The body will not be complete without the kidneys. They are very functional in keeping the body free from harmful substances. The kidneys release vital hormones and regulate red blood cells production.
For an organ that does a job as tedious as this, keeping the kidney in good health should be a priority. However, before you see signs of a malfunctioning kidney, it must have become inactive up to 90%. Knowing how well your kidneys are is not easy.
Defining kidneys and their function
What the kidneys do in the body is much. Some functions carried out by the kidney include:
- Balancing body fluids
- Regulating red blood cells production
- Forming an effective type of vitamin D that keeps the bones strong and healthy
- Release blood pressure-regulatory hormones
- Removal of toxins and medication from the body
A primary role of the kidneys is the removal of waste products and too much fluid from the body. This goes out in the form of urine. In addition, the potassium, acid and salt contained in the body are controlled by the kidney; it also manufactures hormones that impact the function of other organs.
Factors responsible for kidney issues
The type of foods you eat, medicines, and lifestyle you lead can affect the kidneys in the short-term. But serious kidney disease is described as an unusual kidney function that can stay up for 3 or more months. Examples include protein in urine and a reduction in kidney function.
There are different factors responsible for serious kidney disease. For instance, health conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure can put the kidney at serious risk. Other factors that can increase your susceptibility to kidney disease are when you have a family history of it or being born with a predisposition.
Medication and contaminants
When there is a large quantity of over-the-counter pain medication in your bloodstream over an extended period, it could hurt your kidneys.
There are some medications, harmful substances, pesticides, and drugs like crack cocaine that can trigger kidney problem.
What are the common causes of a kidney problem?
- Diabetes: This blood sugar level issue is at the forefront of causing kidney disease. With diabetes, there is a problem of insufficient insulin production or improper use of insulin.
- Medications and pollutants: When there is a large quantity of over-the-counter pain medication in your bloodstream over an extended period, it could hurt your kidneys.
- Glomerulonephritis: When the filtering units of the kidneys are inflamed, it is caused by this disease. This condition can be sudden or happen gradually with time making the kidney lose its function.
- High blood pressure: Here is another popular factor behind kidney failure, heart attack and a stroke. High blood pressure is sometimes referred to as hypertension.
- Kidney stones: With several possible causes, kidney stones can damage the kidney. A genetic problem where excess calcium is drawn from foods or urinary tract infection are some of the causes.
- Polycystic kidney disease: A widely known genetically transferred kidney disease. Here, we see cysts that are capable of becoming bigger with time which can set off kidney failure and severe damage.
- Urinary tract infections: UTIs are caused by the entrance of germs into the urinary tract. It’s symptomised by frequent urination and feeling of discomfort while passing out urine. These infections target the bladder a lot of the time, but the kidneys are sometimes affected.
You should book a private doctor appointment to find out the cause of any potential kidney disease.
Diagnosing kidney disease
A timely diagnosis is relevant in preventing kidney disease from progressing into kidney failure. Most of the time, you may not see any damage since symptoms don’t appear quickly. However, there are rapid and easy-to-use tests that can highlight the major signs of a kidney malfunction.
Kidney function tests
You can check for kidney function and disease with the following tests:
- Test for urine protein. The amount of albumin your urine holds is measured using Albumin to Creatinine ratio (ACR). If this protein is too much in your urine, it may imply that your kidney’s filtration ability has been breached.
- Test for blood creatinine. Your kidney function is checked by measuring your glomerular filtration rate (GFR).
If you have more odds of serious kidney disease, you need to go get tested – this is very critical. But how do you know your chances of kidney disease are up? The following signs will help:
- If you’re diabetic
- Your blood pressure is high
- You’re old in age
- Your family history includes a case of serious kidney disease
- Your race is American Indian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic American, African American or Asian
Scheduling your private kidney blood test
Should you be worried about the health condition of your kidney, or other health concerns, the best answer may be a private blood test in London.
You won’t go through any hassles as our booking procedure for a blood test is thorough and simple.
When you must have chosen the appropriate test, you can go ahead and order the test via our safe payment system or speak with any member of our friendly team. Immediately your order reaches us, you can come to our clinic that same day, and we will take your blood sample.
Compared to at-home test kits that involve taking the blood yourself and may attract errors like not drawing enough blood or unplanned pollution of blood sample, all of which makes test outcome not be ready on time, at our clinic, the entire process is seamless and professional.
When you arrive for your appointment, our team will discuss your test, draw your blood, and pass it on to a trusted lab for analysis. Just come to your appointment and leave everything to us.
Precise test results
Turnaround time for your test results comes down to your choice of test. Once the results are ready, you will get them via email directly within the hour. But should you like your result to be posted to you in hard copy form, that can be done.
The option of reported and unreported results are also available. A reported result will carry extra information and comment from our GP that will help during your consultant appointment or for personal keeps. For more information about kidney testing, contact us.
