Kidney disease can be acute (of short duration) or chronic (of long duration). Acute diseases are commonly caused by infections or obstruction by stone whereas chronic diseases can be caused by diabetes, hypertension, and kidney cysts etc. Kidney and urinary tract infections are also very common in the general population. There are some autoimmune diseases such as lupus etc. which also affect the kidneys.

Common symptoms of kidney disease include body swelling, decreased appetite, low haemoglobin, decreased or frothy urine, pain in the back or burning in urine. Sometimes patient may have nonspecific complains like generalized weakness, feeling low or feeling nauseated. Blood in urine can also be an important clue for kidney disease.

Common tests like urea, creatinine , uric acid levels in the blood and urine tests along with an ultrasound of the kidneys can help in diagnosing kidney diseases. Vulnerable population groups such as diabetics, hypertensives, elderly as well as those with family history of kidney disease should get their kidney functions and urine tests done annually.

Dialysis is a process by which waste products in our body are cleared either by haemodialysis (blood dialysis) or peritoneal dialysis (water dialysis). People with end stage kidney disease usually need dialysis treatment. Dialysis can add meaningful years to the life of a patient with end stage kidney disease and patients can have an active and healthy life if well managed on dialysis.

Kidney transplant is the harvesting of one kidney from a living or dead donor and transplanting it into a patient of end stage kidney disease. Kidney donation is very safe and people with two healthy kidneys and free of major comorbidities can donate a kidney to their loved ones. Kidney transplant worldwide has excellent outcomes with success rate of more than 95% in most centres. Recipients of kidney transplant do not need dialysis anymore and can live normal healthy lives without dietary restrictions. Kidney transplants usually last for a long time if adequate precautions are taken and patient is compliant with his treatment.

If you have any symptoms of kidney disease or have abnormal kidney function or urine tests or have a history of kidney stones you should visit a nephrologist. All patients who are undergoing dialysis or are kidney transplant recipients should be under regular follow up of a nephrologist. Patients with recurrent urinary tract infections, diabetes and difficult to treat hypertension should also visit a nephrologist.

Diabetes Mellitus when long standing commonly affects the kidney leading to proteinuria and deranged renal function. It is the most common cause of chronic kidney disease worldwide. Diabetes if diagnosed and managed early in its course would lead to decreased incidence of diabetic kidney disease.

Hypertension which is not controlled by three or more anti hypertensives is called resistant hypertension. It usually tends to have an underlying cause and is commonly seen in kidney disease. Kidney plays a very important role in the regulation of blood pressure and underlying kidney disease should always be ruled out in cases of resistant hypertension.

Urinary tract infections are commonly seen in young females and elderly males with underlying prostate related disease. Patients suffering from diabetes, HIV or having kidney stones are more susceptible to urinary tract infections.

Kidney stones are a common problem nowadays and risk factors include high salt diet, decreased fluid intake, high intake of acidic foods like carbonated beverages etc. Incidence of kidney stones also increases with urinary tract infections and in some genetic diseases.

A patient with chronic kidney disease should reduce their salt intake, they should also reduce fluid intake if they have a tendency of retaining fluid in their legs and chest. Potassium should be monitored and if high potassium containing foods like fruit, fruit juices , tomatoes etc should be reduced.

Chronic kidney disease patients should reduce their protein intake. The standard recommendation is to have 0.8 gm/kg protein per day for a CKD patient not on dialysis. A vegetarian diet is anyways protein deficient and thus excess protein restriction should be avoided as it may lead to malnutrition. Once a patient is initiated on dialysis, protein intake should be increased as protein losses occur during dialysis.