Kidney Disease – Treatable or Curable, know the difference

From filtering out the toxins and waste from the blood to effective functioning of the body- those bean-shaped duos of kidneys play a vital role in deciding your well-being. Kidneys are a crucial part of the body and keeping them in fine fettle is extremely important to keep your overall health fit and fine. But due to chaotic lives and busy schedules, it becomes extremely difficult to manage a healthy lifestyle which in turn gives rise to health ailments like chronic kidney diseases.

Ranging from chronic kidney diseases to kidney stones to glomerulonephritis to UTIs- there are various types of kidney diseases and the causes, treatments and cures vary depending on the type of the kidney problem you are suffering from. Kidney disease is a condition that cannot be easily noticed until a person might suffer from severe symptoms. Irrespective of the type of kidney disease, here are some early signs and symptoms to know if you have any kidney disease.

• Fatigue
• Difficulty in concentrating
• Poor appetite
• Cramps in muscles
• Swollen feet/ankles
• Puffy eyes and surrounding areas in the morning
• Dry, scaly skin
• Frequent urination, especially late at night

Today, kidney diseases affect more than half of the population and can lead to various health problems like weak bones, nerve damage and malnutrition. When it comes to complex health ailments, a lot of people always misinterpret the two terms i.e. ‘treatment ‘and ‘cure’. But let us tell you the difference between the two- Medical treatments helps in managing the disease while a cure completely removes the disease. If you wonder if kidney diseases are being treatable or curable then keep on reading as we will take you to dive deep into some of the most common types of kidney diseases to understand if these are treatable, curable or not.

• CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease): Chronic kidney disease is the most common type of kidney disease and it is a long term ailment that often does not show any improvisation over time. The most common cause of CKD is high blood pressure. Tiny blood vessels known as glomeruli that are present inside the kidneys can get highly affected due to high blood pressure and hamper the main role of kidneys which is blood cleansing while putting a strain onto them. With time, this constant decline hampers the working of the kidneys and proper dialysis for this is extremely important. CKD does not have any cure but medical treatments can slow the progression.
• Polycystic kidney disease: Polycystic kidney disease is another type of kidney disease and the main cause of this is a genetic disorder. Going in line with the name of the disease, in polycystic condition, various cysts start to grow in the kidney which hamper the process of the kidneys and can further lead to kidney failure. This condition requires proper medical intervention and there is no cure to this.
• Kidney Stones: This is one of the most common forms of kidney disease and in this condition, various substances start formulating solid stones in the blood and in most cases, this condition can be treated with medications, fluid therapy, or another medical intervention.
• UTI (Urinary Tract Infections): Bacterial infections are the main cause of urinary tract infections. If UTIs remain untreated for a longer period of time, it can develop serious kidney problems and can even lead to kidney failures. Conditions like UTIs and Kidney stones are curable with medical treatments.

Footnote
It is said that prevention is better than cure. Though some kidney diseases are curable and a lot of them are treatable, it is advisable to switch to a healthy lifestyle to decrease the risk of developing such ailments.