Good Diet Suggestions to FSGS

Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a rare disease that attacks the kidney’s filtering system (glomeruli) causing serious scarring. FSGS is one of the causes of a serious condition known as Nephrotic Syndrome.

What will happen if I have FSGS?

The outcome is very variable, and you will need to ask your specialist how things are likely to be in your case. The possibilities are:

It may continue unchanged for many years, requiring only regular check-ups with blood tests.

It may go away on its own in some cases.

If there is fluid retention with ankle swelling, this may get worse.

In some cases kidney failure develops, leading to the question of dialysis or transplantation.

What is the good diet to FSGS patients?

Sodium:

• Too much sodium can contribute to high blood pressure and edema

• Most sodium in our diet comes from processed foods and salt

• We have learned to like salt and it takes time to unlearn the preference for salt

• Most people consume too much sodium on a daily basis

Protein:

• We need protein for overall health, muscle maintenance, and to fight infections

• Research has not absolutely proved benefit of low protein diet to preserve kidney function

• Goal is moderate protein intake, but consult with a nephrologist

• Good sources of protein are lean meats, will trimmed poultry, eggs (limit 2 per week), fish, shellfish, beans, and nuts

limit fat and cholesterol:

• Limit whole eggs to 2 per week, use egg substitutes or whites only

• Use lean meats, well trimmed, poultry w/o skin, fish, shellfish, beans, nuts

• Use healthy oils such as olive, canola, safflower, sunflower

• Limit saturated fats (dairy, animal fat) and eliminate trans fat (partially hydrogenated oils found in processed and fast food)

What to Expect Once Dialysis Is Stopped

Dialysis is lifesaving when one suffers from Renal Failure or ESRD (End-stage Renal Disease). However, receive or not is all one’s own call. If somebody refuses or decides to withdraw dialysis, then what to expect once dialysis is stopped?

Without dialysis death will occur shortly after you get ESRD or withdraw from the treatment. This is mostly because toxins build up in the blood causing uremia. A series of physical and emotional changes occur as uremia develops. This is your own way to prepare. In most cases of Renal Failure, patients passed away all peaceful and pain-free, which is a great relief for their families.

Understanding the certain symptoms and changes around the corner helps patients’ friends, family and patients themselves to deal with the situation better. A series of physical and emotional changes can be:

▪ Loss of appetite

Same things happen as one’s illness condition progresses to CRF or CKD stage 4 (same thing with different names). Maybe you have already lived with it or maybe it’s new to you. Anyway, it probably will happen once your dialysis is withdrawn.

▪ Visions of people who no longer or don’t exist at all

This is probably caused by the buildup of toxins or metabolic products in your body affecting your nervous system, and then the vision appears.

▪ Don’t remember people you are familiar with, such as friends, families and even yourself.

It develops as a result of toxins affecting nervous system. As you read such a message, you may feel like heartbreaking or something. I know this is hard for you, but we suppose to support and respect his or her decision, don’t we?

▪ Changes in breathing and skin.

Changes in breathing signals decreased circulation in the internal organs, other reason may explain this change is the accumulated toxins affect other organs, for instance, heart and lung leading to the failure of other organs.

They may experience itching skin, desquamation and color changes. All those changes result from toxins accumulating in the body.

How to Prevent the Relapse of Pediatric Nephrotic Syndrome

Nephrotic Syndrome is a common childhood illness featured by massive proteinuria, hyperlipidemia, hypoalbuminemia and edema. NS is a disease of relapse and it is a major problem to manage the cases with frequent relapse. So it is very important to take measures to prevent the relapse of Pediatric Nephrotic Syndrome.

What is a relapse of Pediatric Nephrotic Syndrome?

This is shown by a recurrence of Urine Protein for at least 7 days. Untreated, oedema will occur later. Daily testing can help us detect the recurrence before oedema develops. Many relapses appear due to a cold.

Generally, relapses occur in 75 percent of children with NS, particular in the first 2 years. This can be caused due to lowered dose of medicines or the treatment has been stopped.

How to prevent the relapse of Pediatric Nephrotic Syndrome?

Firstly, adopt the combined therapy of Chinese - Western medicine.

Western medicine can relieve the symptoms which can solve the problem of low effect of Chinese prescription. In addition, Chinese herbal remedy, Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy, is applied to block kidney damage, improve the supply of blood and oxygen to the damaged renal cells, reduce further impairment of renal cells.

Moreover, Immunotherapy is applied to regenerate new healthy cells to replace the necrotic one so as to restore the renal function. The whole immune system is rebuilt, and the disease is not easy to recur.

Secondly, arrange a proper diet, and avoid crapulence in cold food.

Follow the dietary principles given be the doctor. Watch out for your child's addicted to ice cream or other cold foods. All of them will trigger gastrointestinal disorder, diarrhea and enteritis. These condition will induce the relapse of the NS.

Finally, have enough rest.

Enough rest is of great importance for enhancing the strength, improving the body's immune ability against germs like virus or bacteria.

How to Reduce Protein in Urine Due to Nephrotic Syndrome (NS)

Healthy kidneys are responsible for cleansing our blood. The kidney is made up of millions of small filtering units-glomeruli. In these filtering units, waste products and excess fluid pass through the filter and are removed into the urine, whereas the substances that are useful to the body like proteins, blood cells, etc don't pass the filter and remain in the blood.

Nephrotic Syndrome is an immunological disease caused due to low immunity or abnormal immune system. Patient's immune system fails to defends the body against what it perceives to be foreign or dangerous substances. In this condition, immune complex will be formed after the germs that invaded into the body bind with the antibodies produced by the immune system.

There are special epitopes in the kidneys that attract the immune complex, so more and more immune complexes will get deposited in the kidneys, causing damage to the filters and the glomeruli become leaky. This causes a loss of protein into urine (proteinuria).

How to reduce protein in urine due to NS?

Once people with NS detect protein in urine, they should take prompt treatment. If the underlying cause is not eliminated, the kidneys may be damaged further. Treating proteinuria is one way to maintain a healthy kidney.

Immunotherapy is available to cure protein in urine:

▪ New immunosuppressive drugs --restrain the abnormal immune response;

▪ Immune tolerance -- avoid further kidney damage;

▪ Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy -- promote renal blood circulation, eliminate the deposits of immune complex in glomeruli, and accelerate the kidney repair;

▪ Immunotherapy -- restore the kidney function and rebuild the immune system.

