Signs of Kidney Problems

1. Foamy Urine: It is perfectly normal for a little foam to appear in the toilet bowl when we urinate due to the swirling of the urine stream in the water. However, if you notice a change in the foam pattern of your urine, particularly if the amount and time it takes to go away increases, this could indicate kidney disease .

2. Back Pain: One of the signs of kidney problems that is very common, especially in the elderly, associate pain in the lower back with a possible kidney disease. In fact, most kidney diseases, including chronic kidney failure, do not cause back pain. Low back pain is in the vast majority of cases caused by osteoarticular problems in the spine.

There are, however, some exceptions. The presence of a stone in one of the kidneys or in the urinary tract can cause intense lower back pain, which usually radiates to the groin. Low back pain from kidney stones is excruciating and unrelated to trunk movements. This characteristic is important to distinguish it from back pain that is not usually so intense and worsens when the patient moves the trunk.

3. Blood in Urine: Seeing blood in your urine should set alarm bells ringing. When it comes to kidney problems, blood in your urine is a sign that you may have a kidney infection,  especially if this symptom is accompanied by fever and pain on one side of your abdomen.

Kidney stones stuck in the tubes that emerge from your kidneys can sometimes cause blood in your urine as well. There are, however, other causes for blood in the urine, including a urinary tract infection, vigorous exercise, a menstrual period if you are female, or a virus.

4. Hypertension: Retention of sodium and water not only causes edema, but also leads to high blood pressure. Both chronic renal failure and glomerulonephritis often present with elevated blood pressure .

It is always good to remember that arterial hypertension is one of the most common diseases in the population and that more than 95% of patients with hypertension do not have kidney disease. Kidney disease should be suspected in a patient who suddenly develops hypertension, usually associated with one or more of the signs and symptoms described in this text. Patients whose high blood pressure has always been well controlled with medication, but who suddenly get worse, should also be investigated for kidney disease.

5. Leg Pain: Some people who have kidney problems may have pain on the side of the leg where the affected kidney is located. Polycystic kidney disease is one of the best known, as it has many cysts in the kidneys and liver and causes a lot of pain and suffering.

6. Loss of Appetite: In the same way that increased acidity and retention of toxins in the blood cause tiredness, they are also responsible for loss of appetite. In advanced stages, kidney failure causes the patient to have a metallic taste in the mouth and bad breath. It is common for the patient to no longer tolerate meat and begin to lose weight due to malnutrition.

7. Swelling of Hands and Feet: Water retention can cause your feet, ankles and even hands to swell. This swelling, also called edema, is a result of higher levels of sodium circulating in your body because your kidneys are not filtering as they should. An injured kidney is unable to clear out the waste and causes an excess of sodium and fluids in your system. You can relieve symptoms by keeping your blood pressure under control, reducing salt and potassium, and taking a diuretic to relieve swelling.

8. Urinating Often: One of the signs of kidney problems , which can easily be mistaken for a sign of something else, say a urinary tract infection, is the urge to urinate frequently. This is because your body is producing large amounts of fluid (but without the usual amounts of waste itself) because your kidneys are not working normally.

9. Difficulty Concentrating:  Anemia caused by kidney failure means that the mind is not getting enough oxygen. The consequence of this can bring inconvenience to remembering something, nausea, little concentration on any task, dispersion, little attention when talking. So, not remembering what you did the week before, the name of a family member, feeling sick all the time, etc. can be frequent.

10. Appearance of Rashes: When the kidneys begin to malfunction, accumulation of waste products in the blood (uremia) can cause severe itching and rashes. These can appear anywhere on the body and are often mistaken for some type of allergy.