In our daily lives, there are some things we cannot control, but is there anything we can do about it? We can, yes. And it all starts with you being aware of what you eat and why you are eating it.


Yes, I am aware that the adage "Eat nutritious food and you will live longer" has probably been said a million times by this point. Personally, I believe it is preferable to live a life-long effort at disease prevention than to live carelessly and endure pain and regret in the future.


Welcome to Healthy Spell, where we talk Kidney disease, Heart diseases and Diabetes. These diseases invite each other like how Nephropathy is kidney disease caused by diabetes. So trust me when I say, when you try to prevent one of them, you might be saving yourself from all three of them.


Your kidneys remove waste from your blood and excrete it in your urination. Toxins might accumulate when your kidneys aren't functioning properly.


What are the early signs of kidney damage?


Kidney disease symptoms

So many people have had so many different early signs of Kidney damage. Believe or not, some kidney disease patients never experienced any symptoms until they found themselves on the hospital bed and freshly diagnosed with Chronic Kidney disease. How shocking will that be!


Here are some 8 early signs of kidney disease and reasons behind them.

  1. Fatigue - This is caused due to your kidneys making less EPO(erythropoietin) pronounced - (a-rith'- ro-po'- uh-tin). Which is a hormone that is responsible for telling your body for make  oxygen-carrying red blood cells to keep your body and mind energized.
  2. Feeling cold on warm temperature - Anemia, which is a condition that occurs because of lack of oxygen-carrying red blood cells can leave you feeling cold even in a warm room.
  3. Short breath - This can either be because of anemia( lack of oxygenated red blood cells) or extra fluids in the lungs, caused by your kidneys not working as as they should or usually do.
  4. Dizziness - Due to your brain not getting enough oxygen caused by Anemia
  5. Feeling itchy - When your Kidney’s nature to remove waste and toxins from your bloodstream gets disturbed, that causes itchiness on your skin and may leave you with temporary rash.
  6. High blood pressure - When your kidneys do not regulate your blood pressure properly and keep it balanced, you are more likely to suffer high blood pressure and with increased chances of diabetes.
  7. Swelling of feet and hands - Kidney delaying to remove excess water from your body. This usually occurs when you have difficulty peeing which also make it an early sign. 
  8. Muscle cramps - Leg cramps as well as other types of pain may indicate a kidney problem. Your muscles and nerves can experience problems if the levels of sodium, calcium, potassium, or other electrolytes are out of balance.

How to test Kidney function?


Signs of kidney disease

Kidney disease test can be ran in two ways, blood tests and urine tests


Blood tests


1. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR)- Is a test used to check how well the kidneys are working. According to the NIDDK GFR tests can return the below results. 

  • GFR of 60 or more- Typical range
  • GFR of less than 60- May indicate kidney disease
  • GFR of 15 or less- May indicate kidney failure

If a test returns a GFR of 15 or less, a person may need a kidney transplant or dialysis.
2. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN)-  Measures nitrogen (made from protein breakdown) in your blood

Urine test
1.Dipstick urine test- Can be used to  measure the presence of proteins, such as albumin in a urine sample. Albumin in urine is a sign of kidney disease, because a healthy kidney is not supposed to let Albumin to pass from blood to the urine. That is how a dipstick urine test is used to test possible kidney disease.
2. Albumin-to-creatinine(UACR)- Measures the levels of albumin and creatinine in the urine. A UACR test result over 30 milligrams per gram may indicate that a person may need to undergo another test, if the results come out above 30 milligrams per gram again, that may indicate Kidney disease.
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