Respiratory Tract Infections and Nephrotic Syndrome

Nephrotic Syndrome is also known as nephrosis and is characterized by the presence of proteinuria, oedema, hyperlipidaemia, and hypoalbuminaemia. It can be caused by a wide range of primary and secondary diseases, among which respiratory tract infection is one of the most common factor. In this text, we will discuss about the relationship between respiratory tract infections and Nephrotic Syndrome.

1. Nephrotic Syndrome can be induced by a respiratory tract infection

When a person gets affected by a respiratory tract infection, a bacteria or virus will enter into the body easily. In order to rid these germs, the immunocyte will devour them. During the process of killing bacterium and virus, immunocyte become dead. For people with weak physique, there are less immunocyte.

In some cases, these cells fail to devour the germs, but bind up with them temporarily, forming a kind of immune complex. The immune complex circulates in the blood, and then deposit on the glomerular basement membrane, causing damage to the glomeruli-tiny filters of the kidneys. With increased permeability, more and more protein will be spilt, and eventually cause Nephrotic
Syndrome.

2. Respiratory tract infections may aggravate the effects of Nephrotic Syndrome

Infection is also a common complication of the disease, which can lead to relapse and poor therapeutic effects if not treated timely or thoroughly. In severe cases, patients face the danger of death, so patients should pay much attention to it.

The following are some suggestions that can help patients prevent infections:

▪ In order to improve the immune ability, people can do regular exercises, such as biking, walking, jogging, etc. Moreover, some medications can be taken under the doctor's permission.

▪ Avoid catching a cold or over-strain work as well as has better not go to the crowed places.

▪ Get enough protein from the daily diet. Proper foods contained high-quality protein include lean meat, fish, eggs, etc.

Identify Renal Failure by Frequent Urination--Its Very First Symptom

Frequent urination at night is the earliest Symptom of Renal Failure or some kind of kidney disease. Evidence-based statistics reveals that 1 out of 12 Americans suffer from kidney disease and somehow, progress to Renal Failure and accounts for the increasing cases of death. In addition, Renal Failure or kidney disease is a kind of most expensive disease to treat. Actually, only a small percentage of cases results from serious kidney disease, most of the Renal Failure or ESRD (End-stage Renal Disease) result from kidney aliments, meaning that Renal Failure or ESRD is preventable and treatable. Certainly, detecting the very early symptoms ofKidney Failure should start from marking those symptoms.

The earliest symptom is frequent urination at night, which is closely connected with the kidney problems. The frequent urination at night refers to the need to urinate more often than usual.
This is pretty serious even at night. Usually, the amount of urine excretion at night is as much as half of the amount in the daytime. To be more specific, the symptom is not only connects with glomerular disease and chronic renal tubular interstitial disease, but also appears in people with high blood pressure and diabetes.

The urinary infection tract, sometimes, can cause the symptoms too. Urinary tract infection includes not only the upper urinary tract but also the lower urinary tract. The lower urinary tract infection called cystitis, while the upper urinary tract includes kidneys. If the infection moves to the kidneys, other symptoms such as chills, fatigue, nausea and high fever. One thing need your attention is that a long-term urinary tract infection will affect your kidneys causing kidney problems and if left untreated, it can progress to Renal Failure in the long run.

Can A Child with Nephrotic Syndrome Play Sports

Nephrotic Syndrome occurs when the kidneys cannot work properly and leak massive protein into the urine. This disease can affect people of any age, but is usually first seen in children at age of 2 to 5. Parents may wonder whether a child with Nephrotic Syndrome can play sports. Continue reading to find the answer.


For children with this disease, there is something wrong with the sieve mechanism of the kidney. The holes of the sieve become enlarged, allowing large amounts of protein to be released from the body in the urine.


Can A Child with Nephrotic Syndrome Play Sports?

When the disease relapses, some parents would keep their kids off school. Consequently, they will have a lot of missed schooling. Generally speaking, you need not to keep them off school, even when the disease relapses. School attendance is permissible unless they are really unwell with symptoms. Restricting their activity is not necessary, and exercise is important for all the family. For kids with good remission, a full level of activity is possible, and they can continue to play sports normally.

In order to manage a good daily care, you can pay attention to the following aspects:

▪ Avoid being affected by infections. Parents are suggested to protect their children from catching a cold. Keep away from persons who have infectious diseases.

▪ Have enough bed rest, especially for those with serious edema and hypertension.

▪ Arrange a proper diet. Guarantee the energy supply of the body, and restrict the intake of protein and sodium. Specific amount varies from case to case. Consult your doctor or our online experts for an detailed analysis.

High Creatinine Levels after Kidney Transplantation

Kidney transplantation happens after one’s kidney function is less than 15% left. This stage is called ESRD (End-stage Renal Disease), also known as CKD stage 5. Patients with CKD stage 5 or ESRD have to live with dialysis or kidney transplantation because their kidneys couldn’t function properly. Your new kidney may not work well in your body; the patient may experience high creatinine levels once again.

Patient may wonder why would that happen, and they probably would ask don’t I suppose to get a brand-new kidney, but how to explain these old problems? High creatinine levels, no matter occurs in people with Renal Failure or those after transplant, indicate the decreased kidney function. The elevated creatinine level depends on the cause of kidney dysfunction. Without examining, one cannot comment the possibility. But there are possible following reasons, just for your information.

For those whose Renal Failure or ESRD induced by the primary disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or some autoimmune disease, their raised creatinine level may result from the poorly treated or controlled primary disease.

Well, things change when one has a transplant rejection. This usually happens shortly after the surgery. It is your own immune system recognizes the foreign matter and then attacks it spontaneously. In serious cases, the anti-rejection drugs fail to suppress one’s immune system and lead to transplant failure in the end.

Other reasons accounting for the boosted creatinine level is urologic complication, infection, nephrotoxic drugs or unfavorable internal environment. All those may result in a kidney transplantation failure because the new kidney needs time to get used to the environment but those factors deprive of its right.

Why Diabetes would lead to Renal Failure

Diabetes becomes a worldwide health problem since over 20 million people in the United States are affected with this disease. Whatever type one or type 2 diabetes is a disease in which the body fails to produce sufficient insulin or can’t use the insulin properly. People with diabetes would suffer from high blood sugar and fatigue.

Diabetes can cause problems in many organs of your body, such as heart, liver, kidneys and so on. Among all those problems, Renal Failure is pretty common. But how does the diabetes affect one’s kidneys and finally lead to Renal Failure?

Diabetes mellitus affects small blood vessels in the whole body and then poses damages on them. Due to the impaired blood vessels, the blood flow to kidneys will probably decrease. And then ischemia and oxygen deficit occurs, resulting in the kidneys fail to work properly. The kidney problem causes a series of serious consequences, such as water and salt are retained and can’t be discharged from the blood, swelling appears, protein leaks, and toxins building up in human body.

