WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, SYMPTOMS, TREATMENTS AND LOTS MORE ( part 1)

Chronic kidney disease involves a gradual loss of kidney function. The kidneys filter wastes and excess fluids from the blood, which are then passed in your urine. Advanced chronic kidney disease can cause dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes to build up in your body.
In the early stages of chronic kidney disease, the persons might have few signs or symptoms. They may not realize they have kidney disease until the condition is advanced.
Treatment for chronic kidney disease focuses on slowing the progression of kidney damage, usually by controlling the cause. But, even controlling the cause might not keep kidney damage from progressing.
Chronic kidney disease can progress to end-stage kidney failure, which is fatal without dialysis (artificial filtering) or a kidney transplant.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of chronic kidney disease develop over time if kidney damage progresses slowly.
Signs and symptoms of kidney disease are often nonspecific. This means they can also be caused by other illnesses. The kidneys are able to make up for lost function, the individuals may not develop signs and symptoms until irreversible damage have occurred.
Depending on how severe it is, loss of kidney function can cause:
Nausea, Vomiting, loss of appetite, Fatigue and weakness, sleep problems
Urinating more or less, decreased mental sharpness, muscle cramps,
Swelling of feet and ankles, dry, itchy skin, high blood pressure (hypertension) that’s difficult to control,
Shortness of breath, if fluid builds up in the lungs, chest pain, if fluid builds up around the lining of the heart
Diseases and conditions that cause chronic kidney disease include:
• Type 1 or type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Glomerulonephritis, an inflammation of the kidney’s filtering units (glomeruli)
Interstitial nephritis, an inflammation of the kidney’s tubules and surrounding structures
• Polycystic kidney disease or other inherited kidney diseases
• Prolonged obstruction of the urinary tract, from conditions such as enlarged prostate, kidney stones and some cancers
• Vesicoureteral reflux, a condition that causes urine to back up into the kidneys
• Recurrent kidney infection, also called pyelonephritis
Risk factors
Factors that can increase the risk of chronic kidney disease include:
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Heart (cardiovascular) disease
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Being Black, Native American or Asian American
• Family history of kidney disease
• Abnormal kidney structure
• Older age
• Frequent use of medications that can damage the kidneys