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What is Renal Failure? Essay

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To understand what renal failure is, it is important to know how the kidneys work and what the main functions are. The body has two kidneys on either side of the spine and the kidneys work to remove toxic waste and excess water by producing urine. The kidneys also help with controlling blood pressure and produce erythropoietin as well as aiding in keeping bones strong by producing calcetrol hormones. When the kidneys are unable to perform these functions it causes the kidneys to fail.
There are different types of renal failure such as chronic kidney disease which is a slow progression over time and it can go unnoticed for a long time. Acute renal failure occurs suddenly, happening within a few hours or a few days, if not caught in time …show more content…

When treating kidney disease it is important to control the underlying disease that is causing the damage to the kidneys. If diabetes is diagnosed keeping blood glucose levels under control and if high blood pressure is the cause keeping blood pressure under control with a reading of 130/80. Medication can be helpful such as ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers. Acute renal failure the main goal is to get the kidneys functioning again the physician may limit the amount of fluids taken in daily along with antibiotics to protect against any infections and diuretics to help with fluid removal. In some cases patient will require dialysis for a short period of time. Treating end-stage renal failure requires dialysis and or transplants.
The prognosis of kidney failure is different from one person to another because the disease is so unpredictable, many times if caught early the disease can be reversed. Factors that play a role are the duration of the disease, complications, and recovery time. It is important to not let the disease go untreated.
In the U.S. kidney disease is the 8th leading cause of death with an estimated 31 million people having chronic kidney disease. Women are more likely to have chronic kidney disease than men. Compared to whites, African Americans chance of developing this disease is 3.8 times higher, Native Americans risk is 2 times higher, and Asians it is 1.3. Diabetes

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