Another reason for Renal Failure induced by diabetes is that the disease may cause urination difficulty. This is a sign of nerve damage. Long-term full bladder has nothing good to your kidneys and is prone to develop urinary tract infection.

Evidence-based statistics from NKF reveals that around 30% of patients with Type 1 diabetes and 10-40% of Type 2 patients would progress to Renal Failure in the end. Scary isn’t it?

One thing you need to know is that no matter what kind of kidney disease, they get a chance to progress to Renal Failure sooner or later if left untreated or poorly controlled. To those with high blood pressure, diabetes, nephritis, or some other kidney disease, please keep an eye open for your illness condition.

Sweet Taste in Mouth for Diabetes

Sweet taste in mouth, also known as dysgeusia, is a problem of alteration of the sensation of taste. In this case, one is not able to enjoy the natural taste of food, which may lead to decreased appetite.

What Causes Sweet Taste in Mouth for Diabetes?

● Certain medicines

Many medicines can cause dry mouth and lead to growth of some bacteria which gives sweet taste.

● Disorder of the digestive system

An enzyme in the saliva called amylase can break down the carbohydrates (starch) into simple sugars, such as maltose. Ptyalin, secreted by the pancreas, is one of the main amylase enzymes found in the mouth. For people with diabetes, more ptyalin will be secreted. As a result, more maltose can be produced, leading to occurrence of sweet taste in the mouth.


● High blood sugar level

High blood sugar level in patients with this disease will lead to increased number of sugar in spittle, thus leading to the occurrence of sweet taste in mouth.

In addition, without good control of blood sugar levels, a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis can be caused in which there is much accumulation of ketones in the body. As a result, fruity smelling breath may occur.

Diet for People with Diabetes and Kidney Failure

Diabetes is a chronic disease of insulin deficiency or resistance wherein disturbances in carbohydrates, fats and proteins metabolism result in high blood sugar levels. Long-standing Diabetes can lead to damage of the kidneys. This damage can cause severe kidney failure. Diet modifications are used to control Diabetes and Kidney Failure.

Protein management

Some nephrologists recommend diets low in protein for individuals with kidney disease because protein can increase the work of the kidneys. To protect the kidneys, lower amount of protein is suggested to eat. Good protein sources for a person with Diabetes and Kidney Failure include fresh chicken, eggs, fish and other types of seafood. Management of protein intake can also restrict phosphorus and potassium amounts in the body.

Carbohydrates management

Complex carbohydrates such as whole grain breads and cereals are recommended to diabetics which can help them stabilize blood sugar levels. People with Diabetes and Kidney Failure can eat high calorie carbohydrates to provide the body with energy. Without enough calories may lead to proteins stored in the body to be broken down to supply energy. This may lead to accumulate of urea in the body due to the damaged kidneys' failing of flushing out these wastes.

Low-Sodium Diet

Sodium is an important mineral which plays a major role in regulating blood pressure and fluid balance in the body. Persons with Diabetes and Kidney Failure are advised to eat a low-sodium diet because excess sodium can increase the risk of heart disease in patients. Since the kidneys have been impaired, they also fail to filter and remove sodium adequately, resulting in sodium retention and symptoms like swelling and puffiness. Avoid high sodium foods such as table salt, potato chips, bouillon cubes, canned soups, instant soups, pretzels, pickles and soy sauce.

Limit fluid intake

In Kidney Failure, the damaged kidneys are unable to excrete excess fluids. Limit fluid intake help avoid further fluid buildup in the body. The fluids intake is limited to their urine output. Diabetics may need to drink more fluids to prevent dehydration caused by frequent urination.

Fatigue Can Be the Spell of Renal Failure

Some of the people with Renal Failure would complain their fatigue all day long and frequent urination at night making the sleep a problem. However, you can’t tell if you have Renal Failure or other kidney disease with only this symptom. So, how can you tell if you really get Renal Failure?

Renal Failure describes a medical condition that your kidneys fail to filter properly. The kidney function can be lost in a rapid speed or a slow progression. The former one is called Acute Renal Failure while the later called Chronic Renal Failure. Major difference between those two diseases is the speed of onset.

To be honest, Renal Failure doesn’t point to the site of the problem. Fatigue and muscle cramps are the two major signs or symptoms of Renal Failure.

Fatigue appears early when one suffer from the disease. It is one of the most common symptoms signaling you may have the disease and need serious attention immediately. By the following symptoms, one may tell if he or she have already developed Renal Failure. All those symptoms focus on the fatigue only with more detailed descriptions:

Fell tired like forever

Lack of energy as well as your vigor

Feel tired especially at the end of the day

The tiredness is overwhelming only after mild activity

When Renal Failure develops, the kidneys fail to function properly resulting in the insufficient production of erythropoietin. That’s why anemia occurs and then the constant tiredness is experienced.

Due to the crazy tempo of life in cities, people often experience fatigue and weakness from time to time, it is especially true in those who are in a spin all day long. Men or women, will experience weakness and lose their sensation of well-being due to the busy work as well as sleep deficit. Therefore, the long-standing fatigue is overlooked by most people. They have no idea their kidneys are asking for help for so long by sending this signal.

What to Eat if I Have Diabetes

People with Diabetes are recommended to make a meal plan tailored to their particular needs, as diet plays a significant role in controlling the disorder. Main objective of diabetic diet is to maintain ideal body weight, by providing adequate nutrition along with normal blood glucose levels. Then, what should you eat if you have Diabetes?

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates-rich foods, which break down into glucose during digestion, are of principal concern in a diabetic's diet. These foods don't have to be avoided, and what matters most is how much people eat. In general, diabetics are suggested to eat less than 2,000 calories per day, through that depends on body size and level of physical activity.

It's not necessary to completely eliminate carbs. People are recommended to choose nutritionally rich carbs like veggies, whole grains, etc. Typically, 30~60g carbs can be ate per meal, and 15~30g per snack. For males and avid exercisers, they can handle more.

Sweets

It is a myth that diabetics must avoid sugar at all costs. The good new is that they can enjoy their favourite treats as long as they plan properly. Tips for including sweets in a Diabetes-friendly diet are:

▪ Hold the bread, or rice if a diabetic wants dessert.

▪ Add some healthy fat like peanut butter, ricotta cheese, yogurt, or some nuts, etc to the dessert.

▪ Eat sweets along with other healthy foods as part of the meal, so the blood sugar won't rise as rapidly.

