Uremia - what is it? If you do not know the answer to this question, then the presented article is intended just for you.
In addition to finding out whether uremia is what it is, we will tell you about the symptoms that appear with the disease, what are the causes of its occurrence and the principles of treatment. You will also be presented with a detailed diet of those people who have the aforementioned disease.
General Kidney Disease Information
Uremia is a kind of auto-intoxication syndrome, which is actively developing in renal failure. As a rule, this occurs as a result of the delay of toxic and other substances, including nitrogenous metabolites, in the human body.
"Uremia" is a word that came to medicine from the Greek language (uraemia), which is divided into parts: uron, that is, "urine," and haima, that is, "blood." A synonym for this term is urine.
Uremia: causes of the disease
There are many reasons for the appearance of this disease. This can be renal failure (acute), which occurs due to shock, circulatory system disorders, as well as injuries, frostbite, severe burns or poisoning. Uremia also occurs as a result of an acid-base disorder, water-salt and osmotic homeostasis, accompanied by secondary hormonal and metabolic disorders, dysfunction of all systems, organs and general tissue dystrophy.
In most cases, acute renal failure is reversible. Most often, it occurs abruptly. In this case, the disease is accompanied by a sudden anuria or oliguria, in which the bladder is filled up slightly or urine does not enter it at all.
The most common cause of uremia is self-poisoning of the body with nitrogen compounds such as uric acid, urea, indican and creatinine. In addition, this disease can occur due to acidosis and changes in the electrolyte balance in the human body.
What are the forms of uremia?
Diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract can occur in a chronic and acute form. Chronic uremia, unlike acute, develops very slowly. Often, it becomes a consequence of the processes (irreversible) of the extinction of the parenchymal tissue of the kidneys.
It should be noted that nephrosclerosis, which underlies the development of chronic renal failure, also often causes the appearance of uremia. In addition, this disease can begin against the background of blockage of the vessels of the kidneys, chronic nephritis and obstruction of the urinary tract, which are blocked by an overgrown tumor or stone.
Kidney disease leading to chronic renal failure
Kidney diseases, which become a frequent cause of the development of chronic renal failure, often include:
- pyelonephritis;
- glomerulonephritis;
- congenital nephritis;
- the formation of many cysts in the kidneys;
- kidney stone disease.
Uremia can also be caused by diabetes mellitus or prostate adenoma.
Kidney Disease: Symptoms and Treatment
Symptoms of uremia can occur gradually and be accompanied by increasing intoxication of the body. Such signs are quite difficult to recognize if you do not have basic medical knowledge.
So what are the symptoms of kidney disease in women, men and children indicate a violation in their activities? We will tell about it right now.
The main symptoms of the disease
As a rule, inflammatory kidney diseases are accompanied by volumetric urine output of almost white color. In this case, urine has a low specific gravity. It should also be noted that large diuresis is often accompanied by a delay in urea and chlorides released in small quantities.
With the course of the disease, the amount of urine can decrease, and nitrogenous metabolic products can accumulate in the body, increasing their concentration in the blood.
Over the course of several weeks, the patient usually has a precomatous state. Subsequently, it can easily cause a uremic coma. Its first harbingers are violations of the digestive tract. So, the patient's appetite decreases, and later he completely refuses food and drink. Urea accumulates in the patient’s saliva. This has a direct effect on the appearance of bitterness in the mouth. Subsequently, urea is split by the bacteria of the oral cavity, as a result of which ammonia is released. It is he who causes the unpleasant odor.
How to recognize a disease?
As mentioned above, kidney disease (symptoms and treatment are described in detail in this article) can be easily identified by problems with the digestive tract. Accumulating in the gastric juice, urea causes uremic colitis and gastritis. So, vomiting after eating, nausea, diarrhea with an admixture of blood join the symptoms of the disease.
Among other things, kidney diseases in men, women and children are accompanied by disorders of the central nervous system. The patient may experience weakness and apathy, quickly get tired. The patient often feels constrained in his movements, he is constantly falling asleep, and his head seems incredibly heavy.
With the course of the disease, the desire to sleep begins to combine with insomnia. Against this background, confusion occurs, eye and other muscles twitch.
Signs of a uremic coma
This condition can be determined by certain respiratory movements. So, the patient begins to breathe very noisily, occasionally taking deep breaths, and then a short exhale.
After the onset of the terminal phase, breathing may periodically completely disappear. This is due to a decrease in the excitability of the respiratory center.
The body temperature in patients with such a problem almost never rises above 35 degrees. The symptoms of uremia are often manifested on the skin. Standing out through the covers, urea and other toxins cause itching, inflammation, dryness, trophic ulcers and leave a white coating.
Treatment process
Any kidney disease in children and adults should be treated immediately. Indeed, in the future they can lead to complications and even death.
Emergency therapy during uremia includes measures that are aimed at preventing subsequent intoxication of the body. At the same time, nitrogenous slags are removed from the intestines and stomach by washing them with saline, taking laxatives, setting enemas, etc.
How to eat?
Proper nutrition for kidney disease is of the utmost importance. This is due to the fact that, along with food, substances unnecessary to him enter the human body, which can significantly worsen the patient's already difficult condition.
So what should be the nutrition for kidney disease? When diagnosing the aforementioned disease, doctors are required to prescribe a special diet for their patient. As a rule, it is to significantly reduce the amount of protein food consumed. To do this, it is recommended to exclude meat and dairy products from your diet. Although some experts still advise to leave some of them, since proteins for the human body (especially growing) are very important.
Uremia Treatment Methods
Now you know what nutrition should be for kidney disease. However, it is not enough just to choose the right diet to alleviate the patient's condition and rid him of the aforementioned ailment. That is why doctors additionally prescribe appropriate medications. So, patients with uremia are often injected into the vein about 50 ml of 40% glucose. In order to significantly reduce the concentration of toxic substances in the blood, as well as lower blood pressure, in the treatment of the aforementioned ailment, bloodletting is often performed (up to about 400 ml of blood).
To restore the amount of chlorine and other mineral substances that are excreted from the human body along with vomit and loose stools, they are restored by intravenous administration of sodium chloride (about 20 ml of a 10% solution). In addition, regular dietary salt may be added to the patient’s food.
If such a deviation as heart failure joins the main symptoms of kidney disease (uremia), then the patient is prescribed a solution of the drug "Strofantin". Itchy skin, which is inherent in this disease, is removed using sodium bromide. As for muscle cramps and their twitches, then calcium chloride is used to get rid of them.
If the patient develops a uremic coma, then its treatment should be carried out only in a hospital. For this patient, it is necessary to be hospitalized immediately at the first symptoms.
Disease prevention
In preventing the development of the presented disease, the prevention of renal dysplasia is very important. So, it is required to create all the necessary conditions during the observation of a pregnant woman, protecting the fetus and fetus from any teratogenic effects.
The search for markers of a heterozygous carrier of pathology is also significant. In addition, antenatal diagnosis of the development of diseases of the genitourinary system is required.