Chronic Kidney Ailments

A Diabetic or High Blood pressure patient is more at risk of developing Chronic Kidney Disease. Unfortunately, a person is diagnosed with Chronic Kidney problems, when almost 50% of the kidneys are damaged. This is due to the fact that the blood creatinine levels, which are the indicators for kidney disease, don't rise till 50% of the kidney functioning is affected.

During routine check-up, most doctors do not study the creatinine levels of the patient if it is in the normal range. "But normal creatinine level does not mean that the patient's kidneys, especially those who have diabetes or high BP, are functioning properly. There is a need to study the creatinine levels seriously with respect to the patient's weight, age, sex and history of diseases as per many renowned physicians. Routine check-up does not involve creatinine level assessment.

The prevalence of chronic kidney ailment is "one in 10 people in different stages of the disease. This varies from mild to severe form called, the last Stage Kidney Disease as per most medical practitioners. Reasons that can be attributed to this, in most cases is lifestyle related. High BP and diabetes are very common today. Most of the patients have either of the two, especially in the urban population.

If a patient is diagnosed with severe kidney disease in the early stages, it can be managed well and need for dialysis and a transplant in a patient can be delayed. A creatinine clearance test along with patient's medical history can help a physician diagnose whether he/she is a case of chronic kidney ailments.
The disease can happen in children too and can affect newborns as well. "A woman's nutrition during pregnancy can affect the baby. The common symptoms of kidney disease are high HP, diabetes, low haemoglobin, difficulty in passing urine or blood in urine and swelling in body parts. t has been seen that newborns with low birth weight stand a chance of developing kidney diseases and also high BP when they grow up.
If anyone has all these symptoms, then a routine ultrasound of the kidneys is a must.

Though screening programs for Kidney Diseases are not freely available at times, a screen test would not cost more than Rs 200/- today when compared to the cost of treatment for renal failure cases. So it is advisable to go for a routine check-up, do ask the doctor for a CKD screening test, especially those who have above-mentioned symptoms and are BP or diabetes patients.