Fats

People with Diabetes are at higher risk for heart disease, so it is quite important to choose healthy fats. The best fats are unsaturated fats, which come from plant and fish sources. Primary sources include olive oil, nuts, and avocados. Also focus on omega-3 fatty acids, which come from salmon, tuna, and flaxseeds. Avoid saturated fats, such as fried foods and high-fat meats.

Is Flu Associated with Acute Renal Failure (ARF)

Patient’s relatives: my husband’s uncle had flu and because he’s gotten so dehydrated today he’s been admitted to the hospital. Surprisingly, he almost went straight to ICU because he was diagnosed with Acute Renal Failure. Dialysis was setting up for him ASAP. Sure thing is his prognosis is apparently not great. My confusion is how would that happen? Is the ARF caused by the flu or just dehydration? Can the kidney failure recover once the flu is over? Is dialysis necessary forever or just temporarily?

According to the description above, the patient’s kidney failure can be caused by upper respiratory tract infection or serious dehydration. Upper respiratory tract infection is often responsible for acute nephritis, especially is related with hemolytic streptococcus. Sometimes the Renal Failure is symptomized as flu, the patient suffer from weakness, swelling of the face, headache and systemic ache. Besides, blood in urine, oliguria and proteinuria would occur as the result of the decreased kidney function. The patient aforementioned had flu before he was diagnosed with Acute Renal Failure. Therefore, there stands a chance that the ARF is induced by the respiratory tract infection. If the inference is true, then his acute kidney failure is caused by acute nephritis.

Another culprit accounting for the ARF may be the serious dehydration. Serious dehydration triggers pre-renal acute renal failure. This is because dehydration leads to inadequate blood volume and then triggers insufficient blood perfusion. Consequently, renal dysfunction occurs accordingly. To make things worse, the internal environment was damaged by the severe dehydration. All those influencing factors contribute to the sudden loss of his kidney function. As a result, Acute Renal Failure happens.

ARF happens all of a sudden, and requires dialysis as soon as possible to protect the remaining kidney function. Early treatment sometimes can help regain one’s kidney function. After the disease is cured, one’s kidney disease can be reversed day by day. However, there are many other factors involved in the prognosis, such as the physical condition, the age, how prompt the patient receives treatment and so on. Hope you really get your answers from the article.

Diet Plan for People with Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes is the most common form of Diabetes. Either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Our body can break down all of the sugars and starches of foods into glucose, the basic fuel for the cells in the body. Insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells to make into energy. If glucose builds up in the blood, diabetic complications like glaucoma, nerve damage, etc may be caused. A proper diet can help us manage the diabetes.

Protein-rich foods

Protein can provide amino acids to our body. Protein-rich foods also digest slower then carbohydrates, having a mellowing impact on blood glucose levels. You are suggested to restrict or eat no saturated fat foods, such as processed meats and whole milk, and eat fatty fish including salmon, herring, sardines, etc. Other fish such as cod and grouper, low-fat dairy products, egg whites and tofu supply additional lean, low-cholesterol protein options.

Whole grains

This kind of foods refer to grains that have not been stripped of vitamins, protein, minerals, and fiber during food processing. They are considered low-glycemic, which have a mild impact on the blood sugar levels. Research shows that Type 2 Diabetes symptoms can be improve by low-glycemic foods. Incorporated foods and dishes based on whole grains include whole wheat, wild rice, and brown rice, etc.

Fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are good sources of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. People with Type 2 Diabetes can fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables like leafy greens, broccoli, mushrooms, etc, 1/4 of the plate with a starch like brown rice, and 1/4 with lean protein, such as fish. Most fresh fruits and vegetables are low-glycemic, which can promote positive blood sugar levels.

How to Improve the Glomerular Filtration Rate in Nephrotic Syndrome

Glomerular Fitration Rate, or GFR, is a vital indication of the kidney function through which we can know how well the kidneys are working or to what degree they are damaged. With the development of Nephritis Syndrome, patients always present decreased Glomerular Filtration Rate. Why dose the GFR go down in Nephritis Syndrome? Is there any effective treatment?
Causes of reduced Glomerular Filtration Rate in Nephritis Syndrome

Actually, it's because of what's going on in the glomerulus. In normal condition, the capillaries are all nice and open and patent. Blood flows through the capillaries smoothly, fluid gets filtered out into the urine, and the GFR is normal.

In Nephritis Syndrome, there are too much immune complexes depositing in the glomeruli, so the glomeruli are compressed by all that extra stuff, and you can imagine how hard it is for the poor blood to flow through there. If the blood can't flow through at the same rate, the filtration of fluid from the blood into urine is decreased, and patients appear decreased Glomerular Filtration Rate.
How to improve the Glomerular Filtration Rate in Nephritis Syndrome?

Since we have found the exact cause of reduced GFR is due to immune complex deposits, after we clear up them and repair the damaged glomeruli, the Glomerular Filtration Rate can be increased naturally.

Here we'd like to introduce the most advanced therapeutic method to you, which is called immunotherapy. It is an integrated Chinese and western therapy, so we can guarantee the best treatment effects. Immunotherapy is consisted of:

1. New immunosuppressive agents-block further immune reaction so as to avoid further decline of GFR.

2. Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy-remove the immune complex effectively.

3. Immunotherapy-transfused through veins, repair the damaged glomeruli, recover the kidney function, and regulate the immune system.

4. Immune clearance-immunoadsorption, plasma exchange and blood purification can help us clear the toxins thoroughly.

How to Diagnose Nephrotic Syndrome

Nephrotic Syndrome (NS) is a nonspecific disorder in which the kidneys are damaged, causing them to leak large amount of protein from the blood into the urine (>3.5g/d). In clinic, it can be divided into primary Nephrotic Syndrome and secondary Nephrotic Syndrome. Then how to diagnose Nephrotic Syndrome? You can find the answer in the following text.

Ⅰ. Health history

The doctor will ask about patient's medical history, through which he can gather more data about the symptoms, prior history or family history of allergy or related diseases. Generally, a detailed and precise history gives definite intimation to the diagnosis.

Ⅱ. Physical examination

More than 95% of patients with Nephrotic Syndrome have edema. Generalized edema is dependent and pitting in character. In children with marked ascites, mechanical restriction of breathing may be present, and the child may have fast and shallow breathing. Hypertension may appear in majority of Nephrotic Syndrome patients. Besides, other signs may also include a concurrent upper respiratory tract infection, abdominal tenderness, etc.

Ⅲ. Medical tests

Tests and procedures used to diagnose Nephrotic Syndrome include:

● Urinalysis

A urinalysis can reveal abnormalities in the urine, such as large amounts of protein, is you have Nephrotic Syndrome. In order to determine the exact amount of proteins in the urine, a 24-hour quantitative test may be ordered.

