Here are some of the Kidney Disease terms that may be used when someone talks about Kidney Disease / Renal Disease.
Acute Kidney or Acute Renal Failure
Acute Kidney or Renal Failure is Kidney Failure that happens suddenly. Within a few hours or days, your kidneys can stop working after a heart attack or other illness. Acute Renal or Kidney Failure can often be reversed with a short period of Dialysis.
Anemia
You have Anemia (or are Anemic) when your blood does not contain enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin (a part of your red blood cells). Anemia will prevent the cells in your body from getting enough oxygen. Anemia can be caused by Chronic Kidney Disease and is one of the signs (symptoms) that someone may have CKD. You may also hear Anemia referred to as Low Blood.
Blood Tests
A Blood Test uses a small amount of blood (usually taken from a vein in your arm) to test for many types of diseases or health problems. Blood tests are simple, quick, and relatively painless. The results from several types of blood tests can help your doctor learn if you have Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
Chronic Kidney Disease, or CKD, is kidney damage that occurs slowly over a long period of time.
Chronic Kidney Failure or Chronic Renal Failure
Chronic Kidney or Renal Failure is also known as End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) or End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). This is Kidney / Renal Failure caused by Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and is the last stage of CKD.
Diabetes
The full name for Diabetes is Diabetes Mellitus. You may also hear people refer to Diabetes as High Blood Sugar, High Sugar, Sugar, DaSuga, or Da Suga.
Diabetes is a disease that causes high levels of sugar (glucose) to build up in your blood. This extra glucose can damage the blood vessels in your kidneys and cause Chronic Kidney Disease.
Diagnosis
A Diagnosis is a decision that a patient has a particular disease or condition. Your doctor may reach this decision based on many factors, including your family history, symptoms, and test results. Your doctor can diagnose your kidney disease through simple blood and urine tests given at routine office visits or by considering any symptoms you may have. A doctor who fails to diagnose someone’s early kidney disease can be found to have committed Medical Malpractice.
Dialysis
Dialysis is a treatment for Kidney / Renal Failure that does the work your kidneys can no longer do. Dialysis cleanses your blood of toxins (poisons) and extra fluids.
Disorder
Disorder is another word for problem. If you have a medical Disorder, something in your body is not working as it should. When your kidneys are not functioning properly, you may be said to have a Kidney disorder or a Kidney problem.
Drug Interactions
Drug Interactions are dangerous side effects that can occur when someone takes more than one medicine or drug. People with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) often take many different types of pills for many different problems.
Doctors need to be very careful about the drugs their Kidney Disease patients are taking. Drug Interactions from certain combinations of drugs can cause serious Kidney Damage or Kidney Failure to patients with CKD.
Edema
Edema is a buildup of extra fluids in the body. It can cause your hands, face, feet, ankles, or legs to swell (become puffy or bloated) and your lungs to take on fluids. Because Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) can cause Edema, edema is considered one of the signs or symptoms of CKD.
Electrolytes
Electrolytes are important minerals, such as potassium, sodium, and phosphorus. These minerals are found in our blood and must be kept in proper balance for us to remain in good health. If you have Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) or other Kidney Injury or Damage, your kidneys may not be able to keep your Electrolytes properly balanced.
End-Stage Kidney Disease or End-Stage Renal Disease
See Chronic Kidney Failure or Chronic Renal Failure.
Fractures
Bone Fractures are breaks in your bones. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) can make your bones weaker and cause them to break (fracture).
Glycemic (Blood Sugar) Control
Glycemic Control is another name for Blood Sugar Control and is an important goal for people with Diabetes. Diabetes is one of the main causes of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). If you have Diabetes as well as CKD, your doctor can prevent some of the kidney damage your CKD may cause by helping you to control the amount of sugar in your blood.
Heart Disease
Heart Disease is a general term for a number of conditions and diseases that affect the function and health of your heart. Another term for Heart Disease is Cardiovascular Disease. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) increases your risk of Heart Disease.
High Blood Pressure / Hypertension
If you have High Blood Pressure, your blood pushes through your arteries with too much force. This extra pressure can damage your blood vessels and cause heart problems and stroke. High blood pressure is one of the main causes of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Your doctor can prevent a lot of the kidney damage your CKD can cause by helping you to control your blood pressure.
High Blood Pressure is also called Hypertension. You may also hear people refer to High Blood Pressure as High Blood.
