Millions of people in India are living with various kidney diseases and most of them are even not aware of it. This is why kidney disease is often known as a silent killer as many people do not feel any difference until the disease becomes severe.
While people get their blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol levels on a regular basis, they fail to get a simple creatinine test to detect any unidentified kidney problems. There are a number of warning signs of a kidney disorder, which are ignored or confused because of their non-specific nature.
Therefore, you should get the confirmatory tests done at the earliest appearance of any symptoms of a kidney disorder. But if you suffer from hypertension or have diabetes or a family history of kidney disease it is important to get kidney tests done on a regular basis – say the experts of Nephrology at Inodaya Hospitals, Kakinada.
While the only finest way to diagnose a kidney disease is to get confirmatory tests done, here are some early symptoms of kidney diseases that you must keep in check.
1. Backache or lower abdomen pain
Pain in the back, side, or below the ribs can be an early symptom of kidney disorder such as renal calculus or pyelonephritis. Similarly, lower abdomen pain can also be associated with bladder infection or stone in a ureter, the tube connecting your kidney and bladder. Such symptoms should not be ignored and investigated further by routine imaging tests.
2. Fatigue, Dizziness
Extreme weakness is always associated with kidney disease. As renal dysfunction progresses, fatigability becomes more and more prominent. This may be due to the accumulation of toxins and impurities in the blood that results from renal dysfunction. Being a non-specific symptom of kidney disease it is often ignored by people and not thoroughly investigated.
3. Swelling in ankle, feet, or legs
You will start to notice edema at the ankle, feet, or legs which pits on applying pressure and is termed as pitting edema. As the kidney function begins to reduce there is sodium retention which causes swelling in your shin and ankles. Any person noting new-onset pedal edema should get an immediate evaluation of renal function by visiting the best nephrologists.
4. Dry and itchy skin
Healthy kidneys remove wastes and harmful substances from the body. For some people increase in the urea in the bloodstream can cause dry and itchy skin. But, Dry and itchy skin can also be a symptom of advanced kidney disease. As the renal dysfunction begins, toxins tend to accumulate in the body leading to itchy, dry, and foul-smelling skin.
5. Change in urine frequency
You have to keep a very careful watch on your urine output. For instance, the urinary output may decrease or you may feel the urge to urinate more often, especially at night. It can be the most warning sign that the kidney filtering units are damaged. So a change (increase or decrease) in the urine output should be reported immediately to the nephrologist.
6. Puffiness around eyes
Periorbital edema denotes swelling or puffiness around the eyes that can be caused by the accumulation of fluid in the cells or tissues. It is one of the earliest symptoms of a kidney disorder. It is especially prominent in people where there is a leakage of a significant amount of protein through the kidney.
7. Foamy urine or blood in the urine
When the filtering mechanism of the kidney has been damaged, protein, blood cells start to leak out into the urine. In addition to signaling kidney disorder, blood in the urine can indicate tumors, kidney stones, or any kind of infection. Thus changes in color, consistency, or nature of urine should be informed as early as possible to a kidney specialist.
We at Inodaya Hospitals offer the right expertise to fulfill the unique needs of those with kidney issues. Take a look at some of our popular services and book an appointment with our best kidney specialists in Kakinada.