● Blood tests

A blood test often shows low albumin (hypoalbuminemia) specifically and often, decreased levels of blood protein overall. Loss of albumin is often associated with elevated blood cholesterol and blood triglycerides. The doctor may take a blood sample to see how well the kidneys are removing wastes. If the blood contains high levels of creatinine and urea, some kidney damage may have already occurred.

● Kidney biopsy

Your doctor usually perform with a long needle passes through the skin after the patient lies flat on his stomach. Then the doctor will use an ultrasound scan to find out exactly where the kidneys are and where to insert the needle. The sample is then examined under the microscope and it may take several days before the answer is available.

Does Drinking Green Tea Reduce the Blood Sugar Level in Diabetes

Recently many patients with Diabetes ask whether drinking green tea will help in reducing or controlling blood sugar. Before we find an answer to this question, let's see the causes and risk of high blood sugar level in Diabetes.

Pancreas can produce a hormone called insulin which helps to level the glucose amount that we intake. Insulin has two functions: reduce the blood sugar levels and regulate the normal cell functioning by increasing the availability of glucose. Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin, resistance to insulin, or both.

If Diabetes is not well controlled, it can lead to many complications including gangrene in which mostly the feet are affected, ulcers, kidney problems, heart complications, blindness etc. Therefore, it is necessary to have a good control of your blood sugar level.

Does drinking green tea reduce the blood sugar level in Diabetes?

Green tea has been around for probably as long as humans. It is very beneficial to a person with Diabetes. Study shows that green tea can help block glucose absorption. It also triggers and stimulates insulin generation and activates the pancreas function in some degree. The blood sugar level can be regulated and normalized in the body.

Green tea contains ECGC which considerably reduce the blood sugar. In addition, another constitute in green tea called polysaccharides is said to reduce glucose in blood. Besides, green tea can reduce cardiovascular problems, because it can avoid obesity with regular use and can also decrease the risk of coronary diseases.

Preparing for Hemodialysis

When Chronic Kidney Disease develops to Stage IV (which is also known as End-stage Renal Failure) along with GFR﹤30 cc/min, dialysis turn to an inevitable choice. Dialysis can be mainly divided into hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. The key to a successful hemodialysis depends upon awareness and preparation. So what should we do before we perform hemodialysis?

a) Certain tests should be run before receiving hemodialysis

Those tests include heart check, vaccination status, dialysis access and some others. By detecting the heart condition in advance, the doctor could recommend you a better dialysis type, for example, those with diabetes or high blood pressure may suffer from a weak heart than others, to those kinds of people, hemodialysis is their first choice. Usually, the doctor will suggest you a peritoneal dialysis instead of the former one.

b) Control your blood pressure

High blood pressure itself can damage kidney function. Taking good control of your blood pressure contributes to your kidneys especially during Chronic Kidney Failure or ESRD. Having a good control over your high blood pressure would effectively slow down the progression of Chronic Kidney Failure as well as reduce the incidence of cardiovascular complications. Besides, ultrafiltration and sodium discharge of dialysis have a confirming function of depressing high blood pressure.

c) Psychoneself

Doctor has the responsibility to help patients get ready for hemodialysis. However, mental preparation in advance really matters, because it can not only help patients deal with the fact that he/she needs hemodialysis without delay, but also spare time getting down to vascular access.

d) Dialyser examination in advance is necessary

To check whether the package rupture or not, and whether dialyiser disrepair or not, instruction of the new dialyser should be read before usage. Realize about disinfection methods, material of membrane, pre-congestion amount, ultrafiltration rate, maximum tolerant pressure, clearance rate of small molecules and moderate molecular and remaining blood volume etc.

Signs and Symptoms of CKD

CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) or Chronic Renal Insufficiency describes a progressive loss of the kidney function over time. Chronic Kidney Disease is classified as five major stages in line with GFR.

In stage one and two, one’s kidney function is normal or mild damaged, no obvious signs or symptoms form. Only the GFR (glomerular filtration rate) reduces. In stage 1, GFR is no less than 90% while the GFR reports as 60 to 89% in stage 2. It is 30-59% as the medical condition progresses to stage 3. Additionally, signs and symptoms occur accordingly. Just for your information, the symptoms won’t appear until no more than 50% of kidney function is impaired. More serious and significant signs and symptoms show up when GFR declines to 15-29% or even less than 15%. This is the last two stages of CKD, namely, Chronic Renal Failure and End-stage Renal Failure.

Common signs and symptoms of CKD:

Due to the kidney function has not been affected yet in the first two stages, no or few physical symptoms appear. Serum creatinie may begin to elevate or stay normal during this period and indicates that half of your kidney function is lost.

In stage 3 to 4, the serum creatinine probably increases as a result of kidney injury. Besides, fatigue and weakness occur, puffiness is obvious in hands, feet, ankles and eyelids. Usually, kidney disease patients experience back pain or flank pain from time to time. The changes in urine may be the most common symptom of kidney injury. It can be increased urine output, the changes in color, and the frequency etc. in some cases of kidney disease, foamy urine develops.

Stage 5 of Chronic Kidney Insufficiency, also called End-stage Renal Failure (ESRF), is the most serious illness condition of kidney disease. The medical condition has no chance to reverse as progresses to ESRF. Dialysis and kidney transplant become the few left options for ESRF patients. Signs and symptoms of ESRF are fatigue, headache, muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting, lower metal sharpness, night-time urination, itching, decreased sex drive, high blood pressure, shortness of breath, chest pain, loss of appetite etc.

Type 1 Diabetes Symptoms in Children

Type 1 Diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes, juvenile diabetes) results when the pancreas loses its ability to make the hormone insulin. In children with Type 1 diabetes, their own immune system attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Once those cells are destroyed, they won’t ever make insulin again. The following are some common symptoms of children with Type 1 Diabetes.

◆ Frequent urination

As excessive glucose builds up in the bloodstream of children, the kidneys respond to high levels of blood glucose by flushing out it in urine. A child with diabetes needs to urinate more frequently and in larger volumes.

◆ Excessive thirst

Since the child is losing so much fluid from peeing so much, he or she becomes excessive thirst, who drinks a lot in order to keep a normal level of water and avoid being dehydrated.

◆ Weight loss

Even though kids who develop Type 1 Diabetes may eat more than usual to relieve hunger, he may lose weight-rapidly at times, because the body breaks down muscle and stored fat so as to provide fuel to the hungry cells.

◆ Fatigue

The muscles and cells are deprived of glucose, so the child may become tired and lethargic.

