Your kidneys and diabetes

Everything in your body reacts with other things in different ways. With diabetes, high blood sugar reacts with blood vessels and capillaries flowing to your organs, by damaging them. These small blood vessels are responsible for unloading the blood into the kidneys, where the blood is filtered. However, when those blood vessels are damaged, blood may not flow into the kidneys that make it hard for them to produce urine adequately. As a result, the body may retain toxins, salt, and large amounts of water. Also, one may lose more protein than usual when the kidney function is extremely low.

Ayurvedic treatment and medicine for controlling proteinuria

When kidney function goes wrong

The kidneys do the work of sifting excess fluid from the blood. The blood goes into the kidneys with the help of an artery. The blood is made to pass through the clusters of small blood vessels. After the filtration process, the cleaned blood reaches the rest of the body through a vein.

But when you have chronic high blood pressure and diabetes, the damage to the filters within the kidneys may allow the protein to leak into the urine. Kidney damage can be seen within 10 to 15 years of diagnosis of diabetes. As the damage gets damaged enough, the kidneys may stop working at all.

The worst part of having kidney failure is that you may not feel it until the damage is extreme. So, preventive steps are necessary to stop the progression of the disease and to prevent it from getting worst.

The other way diabetes affects the urinary system is that it can cause nerve damage. The damage can affect the capacity of the bladder to empty itself. Pressure because of your bladder being full can damage the kidneys. The longer urine stays in the bladder, the higher the chances of developing a bladder infection.

What are the symptoms of kidney disease caused by diabetes?

Patients with kidney disease due to diabetes or any other condition can witness any of the following signs:

  • Swelling in the body, particularly in the ankle and legs, due to high fluid retention.
  • An uncontrollable increase in blood pressure.
  • Frequent urine urge at night.
  • Albumin in the urine that makes the urine foamy.
  • High levels of creatinine in the blood, along with high levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN).
  • Some patients may suffer from morning sickness – nausea and vomiting in the morning.
  • Itching on the skin
  • Pale skin color
  • Weakness
  • Anemia
  • High fever and chills when the infection reaches an advanced stage

Preventing kidney failure

People with high blood sugar levels are needed to be tested frequently for protein in the urine. Those with type 2 diabetes should get themselves diagnosed more than those with type 1 diabetes. You may need blood and urine tests for diagnosis. The earlier you can get diagnosed, the easier it is to prevent end-stage renal disease.

Here are some things you can do to manage kidney failure:

  1. Keep control of your blood sugar. Kidney damage is less likely to develop if you monitor your sugar levels frequently.
  2. Control your blood pressure. High blood pressure adds to the deteriorating kidney function., So make sure to keep it below 130/80 mm Hg. To do so, you can do walk or exercise, cut back on salt, limit alcohol, quit smoking.
  3. Do not use too much pain medicine. Over the counter painkillers can result in impaired kidney function over time. You may take only a low dose of aspirin to prevent heart disease, but frequent or regular consumption of OTC painkillers can be harmful to your health.
  4. Be sure to treat any bladder or kidney infections right away. Prolonged infections in your kidneys or recurrent kidney infection may contribute to permanent kidney failure. So, it is better to treat UTI as soon as possible.
  • A burning feeling when you urinate
  • A frequent urge to urinate
  • Dark-colored or cloudy urine
  • Fever
  • Pain in your back or on your side below the ribs

It is imperative to have diabetes treated at the earliest so as to prevent any complications in the later stages. Consult us at Karma Ayurveda, if your kidneys are already damaged and you are making you ways to Ayurveda.

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