Why do kidneys hurt
That’s the problem, that the kidneys do not hurt (unless we are talking about urolithiasis, in which the tissues of the organ are injured purely mechanically). And many inflammatory processes and disruption of work at first are almost asymptomatic. The kidney is a very patient organ, it will remain silent until it is 70% off.
Cleansing the blood of metabolic products is the main function of the kidneys. Creatinine – a substance that is formed during energy metabolism in muscle tissue – enters the bloodstream. After filtration in the kidneys (glomerular filtration), the blood is purified, and creatinine and other by-products are excreted from the body in the urine. If the excretion of creatinine in the urine decreases, then, accordingly, its concentration in the blood increases. Therefore, a blood test for creatinine (glomerular filtration rate assessment) is the most reliable way to detect chronic kidney disease (CKD) at an early stage and start treatment. Elevated creatinine in the blood indicates a violation of filtration in the kidneys. Doctors distinguish five stages of CKD:
- The kidneys are slightly damaged, filtration is normal.
- Filtration is slightly reduced.
- The filtration rate is reduced by 1.5-2 times.
- The filtration rate is reduced by 2-4 times compared to normal. At this stage, kidney health can no longer be restored.
- end stage of the disease. The filtration rate is more than six times slower than normal. Requires dialysis or kidney transplant.
After age 40, glomerular filtration decreases by 1% annually. Moreover, in European countries (including Russia), the incidence among women is approximately 30% higher than among men.