◆ Bedwetting

In some cases, this is the first sign of diabetes in a child who has been dry at night.

Besides, a vaginal yeast infection may also be suspected as a sign of diabetes if a girl hasn’t started puberty yet.

Type 1 Diabetes in children can be very dangerous simply due to they cannot explain fully what is happening in their body. If the above symptoms aren’t detected and treated early, chemicals called ketones may build up in the child’s blood, causing stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, fruity-smelling breath, breathing problems, and even loss of consciousness.

Immunotherapy is the most advanced therapy for Type 1 Diabetes, and you can choose this best treatment for your child.

What is Wrong If I Have an Elevated Creatinine Level

Creatinine refers to a chemical waste product in the blood that passes through the kidneys to be filtered and excrete in urine. The chemical waste is a by-product of normal muscle contractions. People who have chronic kidney disease (CKD) may suffer from high creatinine. So how does this occur?

CKD appear when the kidneys becomes damaged and are no longer able to properly filter waste and extra fluid out of the blood through urine. You will develop raised creatinine levels when the glomerular filtration mechanism becomes gradually damaged.

The higher the level is, the more damage there may be to the kidneys. A level greater than 1.50 mg/dl for male and 1.10 mg/dl for female is abnormal and may indicate kidney disease. For adult patients, dialysis is recommended when the number reach 10.0 mg/dl; for babies with chronic kidney disease, dialysis is recommended when the level is 2.0 mg/dl.

Symptoms of raised creatinine level

Symptoms are the same as Renal Failure symptoms. In some cases, people find out they have kidney failure without feeling any discomforts at all. Yet some persons may experience the following:

▪ Weakness, or fatigue

▪ Confusion

▪ Shortness of breath

▪ Dehydration

As the kidneys becomes increasing unable to cope, your disease will deteriorate. So it is necessary to find an effective treatment to repair the damaged filtration membrane and restore the kidney function so as to avoid dialysis.

Why PKD Cause Renal Failure

PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) can’t be cured, it just can be controlled and treated to stop it progression to Renal Failure.

How PKD lead to Renal Failure?

The cysts in kidneys are relatively small. Symptoms normally appear after the age of 30. Before the onset developing, the disease progresses in a rather slow speed. However, PKD progresses over time not only in size, but also in number. Increasing cysts grow and pressure the surrounding tissues or organs, causing serious problems. The kidney function would deteriorate progressively and finally lead to Renal Failure or even End-stage Renal Failure. During the process, one’s kidney function declines sharply. PKD patients have to receive dialysis or kidney transplantation in the end.

Since we have already known the relationship of PKD and Renal Failure, how to prevent it from happening?

Early diagnosis

If you have a family history, you should keep an eye open for your condition. regular check-ups benefits. Ultrasonic, CT, MRI and other tests contribute to the diagnosis of the disease. Serum creatinine along with urea nitrogen is the two common indexes signal the kidney function.
Take good care of yourself in daily life

Diet and daily proper daily exercises are definitely good for the physical condition with PKD. (Wanna know the inducing factors of Polycystic Renal Disease? Consult our doctor on line!)
Timely treatment

The current treatments are kidney replacements, i.e. dialysis and kidney transplantation.
Our featured therapies such as Immunotherapy therapy and Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy

The progression of PKD different from person to person, about one in three people with ADPKD get to the age of 70 without any serious Renal Failrue.

How to Reduce High Creatinine Levels Effectively

Creatinine is a substance produced by muscular activity when creatine phosphate is broken down. As a waste product, it is filtered from the blood by the kidneys, and so high creatinine levels in the blood can often indicate the kidney malfunction.

Normal range of serum creatinine

A creatinine level is the measurement of the amount of creatinine in a sample of blood. Normal range levels for male are 0.6~1.2ml/dL. For females, the normal range is between 0.5~1.1mg/dL.
Serum creatinine is an important blood test in diagnosing kidney disease, especially when you have elevated high creatinine in the blood and low creatinine in the urine at the same time.

What causes high creatinine levels in kidney disease?

A change in kidney function is the most common cause of high creatinine levels in the blood. Our kidneys are composed of approximately one million filters for each kidney, called nephrons. One nephron contains a glomerular-and tubule unit. Most creatinine is normally excreted out along these filtering units, so we can maintain the low blood creatinine levels.

In kidney disease, the renal nephrons are damaged, so the filtrating units fail to expel the creatinine in the blood stream adequately, resulting in elevated creatinine levels. Diabetes and chronic high blood pressure are common causes of diminished kidney function.

How to reduce high creatinine levels effectively?

We have found that the causes of high creatinine levels in kidney disease are due to damages to the nephrons, so in order to lower it effectively, we must repair the impaired nephrons and recover the kidney function.

Here, we'd like to introduce a natural remedy which can help you reduce high creatinine levels, known as Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy. This natural treatment combines traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with modern medical technology, and have been clinically used in our hospital to treat high creatinine and kidney disease successfully.

Why does Drop in Osmotic Pressure Cause Swelling in Nephrotic Syndrome

There are tiny blood vessels in the kidneys that filter waste and excess water from the blood stream. When these filters are damaged, a person will get Nephrotic Syndrome. The most common early symptom of this disorder, in both children and adults, is swelling in the tissues around the eyes or in the ankles or feet due to drop in osmotic pressure. The following gives detailed introduction.

Colloid Osmotic Pressure

It can also be referred to as oncotic pressure, which is a measurement of pressure exerted within the cardiovascular system by proteins found in blood plasma. Maintaining the proper levels osmotic pressure ensures that the body tissues maintain the proper levels of liquid and that too much liquid doesn't escape from the capillaries.

Normally, colloid osmotic pressure tends to cause fluid to be drawn into the capillaries. Variations in this pressure can lead to build up of fluid in the tissues, a condition called edema, or swelling.
Swelling due to Drop of Osmotic Pressure in NS

Individuals with NS suffer from large quantity of Urine Protein. Massive proteins will get released into the urine, leading to reduced amount of plasma colloid osmotic pressure. If this happens, the normal exchange of body fluid is disturbed and cannot keep balance any more. Water in blood vessels will transfer toward tissue fluid, resulting in swelling.

Besides, another cause of edema in NS is also associated with low blood protein concentration.
Water in the blood transfers toward interstitial tissue, leading to low effective blood volume. This in turn gives rise to the production of Anti-diuretic Hormone (ADH). Renal tubules will reabsorb more water and sodium, resulting in more water retention. This condition will aggravate the swelling in NS.

