How much damage has been done to the kidney, how to determine the color of urine?
Kidney is an important organ of the body due to which pure blood circulates in our body and liquid waste and excess water in the body is filtered through the kidney and excreted from the body through urine.
Along with this simple definition, it is important to understand that nine out of 10 major causes of death from serious diseases in India are due to various kidney diseases.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research report ‘India: Health of the Nation State (2017)’, chronic kidney disease is one of the leading causes of death in India. The main reasons for the increase in this disease are uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure and aging population.
According to an analysis of the medical journal Nature, there were 69.7 million cases of acute kidney disease in the world, of which 1.15 million were in India alone.
Between 2010 and 2013, kidney failure accounted for 2.9% of all deaths among people aged 15–69 years, a 50% increase over the previous decade (2001/2003).
Diabetes was the leading cause of death from kidney failure.
What is the relationship between kidney and urine?
We spoke to Dr. Siddharth Jain, a nephrologist, a kidney doctor, to understand the causes of this disease in depth.
Explaining the relationship between urine and kidneys, he says, ‘Urine is formed in the kidneys and it removes harmful metabolic substances from the body. The function of the kidneys is to remove excess metabolic waste from the body and this is done with the help of urine.
In simple words, kidneys are the filter system of our body. Kidneys remove waste from the blood and make urine.
What is proteinuria and how does it indicate that the kidneys are damaged?
Dr. Jain spoke in detail about proteinuria (significant presence of protein in urine). According to him, “Every healthy person’s body excretes some amount of protein through urine, but when these proteins are excreted in abnormal amounts from the body, it is dangerous and this leakage is known as proteinuria.”
The most common cause of proteinuria is diabetes. If a person has uncontrolled diabetes, excess protein is excreted through the urine. Thus, the first symptom of uncontrolled diabetes is proteinuria.
Other causes of proteinuria are high blood pressure and other kidney related diseases.
Talking about the symptoms of proteinuria, he says, ‘If patients feel that their urine is frothy, it is a sign of proteinuria.’
In advanced stages of proteinuria, patients may experience swelling of the hands and feet, fatigue, abdominal pain or stomach infections. Other causes of this disease include blood pressure and other kidney related diseases.
Color of urine and any disease in the kidney
Urine contains water, urea and salts. Urea is produced in the liver when excess amino acids are broken down. Urea is a major waste product that is excreted through urine because it is not reabsorbed by the kidneys.
According to the medical journal Harvard Health, urine is simply excess water and waste that your kidneys filter from your blood. Its color usually ranges from pale yellow to dark brown, depending on its concentration—the amount of waste in the water.
Dr. Siddharth further says that if a person feels that his urine is red, black or brown or any other color, he should be alert.
Also, if the amount of urine, much less than normal or more than normal, or if the person has to urinate frequently or the person feels a lot of pressure while urinating and cannot control it at all, there is a possibility of kidney problems.
What is the function of the kidney?
Kidneys are an essential organ of the body and have many functions including:
They help maintain a healthy balance of minerals and electrolytes in your body, such as calcium, sodium and potassium.
They play an important role in the production of red blood cells
Maintains the delicate acid-base (pH) balance of your blood
Removes waste from your body in the form of fluid
Kidneys are organs of the body’s urinary system that excrete excess water, salts, and urea.
Blood is carried to the kidneys through the renal artery. Blood is filtered at high pressure and the kidney selectively reabsorbs any useful material such as glucose, beneficial salt constituents and water. After it is purified, the blood returns to the circulatory system through the renal vein.
Kidneys produce urine and help maintain water balance. Urine is carried from the kidney to the bladder through the urethra. The bladder stores urine until it is excreted from the body.
Diabetes results in high blood sugar levels and affects more than 41.5 million people worldwide.
It is the leading cause of kidney failure. About 40 percent of people with diabetes eventually develop kidney disease.
What are serious kidney diseases?
The most common causes of chronic kidney disease are high blood pressure and diabetes.
Each kidney contains about 1 million tiny filtering units called nephrons. Any disease that injures or affects the nephrons can cause kidney disease. Both diabetes and high blood pressure can damage the kidneys.
High blood pressure can also damage blood vessels in the kidneys, heart and brain. Kidneys are highly vascularized, meaning they have many blood vessels. Therefore, blood vessel diseases are usually dangerous for our kidneys as well.
Chronic kidney disease (also called chronic kidney failure) is the gradual loss of kidney function.
Symptoms of chronic kidney disease develop over time and kidney damage is gradual.
These symptoms include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue and weakness, sleep problems, changes in urine output, depression, muscle pain, and swelling of the hands. And ankle sprains and high blood pressure can be involved.
Chronic kidney disease is a condition of the kidneys that progresses over time and eventually a damaged kidney loses its ability to perform these functions.