Kidney Failure: Causes, Types, & Symptoms

Basically, the kidneys are vital for filtering the blood and removing toxins from the body. Therefore, once kidney failure occurs, the organs will lose its ability to perform its job in filtering and removing wastes and this can be caused by several factors such kidney trauma and exposure to toxins.

What Causes Kidney Failure?

Several factors can contribute to kidney failure and the most common one is due to a sudden loss of blood flow to the kidneys. This can be caused by diseases or conditions such as dehydration, sepsis, heart attack, or liver failure. Being unable to eliminate urine, according to HealthLine, also causes the kidney to malfunction. This can be due to cancer, enlarged prostate, or kidney stones.

Other causes include a blood clot in or around the kidneys itself, alcohol, drugs, lupus, multiple myomas, drugs used from chemotherapy, or from certain antibiotics.

What Are The Types Of Kidney Failure?

There are about five types of this condition and the first one is called acute prerenal. This causes the kidney to become unable in filtering toxins because of insufficient blood flow. The other type is acute intrinsic where the condition is caused by direct trauma to the organs. This may be due to an accident or personal impact.

Another type is the chronic prerenal that is caused by insufficient blood flow to the organs for a longer period of time. Meanwhile, chronic intrinsic is where the kidneys experience a long-term damage due to intrinsic kidney-related diseases. Finally, there's chronic post-renal which is often caused by preventing urination, thus leading to kidney damage.

According to Mayo Clinic, there are several symptoms associated with kidney failure and some of which are a loss of appetite, chest pain, shortness of breath, vomiting, uncontrollable high blood pressure, sleep problems, fatigue, and the most obvious -- changes in how a person urinates.

Although these symptoms may also be caused by other illnesses, it is best to see a doctor immediately and ask to conduct any necessary tests. To know more about kidney-related conditions, read here.