What Should I Do If I Experience a High Level of Potassium

High levels of potassium, also called hyperkalemia. It usually appears as one suffers from Acute Renal Failure or happens in people on dialysis. Hyperkalemia refers to the kalemia level higher than 6mmol/L, it can cause arrhythmia or even death.

Why would that happen?

Potassium is usually excreted by kidneys. They struggle to process fluids, electrolytes and wastes even in their best days, let alone those who have already suffered from Renal Failure and their kidney function has been impaired greatly.

Some of the potassium comes from our daily diet. Normally speaking, healthy kidneys excrete more kalium as you take foods high in the mineral; if you eat less, then excrete less. One thing you need to remember is that even you don’t take any foods containing kalium, your kidneys still excrete the kalium.

Patients with Renal Failure can’t remove the mineral from the blood anymore because of their impaired kidney function, which explains why the kalemia soars.

What are the common symptoms of kalemia?

Weakness of limbs, numb tongues, arrhythmia or even cardiac arrest as a result of high levels of potassium. Whatever those with dialysis or develop Renal Failure, limiting the potassium intake is always a wise choice.

How to avoid from what we eat?

You can stay away from foods high in potassium, such as chocolate, cocoa, coffee, tea, sport beverage, bananas, loquat, oranges, carambola, tomato, potato, mushroom, agaric, carrot, cabbage, spinach, kelp, sodium salt and so on and so forth.

Learn to read labels on the packages, it is right there. This is also one way to avoid food high in kalium.

Top 5 Foods Recommended for Patients with Renal Failure

Prevention Renal Failure is way much better than treatment, you may say of course I know that, but how much do you know the importance and really carry out in your daily life? Or if the patient is a kid who is unwillingly to eat those foods, then what should you do about that?

Anyway, first things first, you should admit the fact that by eating right food, it could help you prevent from the harassment from Renal Failure, or, the diet means a lot to your illness condition if you have already got the disease.

Here are top five foods which are good for your kidney health.

No. 1—onion

Onion is a kidney-friendly food attributing to its quercetin. The chemicals in onion are able to prevent the fatty material from depositing in one’s blood vessels, protect one’s heart and anti-inflammation. If you or your cared one is a Renal Failure patient, don't forget to try onion.







No.2—apple

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, the old saying still works today. Apples is characterized as anti-inflammation and reduce cholesterol etc. apples can be eaten raw or cooked, or if your kid doesn’t like eating apple, then give him or her apple juice.








No.3—berries

Berries are known as kidney-friendly food for a really long time. Those berries include blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, cranberry, and raspberry and so on and so forth. Various berries obtain different features, but all in all, those fruits are good for the bone, heart, or anti-inflammation etc.




No. 4—egg white

Please notice that it is white egg instead of egg yolk. When I was little, I hated eating eggs, both egg white and yolk, because I was always choked by it. I assume same thing may happen in kids now. One thing you may not know is that egg white is pure protein, can you believe that? It provides us the highest quality protein.



No. 5—cauliflower

This is a super food for Renal Failure patients. Not just because it contains fiber and folate, but also rich in vitamin C. moreover, you can eat it with many types, such as smash, steamed or boiled, whatever you or the kids like.







Those tips are just for those who concern their kidney health and who have already suffered from Renal Failure or some kind of kidney disease.

Nine Steps about How ESRF Happens

Several reasons trigger ESRF (End-stage Renal Failure), one of the major culprits is fibrosis. It is a fatal disease and would leave the patients in dangerous situation. However, the disease has some certain steps. By knowing the steps, we can detect the disease in early stage. Nine steps are:

1. Partial microcirculatory disturbance of damaged kidneys results from a variety of pathological damages (primary or secondary damages) incurs ischemia and oxygen deficit of kidney tissues.

2. Ischemia and oxygen deficit impair your vascular endothelial cells in kidneys.

3. Once the endothelial cells in kidney capillary vessels have been damaged, attracting the infiltration of inflammatory cells in blood circulation, in the meantime, morbigenous inflammatory mediators (IL-1 and TNF-α etc.) are released, which triggers the renal fibrosis. The pathological damages are responsible for the inflammation response of damaged kidney.

Local pathological changes of glomerulus would appear for the time being: Mesangial cell proliferation, mesangial matrix increasing.

Changes in glomerular basement membrane: filtered holes enlarge or shut; glomerular basement membrane ruptures; electrostatic barrier damages; permeability of kidneys strengthens.
Consequently, proteinuria and hematuria appear in clinic during this time, glomerulus would gradually progress to fibrosis and hardening afterwards.

4. Once renal fibrosis has been triggered, a series of cell factors and growth factors (PDGF and TGF-β) of renal toxicity are produced and released successively.

5. Those factors with renal toxicity would incur phenotype transdifferentiation of kidney functional cells (mesangial cells, epithelial cells and mechanocyte).

6. Phenotype of mechanocyte especially those in renal interstitium have been transformed, and then a series of uneasy degraded collagen fibrins (extracellular matrix--ECM) have been secreted and synthesized.

7. Owing to the increasing secretion of ECM, dynamic equilibrium mechanism fails to maintain the synthesis and degradation of ECM in kidneys, which is responsible for the reduction of synthesis and decrease of degradation to extracellular matrix in the kidneys, leading to a great amount of extracellular matrix to deposit and gather.

8. Owing to abundant deposition and aggragation of extracellular matrix, collective ECM replace the healthy functional nephrons accordingly, which results in the continuous hardening of glomerulus along with interstitial fibrosis as well as renal vascular fibrosis of renal tubulus.

9. The progressive fibrosis of kidneys causes functional nephrons decreasing, together with the persistent loss of renal function, consequently, fibrosis progresses to cicatrical tissues in the long run. Under this condition, End-stage Renal Failure--end-stage renal failure occurs eventually as functional nephrons are impaired completely and lost their function.

What to Eat When Taking Dialysis

Dialysis acts as an artificial kidney to remove metabolic wastes from your blood. It also changes everything especially your dietary habit. Food gives you energy and places a great influence to your condition. The wastes come from what you eat, that’s why Renal Failure patients should follow a restricted diet.

Dialysis diet should restrict the intake of potassium, sodium, phosphorus and others. Moreover, the diet should be changed according to Renal Failure patients' weight, blood test results and other reasons.

Eat a variety of foods and try to avoid taking same foods for a long time.

Ask your dietitian about your diet plan.

Avoid salty food so as to reduce the intake of fluid.

Potassium level rises when dialysis is performed, so my suggestion is to stay away foods high in potassium.

High potassium foods include banana, kiwi, cooked celery, tomato sauce and others.

Take right amount of phosphorus. High phosphorus in your blood will pull calcium from bones resulting in the weak bones. Too much phosphorus will make your skin itching.

