Your kidneys are a pair of the organ located just below the rib cage on either side of your body. Every organ of your body depends on each other to perform their functions correctly. The left kidney is slightly bigger than the left, to accommodate space for the liver.
The weight of each kidney is approx. 125-170 grams in males and 115-155 grams in females. Each kidney is covered from a fibrous renal capsule, and two layers of fat to guard them. There are numbers of inverted cones shaped lobes inside your kidneys.
Nephrons are the filtration unit of your kidneys that flows between these sections. Your nephrons perform many crucial functions for your body, like filtering out toxins materials from your blood. After the filtration of the blood, your heart pumps the filtered blood to other organs for the functioning of your body.
Function of kidney
Apart from these, other
Functions of your kidneys are mentioned-below:
- Removes waste products from the blood – Your kidneys filter out toxins products like creatinine and urea from your blood. Urea and uric acid are made from the breakdown of proteins and nucleic acids, respectively.
- Balance essential level of electrolytes in your body – Dehydration is one of the main reasons for an imbalance of electrolytes. Your kidneys make several changes to balance the level of electrolytes in your body like an increase in the urine concentration and an increase in the water reabsorption.
- Regulates blood pressure – Regulation of blood pressure is one of the essential functions of your kidneys, but they perform this function when it is required. They work with other functions of your body to enhance the kidney's absorption of the products like sodium chloride, or salt. Anything that can increase your blood pressure can harm your kidneys in some time. The excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking, obesity can lead to alteration in your blood pressure.
- Promotes bone and muscle health – They help your body in strengthening the bone and muscle health. If your kidneys are healthy, then they will improve the health of your bone and body muscle health.
- Generates hormones that help in the production of red blood cells – Red blood cells are an essential part of your body, and it is one of the main functions of the kidneys. Your kidneys produce hormones that are can help your body in the production of red blood cells.
- Reabsorption of nutrients – Your kidneys reabsorb nutrients from the blood and transport them for the proper functionality of your whole body. They absorb essential products like glucose, amino acids, bicarbonate, phosphate, sodium, water, chloride, magnesium, and potassium ions.
Factors affect the structure and functions of the kidneys
There is a number of the disease can affect your kidneys. Environmental or medical factors may lead to kidney disease. It may be a structural problem or a genetic issue. There is a long list of disorders that can affect your kidneys. Some of them are:
Diabetic nephropathy
In this disorder, small blood vessels present inside your kidneys may get hampered due to long-term diabetes. Indications of this disorder are unclear until it attains further stages. Some of the symptoms may include:
- Headaches
- Tiredness
- Nausea
- Swollen legs due to retention of fluids in your body
- Itchy and dry skin
Kidney stones
In this disease, a small crystal-like structure may block your urine flow. Passing kidney stones may cause severe pain. If it is not timely treated, then it can lead to renal dysfunction and many problems related to urine elimination.
Severe kidney infections
When harmful bacteria enter your kidneys from the bladder, then it may lead to renal problems. Symptoms of a kidney infection incorporate lower back pain, painful urination, and in some cases, fever. Changes in urine like foam in your urine and a different urine color may indicate this health condition. Renal infection is more common in women than in men.
Kidney failure
In this state, the
Functions of the kidneys are affected, and they are not able to filter out waste products from your blood effectively. Overdosage of certain medications can affect the functionality of your kidneys. If this disease is not getting timely treatment, then it can lead to the absolute failure of the
functions of kidneys and in allopathy, there is no remedy for this health condition.
Nephrotic syndrome
Damage to your kidney may lead to excessive leakage of protein in your urine. It may result in a shortage of protein throughout the body. Symptoms of having leakage of protein in your urine are as follows:
- Puffiness around your eyes
- Increase in the level cholesterol
- Fluid in the lungs due to fluid retention
- Anemia due to loss of red blood cells in your blood
- Change in the frequency of urination and lower back pain
Polycystic kidney disorder
In this disorder, there is a change in the
structure of your kidneys. This disease is also known as a genetic disorder as mostly; the genes are passed from one generation to another.
What causes these kidney diseases?
There are several reasons for having kidney disease, and some of them are as follows:
- Consumption of pain killers for a more extended period
- Autoimmune disease like IgA nephropathy.
- Consumption of lithium medicines can also harm the functions of the kidney high blood pressure, and diabetes are the leading causes of having renal disorder
- Chemotherapy drugs that are prescribed by the doctors to treat severe illness can harm your kidneys
- Overconsumption of alcohol and drugs can force your kidneys to perform their functions as they usually do.
Treatment to rejuvenate the structure and functions of kidneys
After the identification of the renal disorder, you have to reach to your doctor as soon as possible. They may refer you to nephrologists, a specialized doctor for your kidneys. They suggest some tests like a blood test, urinalysis, and imaging test for the identification of any deflection in the
functions and structure of kidneys. After the identification of this disorder, if they found any severe threat to your kidneys, then they may recommend you for dialysis and kidney transplant.
Dialysis
Dialysis is a procedure in which your blood is drained out from your body through a tube. A dialysis machine is used to perform all the functions of your kidneys but outside your body. This treatment is time-consuming and needed to be performed twice or thrice a day. This treatment is a risky therapy because of its low success rate.
Kidney transplant
It is the ultimate therapy recommended by allopathic doctors when dialysis is not able to control your creatinine level. It is a surgical process in which the donor's healthy kidneys replace a patient's kidney. There are many complications involve in this treatment like a rejection of the donor's kidneys by the patient's body, vomiting, and in some cases, it can be life-threatening.
Ayurveda to improve the structure and functions of kidneys
Ayurveda involves the use of natural herbs that are strong enough to tackle this disorder without affecting any organ of your body. Karma Ayurveda is one of the leading kidney care hospitals that provide one of the best and effective treatments to rejuvenate the
structure and functions of kidneys. Here, the specialized team of Dr. Puneet Dhawan and his team are driving their force to treat kidney patients to stop kidney dialysis. If you are also experiencing any renal disorder, then you visit us.
