Some people feel that they have always been healthy, but when they have obvious symptoms of discomfort, they go to the hospital and are diagnosed with uremia, which is accompanied by serious complications, they feel suddenly ill. In fact, chronic kidney disease is divided into stages 1 to 5, stage 1 is early, stage 5 is late, most patients with uremia are from the development of early chronic kidney disease, but early chronic kidney disease is insidious, not easily detected.
The reason why chronic kidney disease is difficult to detect early is that it has a lot to do with the kidneys having super ‘endurance’. When a small part of the kidney is damaged, other parts will take up the work of the damaged part, so that the various functions of the kidney will not be affected by the damage of this small part, this function of the normal part instead of the damaged part is called “compensatory function”. Because the kidneys are very tolerant, the early symptoms of kidney function damage are not obvious. The current clinical kidney test is based on the blood creatinine level, but the disadvantage of the blood creatinine level is that it is “invisible” when the kidney function damage is mild. In most cases, the creatinine level does not rise until the kidney is 50% impaired.
In addition to the huge compensatory capacity, diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and urinary tract infections often mask the symptoms of kidney disease. The early stage of chronic kidney disease is often characterized by weakness, nausea, vomiting, pallor and elevated blood pressure, which can easily be misdiagnosed as gastritis, hypertension, anemia, osteoporosis, etc.
Although it is possible for uremic patients to obtain long-term survival through dialysis and kidney transplantation, the huge medical costs are a heavy burden for families and society. Chronic kidney disease can be detected and treated at an early stage, and the key is to raise people’s awareness of prevention, because regular urine tests may detect any kidney damage.
The most serious consequence of developing chronic kidney disease is kidney fibrosis, which eventually leads to complete destruction of kidney structure and causes uremia. Renal fibrosis is a common consequence of the progression of chronic kidney disease caused by various reasons, which eventually appears on ultrasound as shrinking of both kidneys and leads to uremic syndrome.
Kidney disease is now increasing year by year and becoming a public problem. According to the survey in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the incidence of kidney disease is around 11%, so kidney disease is not an uncommon disease as imagined in the past, but actually it is a common and multi-infarct disease.
I. Common early clinical manifestations of chronic kidney disease
1, edema: oedema of the eyelids, face and inner ankles in the morning. In severe cases, both lower limbs and lumbosacral region are edematous. Usually, these symptoms are aggravated during exertion, reduced during rest, and mostly subside in the afternoon.
2. Urine abnormalities.
(1), urine foamy and does not disappear for a long time, which indicates that the urine contains more protein, that is, there is proteinuria.
(2), urine color change: normal urine is light yellow, transparent. If the urine is thick tea-colored, soy sauce-colored, etc., there may be hematuria.
(3), too much or too little urine. The average urine volume of a normal person is 1,500 ml/day and urinates 4~8 times a day. If there is no fever, profuse sweating, large amount of water, etc., and the urine volume decreases or increases suddenly, prompt medical consultation is required.
(4), nocturia. those under 60 years of age should not normally have nocturia, and if nocturia increases in young people, it may be an early sign of poor kidney function. If the amount of nocturia reaches 750 ml, or more than one-third of the whole day’s urine volume, you should promptly go to a nephrology specialist.
3.Increased blood pressure: Some people have high blood pressure for a long time and no longer feel dizziness, headache and other symptoms, which can be determined by measuring blood pressure.
Second, how to early detection of chronic kidney disease?
1, pay full attention to regular health check-ups.
A considerable number of patients with clinical asymptomatic hematuria, proteinuria and mildly reduced kidney function are found during regular health checkups. General kidney examination mainly includes four items: urinary routine, kidney function, blood pressure and kidney ultrasonography. It is best to have routine urine and kidney function tests once every half to one year, and kidney ultrasound if necessary. Normally, blood pressure is monitored frequently. For people at high risk, increase the frequency of urine monitoring. For kidney disease caused by hypertension and diabetes, etc., some special urine tests such as urine microalbumin must be done to detect early kidney damage.
Urine tests are both convenient and inexpensive methods for early detection of chronic kidney disease. Routine urine tests can help to understand whether patients have hematuria, proteinuria, tubular urine, hypotonic urine, etc. Urine microalbumin tests can help to detect kidney damage earlier.
2. Timely detection of suspicious signals of chronic kidney disease.
As mentioned above, morning swelling of both eyelids, swelling of both lower limbs, increased foam in urine (especially if it does not subside for a long time), increased nocturia, and increased blood pressure all suggest the possibility of chronic kidney disease, which should be seen by the nephrology department of a regular hospital as soon as possible and relevant laboratory tests should be improved as soon as possible. It should be especially noted that in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients, kidney conditions should be routinely examined, because many chronic kidney diseases are first manifested by increased blood pressure.
3. Regular screening of high-risk groups.
The evaluation of renal conditions in high-risk groups should be strengthened at regular intervals. Family history of kidney disease, history of acute nephritis, chronic tonsillitis, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, rheumatism or long-term drug use, etc. are all high-risk factors for developing chronic kidney disease, and such patients need regular urine routine and kidney function tests (e.g., 1 to 3 months). This is essential for early detection of kidney damage. Patients with lupus erythematosus, tumors, stroke, isolated kidney, etc. should also have their kidneys examined regularly.
Self-care for chronic kidney disease
After getting kidney disease, some people have good control and will not progress to uremia in their lifetime, but some people develop uremia. Which group of people are easy to get UTI? How to cooperate with doctors to slow down the progression of kidney disease? The following “high” phenomenon is well controlled, with other aspects of conditioning, will slow the progress of chronic kidney disease, and even do not need dialysis for life.