Foods high in phosphorus include milk, cheese, colas and nuts etc.

High-protein diet should be followed.

Patients with Renal Failure doctor or dietitian probably encourages you to eat as much as high quality protein. The reason is that protein helps you repair your tissues. It also delivers you a better immunity to fight against infection or other diseases.

Meat, fish, eggs are good sources of high-quality protein.

Don’t take too much sodium because it would make you thirsty. Sodium is often found in salt. Taking too much sodium in a long time would trigger heart failure and high blood pressure.
Foods contain less sodium are fresh vegetables while high sodium foods include dill pickle, mustard, soy sauce, ketchup and so on.

Do not take vitamin or minerals. Your doctor will prescribe you mineral supplement. You’d better not buy them by yourself because over-the-counter vitamin or minerals can be harmful.
So many things you should remember to cooperate with your doctor when performing your dialysis. It can be hard for you, but you should stick to dietary restrictions.

Overview of Renal Failure

Renal Failure refers to kidney damages caused by various reasons, which leads to the loss of filtering ability in nephrons. When your kidneys lose their normal function, they can no longer balance fluids and electrolytes as well as metabolic products in human body, which responsible for high blood pressure, metabolic acidosis or uremia syndrome. All in all, Renal Failure describes a pathological condition that your kidneys partially or completely lose their function. According to the speed of its onset, Renal Failure can be divided into two types: Chronic and Acute Renal Failure.

Chronic Renal Failure

Chronic Renal Failure formally called Chronic Kidney Injury. According to its assessment of kidney function, Chronic Renal Failure can be explained in two aspects—general and narrow concepts. Chronic Renal Failure is caused by a variety of chronic kidney diseases in general concept. Various kidney diseases diminish the functions of excretion and secretion as well as regulatory ability, and cause the imbalance of water and electrolytes, all those cause azotemia.

In other words, the renal insufficiency in the whole compensated stage can be collectively called Chronic Renal Failure. On the other hand, narrow concept of Chronic Renal Failure refers to serum creatinine≥442μmol/L in compensated stage of chronic renal insufficiency.

Acute Renal Failure

Acute Renal Failure is also called acute uremia. Acute Renal Failure is a group of syndromes caused by renal or extrarenal pathological changes which is responsible for the sudden decline of metabolic products excreted by kidneys, abilities to balance water, electrolytes and acid-base.

Causes of Acute Renal Failure:

1) Prerenal oliguria, i.e. serious shortage in effective blood volume

2) Renal oliguria

Renal Oliguria occurs in severe glomerulonephritis, aminoglycoside antibiotics, serious systemic infections, hemolysis and biotoxins etc.

3) Postrenal oliguria

It occurs in acute urinary tract obstruction.

Clinical symptoms:

1) Oliguric or anuric phase

2) Phase of diuresis

3) Recovery phase

Our approach for Renal Failure—Immunotherapy

There are six steps of Immunotherapy.

Step No.1 Provides an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis for the disease.

Step No.2 Adopts brand-new medicines

Step No.3 Immune tolerance stage

Help your kidneys accept the fact that immune complexes deposit in the kidneys aiming to prevent the reoccurrence of immoderate inflammatory reaction which is called immune tolerance.

Step No.4 Immune-regulation phase in which give patients immune-regulation treatment.

Step No.5 Immune protection stage

Step No.6 Immune clearance

An Introduction of Immune System

Immune system is vital to one’s health. In order to know how it works, I write this article for all of you. Hope can help you.

What is immune system?

The immune system is a whole network of cells, tissues and organs, they work together to defend the foreign invaders. Those cells are involved in white blood cells, or leukocytes and so on. They focus on protecting your body from being attacked by millions of virus, bacteria, germs, toxins and parasites. Before knowing how it works, you should know what would happen if you lose it first.
When the living beings die,the system will stop working. What the consequences? The body will be invaded by the bacteria, germs and parasites after the system terminate their activities.
However, all those bad things can’t intrude as the system works normally. The consequences of invasive things, the body will be collapsed completely until nothing’s left. This is the purpose of our system.

Our immune system is complicated as well as interesting. It works day and night and being overlooked in most of time by most of us. One condition can draw our attention, that is, we will notice the abnormality of your system as it is disturbed. For example, when your finger is cut and then various viruses and germs access into your body, after that, it responds to that and heals your finger all by itself. Sometimes, the system will make mistakes, triggering the inflammation of the wound. Pustule and inflammation are all the side-effects coming from it.

The immune system will bring troubles as it fail to function. The consequences are various diseases. This is called autoimmune disorder. Normally speaking, the allergy is kind of over-reactive reactions. One more example, diabetes is caused by abnormal immunity and it attacks and destroys pancreas cells.

More often than that, this system will hold back some of our actions which is beneficial for us. For example, organ transplant is much harder than we thought, this is just because our own immune system resist the transplantation.

Why Renal Failure Patients Often Develop Puffiness

Puffiness or swelling is often associated with Renal Failure. It occurs when the body retains excessive fluid. This condition is medically called edema. It is often close related with Renal Failure or some other kidney diseases, puffiness acts as one of early signals of the disease.

Swelling can happen anywhere. However, the most common areas are ankles, feet, legs, face, chest and arms. It is caused by the leakage of fluid from small blood vessels. Aiming at this problem, one’s kidneys would retain water and sodium in the body. And then the small blood vessels release more fluid to the body, causing vicious cycles and makes fluid trap in the tissues. All those are responsible for the puffiness.

The puffiness can be caused by the following reasons:

▪ Nephrotic Syndrome

As one develops Nephrotic Syndrome, he or she would experience edema. This is caused by reduced urine protein. After low protein levels appear, the kidneys will retain more salt to build blood volume. As the result of this, excess fluid will be stored in tissues and causing swelling.

▪ Heart failure

Heart failure is defined as the heart fail to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. It can be caused by many reasons, such as heart diseases, high blood pressure or coronary artery disease etc. when the heart fail to work efficiently, the puffiness would appear.

▪ Hypernatremia

Hypernatremia, as the name denotes, is induced by increased concentration of sodium in the blood. Sodium is vital to the function of muscles and nerves in human body. But too much sodium causes systemic puffiness and reduced urine output.

Swelling is often involved in Renal Failure, and acts as one of the earliest symptoms of kidney disease. Compared with blood in urine, it is much easy to recognize. I sincerely suggest those who experience edema, you’d better talk with your doctor immediately. Of course, puffiness doesn’t always occur as the sign of Renal Failure, but you can never to be too careful. Isn’t it?