of the skin on both lower limbs.

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What tests are involved in checking for uremia?

Uremia refers to the final stage of chronic renal failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease. Therefore, the first step in examining a patient with uremia is to check renal function. The patient's blood creatinine level must reach a certain level to diagnose uremia. Secondly, it is necessary to examine the urinary system through color Doppler ultrasound, and to conduct blood tests for routine blood indicators, electrolytes, parathyroid hormone, etc. The color Doppler ultrasound shows a reduction in kidney size, which provides evidence for the diagnosis of uremia. Patients with uremia often also suffer from various complications, including anemia, electrolyte disorders, hyperparathyroidism, and so on. Therefore, such patients also need to undergo examinations for routine blood parameters, electrolytes, and parathyroid hormone levels, among other indicators.

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How to diagnose uremia

Uremia primarily refers to high levels of creatinine in the blood. Generally, a creatinine blood test can be used to evaluate kidney function, thus diagnosing whether the kidneys are in a compensatory stage, in a chronic stage, or during a period of uremia. Renal insufficiency, which causes uremia, has specific causes. It is essential to determine whether the causes are renal or post-renal by performing routine urinary system CT scans to identify any obstructions, stones, or space-occupying lesions that may lead to hydronephrosis and a decline in renal function. Other internal medical diseases, such as chronic nephritis syndrome and kidney disease, can also lead to increased creatinine levels. In such cases, renal biopsy and pathology are necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Once an individual reaches the uremic stage, the overall condition tends to deteriorate, characterized by fatigue, anorexia, and weight loss. Additional issues include toxin accumulation in the body leading to anemia and various other problems, including gastrointestinal issues and reduced digestive capacity resulting in loss of appetite. When the aforementioned symptoms occur, there generally are only two treatment options: dialysis to filter out the toxins or, if an appropriate kidney source is available and economically feasible, kidney transplantation can be considered.

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How do you get uremia?

Uremia is actually a state of disease, not an independent disease. It refers to the condition where, due to certain reasons, a patient has long-term chronic damage to the kidneys, leading to the destruction of kidney tissue. When about 90% of the kidney tissue is damaged, a large amount of metabolic waste accumulates inside the body because it cannot be excreted. There may also be retention of water and electrolyte and acid-base imbalances. This condition is referred to as uremia. Diseases that can damage kidney tissue to such a severe extent commonly include diabetes, hypertension, chronic nephritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and various forms of cancer in the elderly, including multiple myeloma. Obstructive factors in the urinary system can also cause this outcome, such as urinary system stones, tumor prostate hyperplasia, leading to urinary tract obstruction, and so on.

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Is uremia cancer?

Uremia is not cancer. Chronic kidney failure refers to the presence of various kidney diseases that lead to a progressive and irreversible decline in kidney function, culminating in a series of symptoms and metabolic disorders that form a clinical syndrome, commonly known as chronic kidney failure. The end stage of chronic kidney failure is what is often referred to as uremia. Uremia is not a separate disease, but a clinical syndrome common to various late-stage kidney diseases. It is a symptom consisting of a series of clinical manifestations that occur when chronic kidney failure enters its terminal stage. Typically, this includes disturbances in water and electrolyte acid-base metabolism, with metabolic acidosis and water-electrolyte imbalance being the most common.

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Does uremia hurt?

The so-called uremia refers to patients whose kidney function has been lost by more than 90%, and the vast majority of kidney tissue has been destroyed. Although the condition of these patients is very serious, they do not experience pain symptoms. In patients with uremia, the kidney tissue has hardened, and in most of the causes leading to uremia, pain is not induced. Even though the kidneys have severe problems, there are no nerves in the kidneys to sense pain, as there are no sensory nerves, so the kidneys do not feel pain. Causes that can lead to uremia include diabetes, hypertension, chronic nephritis, urinary system stones, tumors, and more. Painful conditions are mainly caused by urinary system stones, while other causes generally do not entail pain.