From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kidney failure
(also called
renal failure
) is a term used to describe when a person's
kidneys
stop working properly, or fail. Kidney failure can be divided into two categories:
chronic
renal failure, and
acute
renal failure.
Chronic renal failure develops slowly, and there are not many noticeable
symptoms
at first.
Chronic renal failure can be a sign of other diseases, like
IgA nephritis
,
glomerulonephritis
, chronic
pyelonephritis
, and
urinary retention
.
Chronic renal failure will eventually develop into end-stage renal failure if it is left untreated. End-stage renal failure can only be treated with
dialysis
or a kidney
transplant
.
Acute renal failure
[1]
develops in a short time, and symptoms are more noticeable. Symptoms include:
- Urinating
less than usual
- Changes in the amount of water in the body
- Electrolyte
levels that are not normal
The cause of acute renal failure needs to be found quickly. Dialysis is often needed to prevent permanent damage to the body while the cause is being found.
It is possible to have acute renal failure on top of chronic renal failure. This is called "acute-on-chronic renal failure."