Overview

Each of your two kidneys is roughly the size of a fist. Their primary function is to filter your blood. They remove waste and excess water, which becomes urine. They also aid in blood pressure regulation, hormone production, maintaining strong bones, and chemical homeostasis. If you have chronic kidney disease (CKD), your kidneys are impaired and unable to filter blood as effectively as they should. This injury might cause waste to accumulate in your body. It can also lead to other issues that are detrimental to your health.

 Kidney illness is quiet at first. Often, symptoms don't show up until the kidneys are seriously injured. Many patients wait until their renal disease is advanced before experiencing any symptoms. The only method to determine that you have kidney disease is through blood and urine testing.

Causes

There is often more than one cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Rather, a multitude of physical, environmental, and social elements contribute to it. As chronic kidney disease (CKD) frequently starts without any obvious signs, early identification is crucial. Understanding the risk variables can help you determine your level of risk and whether a CKD checkup is necessary.

• Diabetes 

• Increased Blood pressure 

• Heart failure and/or heart disease 

• Being overweight 

• Past the age of sixty 

• Family history or heredity 

• Acute kidney injury (AKI) in the past 

• Tobacco or smoking 

CKD can also result from a wide range of other illnesses or situations. Among the instances are: 

• HIV nephropathy 

• Glomerulonephritis 

• IgA nephropathy (IgAN) 

• Polycystic kidney disease 

• Autoimmune diseases like nephropathy (lupus nephritis, Severe infections like hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and sepsis. 

• Hydronephrosis

• Kidney and urinary tract anomalies before birth 

• Kidney cancer

• Kidney stones 

• Recurrent, untreated UTIs and UTIs lasting a long time.

Symptoms

• Increased or decreased frequency of urination 

• Frothy or foamy urine

• The deeper or paler colour of urine

• Difficulty  in urination 

• Blood in urine 

• Swelling in the legs, ankles, feet, face, and/or hands. 

• Loss of appetite 

• Fatigue and weakness 

• Sleep problems 

• mental sharpness 

• Muscle cramps 

• Dry, itchy skin 

• High blood pressure (hypertension) 

• Shortness of breath ( when fluid builds up in the lungs) 

• Chest pain ( when fluid builds up around the lining of the heart)

Ayurvedic View

Vrukka gata roga-mutraghata,mutra kshaya-mutra (urine), kshaya (less), where there is less urine output, this disease occurs in ruksha (dry), klanta(very much exhausted) person, when pitta and vata dosha get prakupita (aggravated) enter mutrashaya (urinary system), resulting in decreased urine output, this is chronic kidney disease. The Ayurveda way of approach is to correct the root cause of this disease, treat other conditions like anaemia, etc, that are associated with this disease, bring dosha back to prakruta awatha (normal state) and improve renal function by Ayurvedic panchakarma treatment and internal medication.