Appointment With Danger: Medical Care Can Kill You: Medical Care Can Kill You

This waste is then eliminated in your urine. Chronic kidney failure refers to the loss of kidney function over months or years. In advanced stages, dangerous levels of wastes and fluids back up in your body.

Share This

This condition is also called chronic kidney disease. Many of the early signs of kidney failure can be confused with other illnesses and conditions. This makes diagnosis difficult. If the damage to your kidneys gets worse, you will eventually notice symptoms. However, this may not happen until a lot of damage is already done. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common conditions that lead to chronic kidney failure.

related stories

If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or another condition that puts you at higher risk of kidney failure, your doctor will likely monitor your kidney function. Be sure to have regular checkups and report any unusual symptoms. At your appointment, your doctor will examine you thoroughly. Kidney failure may be causing fluids to back up in your lungs or heart.

Your doctor will examine these organs by listening to them with a stethoscope. This can give your doctor important clinical information. If your doctor thinks you might have chronic kidney failure, they will order blood and urine tests. Blood tests for kidney function measure the levels of electrolytes and waste in your blood.

They measure waste products such as creatinine and blood urea.

• The Night That Started It All (Mills & Boon Modern).
• Sulla letteratura (Tascabili. Saggi Vol. 266) (Italian Edition)?
• Suicide and suicidal thoughts - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic!
• Patient Profiling: Are You a Victim?.

Creatinine is a byproduct of muscle metabolism. Blood urea is leftover when your body breaks down proteins. When your kidneys are working properly, they excrete both substances. Urine tests will be performed to check for abnormalities. For example, protein is normally only present in trace amounts in your urine.

An elevated protein level might indicate kidney problems months or even years before other symptoms appear. Your urine sediment and cells found in your urine will also be examined in a laboratory. Imaging tests can provide structural details of your kidneys. If your doctor is still unsure about the cause of your symptoms, they may do a biopsy. This can be performed as a needle biopsy or an open biopsy. A needle biopsy is the most common type of kidney biopsy. During this procedure, your doctor or technician will insert a special needle into your kidney. This is considered a minimally invasive procedure.

During an open biopsy, your doctor will use a surgical incision to expose your kidney. This procedure requires strict sterile techniques and general anesthesia. After your doctor collects a sample of kidney tissue, they will send it to a lab for microscopic examination. The results of your examination will help your doctor make a diagnosis. It can also help them determine the cause of your kidney failure.

These will be used to measure various substances in your body, such as calcium, potassium, cholesterol, sodium, magnesium, and phosphorous. You will also need to undergo ongoing kidney function tests for creatinine and urea levels. There is no cure for chronic kidney failure. However, there are measures you can take to slow its progression. Kidney failure is linked to high blood pressure, so your doctor may put you on blood pressure medication.

You might also need medications called statins to lower your cholesterol level. Often people with chronic kidney failure experience anemia. You may need a supplement to help increase your red blood cell production. Because your body needs iron to manufacture blood cells, your doctor might also prescribe iron pills or shots.

In some cases, you may need a blood transfusion to improve your red blood cell health. If your kidney problem is causing fluid retention, diuretics can help relieve your swelling.

This medicine makes you urinate frequently. Calcium and vitamin D supplements help to protect your bones. If you have chronic kidney disease, you will have lower-than-normal levels of Vitamin D, which is essential for calcium absorption. Taking Vitamin D will reduce your risk of bone fractures. Your doctor may prescribe phosphate binders, a type of medicine to control your phosphate level. Dietary changes might also be necessary. People with chronic kidney failure usually need to reduce their protein intake.

As your body processes protein, it creates waste products. Your kidneys are responsible for filtering this waste. A lower-protein diet makes their job easier. You might also need to monitor your levels of salt, potassium, and phosphate. Work with a dietitian to find out how much of these substances you should eat. Get in the habit of reading labels. Learn which foods are high in potassium and which are low. X-ray beams pass through your body, and they are absorbed in different amounts depending on the density of the material they pass through.

Dense materials, such as bone and metal, show up as white on X-rays. The air in your lungs shows up as black. Fat and muscle appear as shades of gray. For some types of X-ray tests, a contrast medium — such as iodine or barium — is introduced into your body to provide greater detail on the images. Knee arthritis can affect one side of the joint more than the other. This X-ray image shows how the cushioning cartilage has worn away, allowing bone to touch bone. A chest X-ray helps detect problems with your heart and lungs. The chest X-ray on the left is normal. The image on the right shows a mass in the right lung.

Some people worry that X-rays aren't safe because radiation exposure can cause cell mutations that may lead to cancer. The amount of radiation you're exposed to during an X-ray depends on the tissue or organ being examined. Sensitivity to the radiation depends on your age, with children being more sensitive than adults. Generally, however, radiation exposure from an X-ray is low, and the benefits from these tests far outweigh the risks.

However, if you're pregnant or suspect that you may be pregnant, tell your doctor before having an X-ray. Though the risk of most diagnostic X-rays to an unborn baby is small, your doctor may consider another imaging test, such as ultrasound. This X-ray using contrast reveals a kidney stone at the junction of the kidney and the tube that connects the kidney to the bladder ureter. The X-ray tube is focused on the man's abdomen. X-rays will pass through his body and produce an image on the specialized plate below. How you prepare depends on the type of X-ray you need.

Ask your doctor or nurse to provide you with specific instructions.

In general, you undress whatever part of your body needs examination. You may wear a gown during the exam, depending on which area is being X-rayed. You may also be asked to remove jewelry, eyeglasses and any metal objects because they can show up on an X-ray. Before some types of X-rays, you're given a liquid called contrast medium. Contrast mediums, such as barium and iodine, help highlight a specific area of your body on the X-ray image. You may swallow the contrast medium or receive it as an injection or an enema. X-rays are performed at doctors' offices, dentists' offices, emergency rooms and hospitals — wherever an X-ray machine is available.

The machine produces a safe level of radiation that passes through your body and records an image on a specialized plate. You can't feel an X-ray. A technologist positions your body to obtain the necessary views. Pillows or sandbags may be used to help you hold the position. During the test, you must stay still and sometimes hold your breath to avoid moving to prevent blurry images.

An X-ray procedure may take from a few minutes for a bone X-ray to more than an hour for more-involved procedures, such as those using a contrast medium. Restraints or other techniques may be used to keep a young child still during an X-ray. These won't harm your child. They will prevent the need for a repeat procedure, which may be necessary if your child moves during the X-ray exposure.