What Causes Kidney Failure and When Is Transplant Needed?
Kidney failure happens when your kidneys stop working properly and can no longer remove waste or extra fluids from your body. This causes harmful substances to build up in the blood, affecting overall health.
The main causes of kidney failure include long-term illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which slowly damage the tiny filters intact with the kidneys. Other causes are infections, inherited kidney diseases, and certain medicines or toxins that harm normal kidney functions. Sometimes, kidney failure occurs suddenly due to accidents, infections, or blockages from a kidney stone that prevents the kidney from working properly.
Let’s learn more about the types, what is the cause of kidney failure, acute vs chronic kidney failures, and more.
What Is Kidney Failure?
Kidney failure refers to a condition where the kidneys lose their ability to function properly, resulting in not being able to clean the blood and excrete the waste and extra water from your body. Generally, kidneys act as filters that keep your blood clean and balanced. When the kidneys fail to work properly, waste and fluids build up inside you, which can make you sick.
Awareness and routine checkups are crucial for prevention because early detection, along with effective management, can improve quality of life and slow the spread of illness.
What Are The Types Of Kidney Failure?
The types of kidney failure can be classified as:
- Acute kidney failure
- Chronic kidney failure
These categories help the doctors to understand how fast your kidney problem started and decide the best treatment.
What Is Acute Kidney Failure And Its Causes?
Acute kidney failure, also called acute renal failure (ARF), or acute kidney injury (AKI), occurs when your kidneys suddenly stop working properly. This usually happens suddenly, like within a few hours or days. Whatever the cause of acute kidney failure, your kidneys’ ability to filter waste and balance fluids, electrolytes, and toxins from the body is impaired. Although this can be a life-threatening disease, it can be treated with immediate medical treatment.
Here are a few common causes of acute kidney failure:
- Something that reduces blood flow to your kidneys, such as severe dehydration, bleeding, heart failure, or low blood pressure from injury or illness.
- Damage directly to your kidneys from infections, medicines (like some antibiotics or painkillers), toxins, or inflammation.
- Blockages that stop urine from leaving your kidneys, this is caused by kidney stones, an enlarged prostate, blood clots, or cancers.
What Is Chronic Kidney Failure, And Its Causes?
Chronic kidney failure, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD), is a condition where your kidneys slowly lose their ability to work properly over a long period of time. This means they cannot clean your blood or remove waste and extra water through urination as they should.
CKD usually develops gradually and may not show symptoms early, but as it gets worse, it can cause you to experience tiredness, swelling, nausea, and other health problems. If it reaches the final stage, dialysis or a kidney transplant may be needed for survival.
Here are the causes of chronic kidney failure that put continuous strain on your kidneys or block them, which can result in chronic kidney failure over time.
- Diabetes can cause high blood sugar, which leads to slow damage to the kidneys.
- High blood pressure puts extra pressure that harms the kidney blood vessels.
- Long-lasting kidney infections or inflammation can hurt your kidneys.
- It can block urine flow, like kidney stones or prostate problems, which can damage your kidneys.
- Inherited diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease, can cause cysts and damage.
- Using certain medicines for a long time, like consuming painkillers, can be a common cause of kidney failure.
- High cholesterol can block the kidneys’ blood supply, causing harm.
What’s The Difference Between Acute And Chronic Kidney Failure
| Aspects | Acute Kidney Failure | Chronic Kidney Failure |
|---|---|---|
| How it starts | It happens suddenly within hours or days | It develops over months or years |
| Common causes | It happens due to injury, infection, dehydration, and certain medicines | It is a long-term disease, such as diabetes and high blood pressure |
| Duration | It is a short-term disease that may be cured with treatment | It is a long-term disease that generally causes permanent damage |
| Symptoms | It appears suddenly, such as swelling, less urine, nausea, and confusion | It appears gradually, such as tiredness, loss of appetite, swelling, and itching |
| Treatment Focus | It fixes the sudden causes and supports your kidney recovery | It slows down your kidneys by damaging and managing symptoms |
What Are The Common Causes Of Kidney Failure?