Kidneys
Kidneys are organs that filter, or remove, extra wastes and fluids from your blood and perform other jobs necessary to your good health. You have two kidneys (in your lower back), but you only need one to survive.
Kidney Damage or Renal Damage
See Kidney Injury or Renal Injury.
Kidney Disease or Renal Disease
Disease is a general term that simply means that something is not working as it should. If you have Kidney / Renal Disease, your kidneys are not working as they were meant to do.
Kidney Failure or Renal Failure
You have Kidney / Renal Failure when your kidneys stop working. Acute Kidney Failure or Acute Renal Failure can often be reversed, but Chronic Kidney Failure may end your life unless you receive Dialysis treatments or a Kidney Transplant.
Kidney Function or Renal Function
The Function of something is the job it is meant to perform. The main Function of our Kidneys (called Kidney / Renal Function) is to filter wastes and extra fluids from our blood and to keep our Electrolytes in balance. When someone has Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) or other Kidney Damage or Injury, the person’s kidneys have lost some of their function. This means that they are less able to do their job of cleansing our blood.
Kidney Injury or Renal Injury
Kidney / Renal Injury is kidney damage (harm) that may be caused by many things. These things include disease, medicines, accidents, or other health-related conditions. When your kidneys have been injured, damaged, or harmed, you may also be said to have Kidney Disease.
Kidney Transplant
A Kidney Transplant replaces a failed kidney with a healthy one. The healthy kidney can be donated by a live person. It can also come from a person who has died.
Medical Malpractice, Medical Negligence, or Medical Mistake
When a doctor causes a patient harm by failing to provide the patient with an acceptable level of care, the doctor can be found to have committed Medical Malpractice. Medical Malpractice is also called Medical Negligence or Medical Mistake and can be committed by hospitals, clinics, nurses, and other health professionals in addition to doctors. A doctor can be found liable for Medical Malpractice for failing to diagnose a patient’s kidney disease or for failing to provide the patient with proper treatment.
Medications
A simple definition of the word Medication is a drug that is used to cure, treat, or reduce the symptoms of a medical condition (illness) or disease. Certain medications (such as flu shots) can be used to prevent illness or disease. You may also hear people refer to medications as pills, meds, drugs, or medicines. Some drugs can cause Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Other medicines may cause additional kidney injury in someone who already has CKD.
Metabolic Acidosis
If you have Metabolic Acidosis, you have too much acid in your blood. Metabolic Acidosis can be caused by Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), because the kidneys can no longer filter the proper amount of acid from your blood. The extra acid can go on to cause even more kidney damage.
NSAIDs
NSAID is the short term for Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug. These medicines are often taken to control pain or to reduce fever. NSAIDs can cause further kidney damage to people with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Aspirin, Advil, Motrin, and Aleve are common examples of NSAID pain medications that should be avoided or used in smaller doses by people with CKD.
Proteinuria
Kidneys that have been injured (harmed or damaged) by Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) may remove too much protein from your blood and put these proteins in your urine (pee), where they do not belong. When this occurs, you are said to have Proteinuria. If a urine test (called a Proteinuria Test) shows that you have protein in your urine, this is a sign that you have CKD.
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs)
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) are medicines used to treat heartburn, acid stomach, and other similar conditions. PPIs can cause Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) even when taken for short periods of time.
Renal
The word Renal is often used in place of the word Kidney. Renal means something related to the kidneys.
Side Effects of Drugs or Meds
Drug side effects are things that happen when you take a drug that are not part of what the drug was designed or intended to do. For example, medicines such as Prilosec and Nexium were designed to relieve heartburn and similar conditions. But, they can also cause kidney damage, even though this effect was not intended. This means that kidney damage can be an unwanted side effect of these heartburn medications.
Stroke
Stroke is the medical term for the death of some of a person’s brain cells. A Stroke can occur when the blood that flows to the brain is cut off. Your risk of a Stroke will increase if you develop Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).
Symptoms
A Symptom is something that a person feels or notices that indicates (shows) that the person may have a particular disease or condition. For example, if you notice that you need to use the bathroom more often or that your feet are swollen, these may be indications or Symptoms of Kidney Disease. You may also hear people refer to symptoms as signs of a disease.
Urine Tests
In addition to Blood Tests, Urine Tests can also show that someone has begun to develop Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Urine (pee) samples are even easier to give than blood samples and are not at all painful. These tests can not only show that you have CKD but may also show how advanced your CKD is.