The kidneys stop working when illness or injury keeps them from filtering properly. Kidney failure occurs when both kidneys are so damaged that they no longer can clean waste products from the blood. When only one kidney is lost, the other one is usually strong enough to do the job. In kidney failure, waste products build up and can have bad effects on the heart, brain, lungs, and other organs. This cause serious illness or even death. Types of Kidney Failure There are two types of kidney Failure: Acute and Chronic.
  • Acute Kidney Failure
  • This occurs when the kidneys suddenly stop working.
  • Often this condition is temporary and with adequate treatment, this is often reversible.
  • The common causes include profuse blood loss (e.g. multiple injuries from road traffic accident), excessive fluid loss (e.g. severe burns, diarrhea), serious infections (e.g. severe malaria), poisons or chemicals in the system.
  • Often Dialysis treatment is required to support the patient pending when the kidneys recover.
  • In some cases, though rarely, acute kidney failure may however progress to chronic kidney failure which ultimately leads to end stage renal disease (ESRD).
  • Chronic Kidney Failure
  • With chronic kidney failure, the loss of kidney failure is more gradual, slow and often unrecognized in its early stages.
  • Once the process has begun it is progressive and irreversible.
  • Sometimes people are unaware that their kidneys are not functioning properly. This is because kidneys are very adaptable.
  • Even when most of a kidney is not working the remaining portion will increase its activity to compensate for the loss.
  • If your kidneys keep getting worse, it will get to the point where the kidneys do not work well enough for you to live. If this happens, you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant to live.