There can be basic to major causes of kidney failure, including the following:
- Infections: Kidney infections can cause damage if not treated on time.
- Inherited Kidney Diseases: Such as polycystic kidney disease, which causes cysts and damage.
- Blockages: Problems like kidney stones or an enlarged prostate can block urine flow and harm the kidneys.
- High Blood Pressure or Diabetes: High BP may harm blood vessels connected with the kidneys, preventing them from cleaning blood and damaging the tiny filters in the kidneys over time.
- Certain Medicines and Toxins: Long-term use of some drugs like painkillers (ibuprofen) or exposure to harmful chemicals.
- Immune System Diseases: When the body attacks its own kidneys, as in lupus.
- Sudden Injury or Illness: Such as severe infection (sepsis), dehydration, or shock, which can reduce blood flow to the kidneys.
- Other Health Conditions: Heart disease, liver disease, and certain types of cancers can also impact kidney health.
When Is A Kidney Transplant Needed?
When the kidneys lose most of their ability to filter waste and balance fluids, it becomes difficult for the patient to stay healthy. At this stage, doctors may suggest a kidney transplant as the best treatment option. Instead of relying on regular dialysis, a transplant allows a person to regain normal kidney function through a healthy donated kidney.
It is often recommended for people with end-stage kidney disease, where medicines or other treatments can no longer manage the condition effectively. A successful transplant not only improves overall health but also offers more freedom, energy, and a better quality of life compared to long-term dialysis.
In short, a kidney transplant becomes essential when the kidneys can no longer support the body’s needs, and a new kidney can restore hope for a healthier, longer life.
Verdict – Protect Your Kidneys Before It’s Too Late
Though kidney failure can occur due to any circumstances, neglecting it may cause a severe disease. Conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, infections, and some medications can slow down kidney function. Early awareness of the warning signals lets you look for appropriate treatment and thereby avoid major consequences.
In cases where kidney function drops severely and other treatments no longer help; a kidney transplant becomes a vital option. It replaces the damaged kidney functioning with a healthy one, helping patients regain normal life and long-term health.
By walking patients through early detection, treatment choices, and preparation for transplant, the Transplant Made Easy application is built to simplify the whole process. TME mobile app guides you in making wise decisions towards a better life, whether you are controlling chronic kidney disease or investigating transplant alternatives. Download the TME app today to explore the potential and submit a transplant request to nearby centres in one click.
FAQs – Main Cause Of Kidney Failure
Q1. Can kidney failure be prevented?
Yes. Kidney failure can be prevented by keeping blood sugar and blood pressure under control, especially if you have diabetes or high blood pressure symptoms. Eating healthy, exercising regularly, avoiding too much painkiller medicine, not smoking, and getting regular check-ups may protect your kidneys and catch problems early before they get worse.
Q2. How do doctors diagnose kidney failure?
Doctors diagnose kidney failure mainly by blood and urine tests that check how well your kidneys are working. They may also use ultrasound or other imaging tests to see the kidneys and sometimes take a small tissue sample (biopsy) to check the level of damage.
Q3. Who is more at risk of kidney failure?
People at more risk of kidney failure include those with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, or a family history of kidney problems.
Q4. Can I live with one kidney?
Yes, you can live a healthy and normal life with one kidney because one kidney can do the work of two. However, it’s important to take care of your remaining kidney by eating healthy, staying hydrated, avoiding harmful medicines, and getting regular check-ups to keep it working well.
Q5. What role does TME play in the kidney transplant process?
TME is a user-friendly mobile application that helps manage kidney failure by simplifying the kidney transplant process. TME connects you with dialysis centers and doctors who guide you through tests and treatments and support you before and after the transplant surgery for better care and outcomes. With ‘Transplant Made Easy’, you can complete your profile at once and share it with nearby transplant centers in just a click for further processing.
Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not replace medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider for personalized guidance.
