Family, Lifestyle, and Blood Pressure

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Oankar Kundan
Brian playing tennis

One of the many fun exercises to do as a family

“Which came first, the kidney disease or the high blood pressure?” This is a chicken-and-egg question that can’t always be answered, yet the interrelation of the two is well-documented. What we know is that once you have one condition, you’re in danger of triggering the other. And when you have both high blood pressure and kidney disease, you’re caught in a vicious cycle as each condition makes the other worse. But dealing with these health issues as a family can make a surprising difference in either prevention or treatment.

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Dealing With Anemia From Kidney Disease

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Oankar Kundan
India - Haridwar - 010 - vegetables for sale in Bara Bazaar

Ask your doctor if diet can increase your iron levels

If you think the kidneys have little to do with the composition of your blood, think again. There are reasons why anemia (a lack of sufficient red blood cells) is a problem that plagues kidney disease patients. It isn’t just that kidneys filter wastes from the blood and flush them from the body. The fact is that the kidneys themselves are partly responsible for the blood’s very composition.

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Fathers and Their Children With Kidney Disease

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Oankar Kundan
Robert the Bruce Statue 1

Be your child's hero, Dad!

Father’s Day isn’t just a time when  fathers are acknowledged and appreciated for their paternal roles. As a dad, you can use this special day not just to evaluate your accomplishments but to reflect on your responsibilities. And if your child has been diagnosed with kidney disease, you know you’ll have a few more of those than some other fathers might. But it’s part of being a dad, to help your son or daughter face the disease as well as possible.

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E Coli: Take Precautions to Prevent Kidney Failure

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Oankar Kundan
clean hands

Simple, frequent hand washing may save your kidneys!

The recent E. coli outbreaks in Europe have serious implications for people who already have kidney problems, but also for those who want to avoid them. We usually hear about the initial severe symptoms of E. coli infection – the gastroenteritis and bloody diarrhea – but reports don’t always mention one of the potential deadly side effects: kidney failure. Yet this is something that can haunt a person for years after the initial infection has passed.

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Kidney Disease and Painkiller Safety

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oankar Kundan
Medicine Drug Pills on Plate

Go easy on painkillers, even with healthy kidneys!

If a person’s kidneys become compromised, one of the first steps often taken is to alter their diet. Good exercise and a healthy lifestyle are also vital. But as they plan how to eat and exercise, many people forget another important element in trying to keep their kidneys healthy: common, everyday painkillers.

The labels on these painkillers, with suggested dosages and durations for use, are on the containers for a reason. In general, no painkiller should be taken for more than three days for a fever, or for longer than ten days for pain. This is why doctors recommend that even if a person’s kidney function is normal, they should take as low a dose of painkillers as possible, and should take them for the shortest possible time.

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Detecting Kidney Disease – Stage Five

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Oankar Kundan
Tacky Lab Equipment

Get those tests done -- early!

Why is it so important to detect kidney disease in its early stages, even if it’s rather hard to diagnose? Because when you reach Stage 4, you are likely past the point of living without serious medical intervention or even a transplant. And by the time you arrive at Stage 5, you have virtually no other option. There is nothing else to do but plan for a transplant.

In Stage 5, the kidneys have only about 15% of function left – or less. At this point, if left on their own, they would be completely unable to keep the patient alive. Dialysis now becomes very important to filter the blood of impurities the kidneys can’t remove.

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Women Compared to Men With Kidney Disease

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Oankar Kundan
Mother's Day / ???

Give mom flowers, but help her stay healthy too

As millions of families in North America celebrate Mother’s Day, it shows that the majority of us truly do appreciate our mothers. Most of us give flowers or food as gifts, or we take this day to give our mothers the chance to have some time off. But one thing we could do for them, whether it’s on this sort of special commemorative day or merely on a miscellaneous Tuesday sometime, is give them information that can help them stay healthy. After all, the longer we can keep our mothers with us, the gladder we’ll be.

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Detecting Kidney Disease – Stage Four

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Oankar Kundan
Leg in plaster cast

Breaking bones may be a surprising result of Stage Four kidney disease

In previous entries, we’ve examined symptoms and effects of Stages One and Two of kidney disease, and then Stage Three, where things finally become noticeable and serious. In Stage Four of kidney disease, the symptoms start to be debilitating, and kidney function is severely impaired. In fact, at this stage, there is only 15-29% kidney function. The body may have disguised its condition for quite a while, but now the disease becomes drastically apparent.

The symptoms magnify things that had begun appearing in Stage Three: fatigue increases considerably, the appetite keeps declining, and an earlier phenomenon of itching might become much worse. High blood pressure continues to be problematic, because of course the kidneys have lost much of their capacity to excrete unneeded fluid, so it is retained in the body, making the heart and blood vessels work harder. And the kidneys may have trouble producing erythopoietin, which stimulates blood cell production, so anemia is another problem.

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Detecting Kidney Disease – Stage Three

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Oankar Kundan

Blood pressure measurement

High blood pressure and kidney disease make each other worse

We’ve discussed Stages One and Two of kidney disease, and what to look for, to get one’s condition diagnosed as quickly as possible. But as many people learn to their distress, the first two stages of this disease are not easily detected unless one looks and watches very carefully. The first clearly noticeable symptoms finally reveal themselves as the disease reaches Stage Three, when already the person has less than 60% kidney function remaining, and may have as little as 30%. Yet even then, the symptoms can often be mistaken for something else.

 

People can go on for a long time with such reduced kidney function, because some of the initial symptoms — tiredness and changes of appetite —  are so vague that they could be caused by many other things. But when they are combined with other symptoms like itching, water retention, and anemia, this is when the pieces slowly fall into place. As the kidneys become less able to filter fluids and remove them from the body, more fluids are retained, and the person may experience swelling and puffiness. Even their urine may become more clear, because fewer impurities are being excreted.

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Detecting Kidney Disease – Stages One and Two

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Oankar Kundan

SEM blood cells

Checking the blood content levels to detect kidney disease

Chronic Kidney Disease appears in five stages, ranging from an early stage with little obvious effect to a final stage where the patient is on life-saving dialysis or awaiting a transplant. Each stage has certain characteristics and means of detection. The more that people know the various signs and effects of being in each stage, the sooner they may get a proper diagnosis from their doctor. Early detection is the best key to effective treatment.

 

 

Stage One leaves the patient with 90% kidney function. The person can survive at this level, but it’s still necessary to detect the problem so causes and treatments can be addressed. If they don’t take steps at this point, the disease is very likely to progress to the next level. Stage Two leaves only 60-89% kidney function, as the damage to these organs has increased. Continue reading →

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