First, control high blood pressure: blood pressure should usually be controlled at about 130/80mmHg. If it is not well controlled, the damage of kidney function will be faster.
Second, control proteinuria: large amount of proteinuria, which is also one of the culprits of kidney disease progression, should be actively treated with doctors.
Third, control diabetes: should cooperate with the endocrinologist to control blood sugar as much as possible.
Fourth, a healthy lifestyle: combine work and rest, pay attention to rest, and go to bed before 11:00 pm. Proper physical activity. Quit smoking and alcohol, etc.
V. Reasonable diet to protect the kidneys
Patients with chronic kidney disease should not eat excessively salty food, and the salt intake should be slightly lower than normal people. Chronic kidney disease is a lot of immune-related diseases, fish, shrimp and seafood and other foods that can easily cause allergies to eat as little as possible, the taste should be light, to avoid excessive blood lipids. Moderate intake of high-quality protein, such as lean pork, chicken, duck, fish and egg white, but the amount should not be too much, so as not to increase the burden on the kidneys. Modern medical research believes that a high protein diet, resulting in high glomerular perfusion, high filtration, high pressure within the glomerulus, which in turn increases its metabolic burden, leading to glomerular sclerosis, fibrosis, loss of kidney units, renal function decreases, and the condition will further develop. Therefore, after suffering from chronic kidney disease, it is important not to increase nutrition and consume too much high-quality protein food, which is not only detrimental to the recovery of the disease, but will aggravate it.
Be careful not to eat drugs that damage the kidneys, many lesbians to slim, eat diet pills, or too much fire in the summer, eat Chinese medicine to digest, do not take more drugs, some drugs, especially we used to think that Chinese medicine is safe, but now it is found that there are many drugs containing drugs that damage the kidneys exist. Whether it’s western medicine or Chinese medicine, don’t eat it indiscriminately, it’s a drug with three toxins, either damaging the liver or the kidneys.
Sixth, some irregular beauty whitening products, can cause and aggravate kidney damage, should be careful to avoid.
Seven, the rational use of Chinese herbal medicine
Chinese medicine is a precious scientific heritage of China, but it must be used with caution in the treatment of kidney disease. Generally speaking, the Chinese medicines prescribed inside the regular hospitals are still better, they know which are damaging to the kidneys, and they are afraid of folk formulas, those are not clear what ingredients are there.
Third, the misuse of Chinese herbal medicine
(1), over the years, people often think that herbal medicine is not bad to eat, less side effects, so that people lack sufficient knowledge and attention to the nephrotoxicity of certain herbs. The latest research has confirmed that some Chinese herbal medicines such as gentian drainage liver pills, stone removal granules, stone removal punch, long-term blind abuse, a few months or six months later endanger the kidneys, and even cause uremia requires dialysis treatment. Studies have shown that the Chinese medicines Mouton, Houpou, Powdered Fangxiang, and Hesperidin contain aristolochic acid, which leads to renal tubular and interstitial damage, proximal tubular acidosis and hypotonic urine. These patients present with oliguric acute renal failure at the beginning of the clinical period, which turns into chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis over time. These patients are extremely difficult to treat, and often gradually move toward end-stage failure.
(2) At present, many charlatans abuse herbal medicines to treat various kidney diseases under the banner of “partial prescriptions” and “experimental prescriptions”. Some patients with IgA nephropathy may only have mild hematuria or proteinuria in their lifetime and it does not affect their life. If the abuse of “partial prescription”, “test prescription” and other Chinese herbal medicine for treatment, sometimes aggravate the condition of IgA patients and even lead to uremia. In this regard, we must be vigilant.
(3), blind kidney supplementation. Some young people blindly think that they should use herbal medicine to “make up for kidney deficiency” as soon as possible, without identifying evidence and following the medical evidence, after randomly making up a pass, causing various kidney diseases. In addition, kidney disease is not a weakness, and does not require a large tonic. Chinese medicine is a great way to treat kidney disease, but it is not a panacea. Especially in chronic renal failure uremic patients, blindly eat herbs “kidney”, not only can not cure the disease, but also increase the burden on the kidneys, resulting in the deterioration of the disease endanger life.
Herbs that damage the kidneys
According to the literature, there are more than 50 kinds of herbs that are toxic to the kidneys and can cause acute and chronic kidney damage and kidney failure. Examples are listed below (Note: This is not a complete list. Their toxic effects and size are related to dosage usage).
(1), plant herbs: Lei Gong Vine, Cao Wu, Mu Tong, Jun Zi, Yi Mao Cao, Cang Er Zi, Bitter Cambodian Bark, Smallpox Powder, Petunia, Golden Primrose Root, Euphorbia, Horsetail, Euphorbia, Crocus, Aloe, Iron Foot Wiryxian, Da Feng Zi, Mountain Cichlid, Mantua Flower, Dramatica, Ziziphi, Gan Sui, Qian Li Guang, Clove, Ming Vine, Bupleurum, Bupleurum, Shou Di Cha, Bitter ginseng, hyssop, Wang Jiang Nan Zi, cotton seeds, waxberry root, thick puff, etc.
(2) Animal herbs: fish gall bladder, seahorse, centipede, snake venom, etc.
(3) Mineral herbs: arsenic (arsenic, arsenicum, stannum, red alum), mercury (vermilion, mercury, light powder), lead (lead pellets) and other minerals (alum), etc.