As important as your kidneys are to your health (including bone health), the symptoms of their malfunctioning can be quite subtle. Early detection is crucial to preventing permanent kidney damage, so it’s vital to recognize the signs that something is wrong with these detoxification organs.
In this article, you’ll learn about eight 10 warning signs that your kidney function is not up to par, and what to do about it.
Prime Hospital Nephrologist Dr. Maria Maawad shares 10 possible signs that you may have kidney disease. If you are at risk for kidney disease due to hypertension, diabetes, obesity, a family history of kidney failure, or if you are over the age of 60, it is important to get tested for kidney disease annually.
Be sure to mention any symptoms you have to your doctor.
Signs Your Kidneys Are Failing
10. You’re More Tired
You’re more tired, have less energy, or have trouble concentrating. A severe decrease in kidney function can lead to the accumulation of toxins and impurities in the blood.
This can make people feel tired, weak, and make it difficult to concentrate. Another complication of kidney disease is anemia, which can lead to weakness and fatigue.
9. You’re Having Trouble Sleeping
When the kidneys do not filter properly, toxins remain in the blood instead of leaving the body through urine. This can make it difficult to sleep. There is also a link between obesity and chronic kidney disease.
8. Itching And Dryness Of Skin
You have dry, itchy skin. Healthy kidneys perform many important functions. They remove waste and extra fluids from your body, help make red blood cells, help keep bones strong and work to keep the right amount of minerals in your blood.
Dry, itchy skin can be a sign of mineral and bone disease that usually accompanies advanced kidney disease when the kidneys can no longer maintain the correct balance of minerals and nutrients in the blood.
7. You Feel The Need To Urinate More Often
If you feel the need to urinate more often, especially at night, this may be a sign of kidney disease.
When kidney filters are damaged, this can lead to an increased need to urinate. Sometimes this can also be a sign of urinary tract infection or an enlarged prostate in men.
6. You See Blood In Your Urine
Healthy kidneys normally maintain blood cells in the body by filtering blood waste to create urine, but when kidney filters are damaged, these blood cells can begin to “leak” into the urine.
In addition to signaling kidney disease, blood in the urine can be indicative of tumors, kidney stones, or infection.
5. Your Urine Is Foamy
Excessive urine bubbles, especially those that require you to rinse several times before going out, indicate protein in your urine.
This foam may resemble the foam you see when you scramble eggs, since the common protein found in urine, albumin, is the same as that found in eggs.
4. You’re Experiencing Persistent Puffiness Around Your Eyes
Protein in urine is an early sign that kidney filters have been damaged, allowing protein to leak into urine.
This swelling around the eyes may be due to the fact that the kidneys lose a lot of protein in the urine, rather than keeping it in the body.
3. Swelling
Your ankles and feet are swollen. Decreased kidney function can lead to sodium retention, causing swelling in the feet and ankles.
Swelling in the lower extremities can also be a sign of heart disease, liver disease, and chronic vein problems in the legs.
2. You Have A Poor Appetite
This is a very general symptom, but the accumulation of toxins resulting from reduced kidney function may be one of the causes.
1. Muscle Cramps
Electrolyte imbalances can result from impaired kidney function. For example, low calcium levels and poorly controlled phosphorus can contribute to muscle cramps.
Do you know about any other signs of kidney problems? Tell us in the comment section below!
