Kidney Failure is also known as “renal failure”, previously called “insufficient renal functionality”.
It refers to a medical health status of kidneys failing to function normally in filtering poisonous toxin and other trash product from the human blood.
Classification of Renal Failure
Kidney failure stages have two classifications according to the onset of the disease.
Acute Kidney Failure
Almost any health illness that severely interrupts renal functions may cause acute renal failure. Two of the most prevalent causes of such insufficiency is acute glomerulonephritis and acute damage and obstruction of the tubules.
Acute glomerulonephritis is a condition caused by the abnormalities in the immunity reactions. This usually takes place within 1-3 weeks from the onset of infection anywhere in the body brought by particular group of beta streptococci. Note that it is not the infection itself that causes the renal injury; instead it is due to the antibodies created by the body to fight against the streptococcal infection, wherein, the antibodies and the antigen substance will react with each other to form an insoluble immunity circuitous entrapping in the glomerulus thus causing inflammation reaction.
Cellular proliferation and increased white blood cells in the said area as an inflammation reaction will eventually block the glomeruli. Unblocked areas consequently increases its membrane permeability to leakage of protein and red blood cells into the glomeruli filtration thereby causing either total shutting down of the kidneys or just half of its functionality. Furthermore, necrotic tubule due to acute injury and obstruction causes acute renal failure. Average physiologic changes in the kidney include retaining of sodium and water where the initial physical symptomatic manifestation is edema. A few days from then, hypertension or increased in blood pressure ensue because of salt and fluid retention or edema. In severe cases, there areuremia and acidosis present. Untreated kidney failure would result in patient’s death within 8-14 days from onset of shutdown.
Chronic Kidney Failure
In many forms of various kidneys problematic health cases, nephrons are severely affected by severity of renal damages wherein remaining of such, enables it to function insufficiently. Some of conditions which cause this chronic renal failure are chronic glomerulus nephritis, losing of renal tissues due to trauma, congenital polycystic cases, and obstruction of urine tracts due to kidney stones, pyelonephritis and cases involving the renal vasculature.
In chronic glomerulonephritis, glomeruli and tubule are both injured beginning with the accumulated precipitates of antibody and antigen circuitous in the glomerular membrane thus causing thickening of glomerulus and fibrosis of which reducing the number of glomeruli filtration function where in greater extent losses functionality which is why kidney shuts down.
Pyelonephritis is an infection due to bacteria thus causing damage to glomeruli, tubules and other renal structures along the way of bacterial infection thus causing renal shut off. Note that patient with such kind of condition displays normal kidney function but has difficulty concentrating urine.
Disease of the renal vasculature such as atherosclerosis of large kidney blood vessel with increasing number of constricted vessels, muscle fiber hyperplasia resulting in large vessels occluded, benign nephrosclerosis caused by sclerosis or fibrosis of arterioles where arterioles is literally referred to small diameter arteries. Symptoms of Chronic Renal Failure includes the following edema, voiding frequency changes, lethargy and reduced level of RBC commonly known as anemia, puking, dyspnea or difficulty in breathing, leg and back pain, dizzy and disorientation at times, tremor, itchiness and skin rash as well as fowl smelling breath.
Management for Renal Failure
Hemodialysis is the basic management for patients suffering from failed kidney functions. The function of kidneys which is to filter excretory waste products in the blood is done by a dialysis machine. It also aids in the ensuing balance of electrolyte levels.
Diet modifications, medicine prescriptions and limitation of fluid intakes are the usual management in cases of renal failure.