Kidney failure
Kidney failure is the condition in which the kidneys' normal work, including making urine, gradually falls off and fails. It takes two forms.
Acute kidney failure
The kidneys fail temporarily, over a few hours to a few days.
It can be brought back to good condition with prompt treatment.
Chronic kidney failure
Other diseases affecting the kidneys over time slowly stop them working.
The damage cannot be reversed.
Some causes of kidney failure: diabetes; high blood pressure; repeated urinary infections; stones in the bladder; germ infections of the urinary tract; poisons entering the body (snake, hornet and wasp venom, agrochemicals); allergies.
Symptoms of chronic kidney failure: passing urine more often at night; passing less urine; backache and body pain; swelling of the feet and ankles; paleness; protein in the urine; patches on the palms and soles.
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Why kidneys matter so much
The kidneys filter the blood all the time, removing waste such as urea and keeping the right amount of water and salts in the body. When they fail, waste and water build up: the ankles swell, the skin goes pale because the kidneys also help make red blood cells, and protein leaks into the urine through the damaged filters. Because the body has two kidneys and each has spare capacity, the symptoms appear only after a large part of them is already lost — which is why regular urine and blood tests matter for anyone at risk.
Acute can recover, chronic cannot
Kidney failure may be acute and treatable, or chronic and permanent; diabetes, high blood pressure and poisons are common causes.