Chronic kidney disease can be a serious, life threatening condition. Fortunately there are many steps along the way you can take for the treatment of chronic kidney disease, from the time it is diagnosed on. Many people have a mild form of kidney disease. The severity of your kidney damage will certainly affect your treatment. For most people with kidney disease close work with a health care provider is necessary to ensure proper treatment.
Most people with kidney disease will need to follow strict dietary guidelines to ensure their health is taken care of in the best way possible. The better care you take of your health the less likely you are to experience complications from severe kidney damage.
Some of the more common treatment guidelines associated with the care of chronic kidney disease includes the following:
• Restriction of dietary protein. This is to help prevent leaking of protein into the urine. Typically the kidneys help filter the blood and break down protein. Too much protein in the diet can place unnecessary stress and burden on the kidneys, so your health care provider may recommend treatment guidelines that limit your daily intake of protein.
• Limitation of your daily intake of sodium, which may help reduce the amount of fluid you retain during the day. This may help reduce your blood pressure. Often people with chronic kidney disease have high blood pressure. Sometimes high blood pressure leads to chronic kidney disease ironically.
• Reduced intake of potassium, because the kidneys are not able to reduce the amount of potassium in the body and blood. Having too much potassium in your body can lead to many serious problems including abnormal heart rhythms. There are many foods that can contribute to increased potassium in the body. These may include oranges, nuts, potatoes and other potassium rich foods, like some prunes even.
• Reduction in the amount of phosphorus rich foods you eat, as this can destroy your bones. There are many foods that contain phosphorus, and decreasing the amount of phosphorus intake can help people with chronic kidney disease help protect their bones. Perhaps one of the biggest sources of phosphorus for many people is soda pop. Other foods that contain phosphorus include eggs and other dairy products. Some dairy is ok, including butter.
• Stop smoking and drinking alcohol, which can contribute to poor overall health.
• Increase your intake of iron if you have anemia, which can lead to fatigue and sleepiness, which are common symptoms and side effects of chronic kidney damage. You may not be able to increase your intake of meat, but you can increase your intake of other iron rich foods, or your doctor may prescribe a supplement depending on the severity of your disease.
• Get plenty of rest and adequate exercise, particularly if you have diabetes. Diabetes is often a cause or underlying condition that leads to chronic kidney damage.
• Treat underlying conditions that lead to chronic kidney disease, including heart disease and diabetes. If you do not treat the underlying conditions then treating chronic kidney disease will have little impact if any. You must treat both conditions simultaneously to have the maximum impact on your total body health.
• Reduce your intake of toxic substances or illegal drugs into the body, which can further harm the body.
• Reduce your intake of medications that can cause damage to the body or cause stress to the body's organs and kidney, including NSAIDs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Your doctor may prescribe these for pain, or you may take them regularly for pain, over-the-counter or otherwise.
There are some other natural remedies for helping treat kidney disorders. These may include supplementing your diet with natural diuretics that may help with fluid retention, including sipping certain herbal teas like nettle leaf and horsetail tea. You may need to consult with your health care provider first to make sure any herbal supplements are safe and will not further stress your already burdened kidneys.
You can also eat several small meals each day instead of three larger ones to reduce the stress on your body. Some people find drinking unsweetened cranberry juice helpful for reducing the frequency of urinary tract infections, which can lead to kidney infections, and thus kidney damage.