10 Warning Signs Your Kidneys are Not Working Properly

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The kidneys are a pair of organs that are located toward your lower back. One kidney is located on each side of your spine. Kidneys filter your blood and remove toxins from your body. The kidneys send toxins to your bladder and your body later removes toxins during the process of urination.

10 Warning Signs Your Kidneys are Not Working Properly
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What is Kidney Failure?

Kidney failure occurs when the kidneys lose its ability to filter waste from your blood sufficiently. Symptoms of kidney malfunction can be quite subtle.

But early detection is important for preventing permanent kidney damage, so it is essentialto recognize the signs that something is not right with these detoxification organs.

10 Warning Signs Your Kidneys are Not Working Properly:

1. You Have Blood in Your Urine

Healthy kidneys are responsible for keeping the blood cells in the body, when filtering wastes from the blood to create urine. But when your kidney’s filters have been damaged, these blood cells may start to leak into the urine. Blood in the urine can aso be a sign og kidney stones, tumors or an infection.

2. You Urinate More Often

If you often feel the need to urinate most especially at night, this can be a sign of kidney disease. If the kidneys filters are damaged, it can cause an increase in your urge to urinate. Also, this can sometimes be a sign of a urinary infection or enlarged prostate in men.

3. You Feel Tired and Sluggish During the Day

Sometimes, fatigue is caused by lack of a hormone known as erythropoietin, or EPO. The main responsibility of EPO is to stimulate the production of red blood cells. Red blood cells are responsible for carrying energizing oxygen to the cells throughout your body.

Stressed kidneys do not produce enough EPO, therefore reducing the number of red blood cells, which makes you feel weak and tired out.

4. You Have Swelling and Weight Gain Due to Fluid Build-up or Edema

Your kidneys are are responsible for eliminating waste from the body in the form of urine. If your kidneys do not work well, then fluid can be retained. This can lead to persistent swelling in tissue.

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5. You Experience Rising Blood Pressure

Once your kidneys are damaged, they cannot effectively control blood pressure. The force of blood pounding against the blood vessels stretches them, which causes further damage by weakening and scarring the blood vessels in the kidneys.

6. You Have Itchy Rashes

When waste products and uric acid accumulate, the resulting build-up can cause itchy patches on your skin. Rashes that result from kidney malfunction feel “deeper”.

Topical treatment does not help much, because the itch extends below the skin’s surface. Uric acid-induced rashes may also manifest as little red bumps.

7. You Experience Having Palpitations

If the kidney damage is causing a buildup of potassium, you may experience an abnormal heart beat.

8. Your Muscles are Cramping

An impaired kidney function can result in electrolyte imbalances. Poorly controlled phosphorus and low calcium levels, may contribute to muscle cramping.

9. You Experience Nausea and Vomiting

You will feel nauseated if your kidneys are letting “garbage” pile up in your system or what is known as uremia. Your body may feel the need to expel the poisons, which can manifest as nausea and feeling to need to vomit. Sometimes, vomiting may actually occur.

10. Your Urine is Foamy

Excessive bubbles in the urine may indicate protein in the urine. This foam may look like the foam you see when you are scrambling eggs. The common protein found in urine, known as albumin, is the same protein that is found in eggs.

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