Chronic kidney disease or chronic kidney failure is the gradual loss of kidney function over time. Normally, wastes and excess fluids is being filtered from your blood by your kidneys. Chronic kidney disease causes dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes can accumulate in your body, especially when disease reaches an advanced stage.

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Chronic kidney disease, also called chronic kidney failure may have few signs or symptoms in the initial stage, though it may not become superficial until your kidney function is considerably damaged.

To treat chronic kidney disease, your doctor will prescribe medications to slow the progression of the kidney damage, usually by controlling the underlying cause. If left unchecked, chronic kidney disease can progress to kidney failure. Kidney failure is deadly when patient isn’t undergoing dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Symptoms of Chronic Kidney Disease
Signs and symptoms of chronic kidney disease develop over time if kidney damage progresses slowly. Signs and symptoms of kidney disease may include:

Loss of appetite
Problems with sleep
Nausea
Vomiting
Persistent itching
Loss of appetite
Fatigue and weakness
Changes in how much you urinate
Decreased mental alertness
Muscle twitches and cramps
Swelling of feet and ankles
Chest pain, if fluid builds up around the lining of the heart
Shortness of breath, if fluid builds up in the lungs
High blood pressure (hypertension) that’s difficult to control
Signs and symptoms of kidney disease are often general, meaning they can also be caused by other illnesses. Because your kidneys are highly adaptable and able to compensate for lost function, signs and symptoms may not appear until permanent damage has occurred.

Causes of Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease occurs when a disease or condition damages kidney function. Diseases that cause chronic kidney disease include:

High blood pressure (hypertension)
Type 1 or type 2 diabetes
Inflammation of the kidney’s filtering units
Interstitial nephritis. Inflammation of the kidney’s tubules and surrounding structures
Polycystic kidney disease
Prolonged obstruction of the urinary tract, from conditions such as enlarged prostate, kidney stones and some cancers
Vesicoureteral reflux. A condition that causes urine to back up into your kidneys

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Risk factors
Factors that may increase your risk of chronic kidney disease include:

Family history of kidney disease
Obesity
Older age
Diabetes
Hypertension
Heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease
Smoking
Being African-American, Native American or Asian-American
Abnormal kidney structure
Complications
Chronic kidney disease can affect almost every part of your body. Potential complications may include:

Anemia
Fluid retention
A sudden rise in potassium levels in your blood which could damage your heart’s ability to function properly
Heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease
Weak bones and an increased risk of bone fractures
Irreversible damage to your kidneys
Decreased immune response
Pericarditis, an inflammation of the membrane that envelops your heart (pericardium)
Pregnancy complications
Low sex drive, erectile dysfunction or reduced fertility
Damage to your central nervous system, which can cause difficulty concentrating, personality changes or seizures
Prevention
To reduce your risk of developing kidney disease:

Follow instructions on over-the-counter medications.Follow the instructions on the package when using nonprescription pain relievers, such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others). This is because taking too many pain relievers could lead to kidney damage.
Maintain a healthy weight.If you’re at a healthy weight, work to maintain it by being physically active most days of the week. If you need to lose weight, talk with your doctor about strategies to shed off some pounds.
Don’t smoke.Cigarette smoking can damage your kidneys. If you’re a smoker, talk to your doctor about strategies for quitting smoking.
Diagnosis
To begin diagnosis, your doctor will ask questions about your personal and family history. Next, your doctor will perform a physical exam to check for signs of problems with your heart or blood vessels, and conducts a neurological exam.

Some tests and procedures to confirm diagnosis include:

Blood tests.Blood tests check your kidney function to examine the level of waste products in your blood.
Urine tests.Urine test helps reveal abnormalities that point to chronic kidney failure and help identify the cause of chronic kidney disease.
Imaging tests.Your doctor may use ultrasound to evaluate your kidneys’ structure and size.
This involves removing a sample of kidney tissue for testing, often performed with local anesthesia. A long, thin needle is inserted through your skin and into your kidney. The biopsy sample is sent to a lab for testing.

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Treatment
Chronic kidney disease cannot be cured. However, some types can be managed, depending on the underlying cause. Treatment usually consists of measures to help control signs and symptoms, reduce complications, and slow progression of the disease. Though kidney damage can still persist even after controlling causal condition.

Treating complications
Treating complications may include:

Treating high blood pressure. People with kidney disease may experience deteriorating high blood pressure. Your doctor may recommend angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers to lower your blood pressure and to preserve kidney function.
Medications to relieve swelling. People with chronic kidney disease may retain fluids, leading to swelling in the legs. Medications called diuretics can help maintain the balance of body fluids.
Lowering cholesterol levels. Your doctor may recommend medications called statins to lower your cholesterol. People with chronic kidney disease often have high levels of bad cholesterol, which can cause heart disease to develop.
Protecting your bones. Your doctor may prescribe calcium and vitamin D supplements to prevent weak bones and cut down your risk of fracture.
A lower protein diet to reduce waste products in your blood. Eating proteinous diet causes your body to create waste products that your kidneys must filter from your blood. Your doctor may advice you to eat less protein so as to reduce the amount of work your kidneys must do.
Treating anemia. Your doctor may recommend supplements of the hormone erythropoietin, sometimes with added iron. Erythropoietin supplements help in more red blood cells production.
Your doctor may recommend follow-up testing at regular intervals to see whether your kidney disease remains stable or progresses.

Treatment for end-stage kidney disease
In some cases, medications cannot help your kidneys keep up with waste and fluid clearance on their own. When this occurs, the person may develop complete or near-complete kidney failure, a condition called end-stage kidney disease. At that point, you need dialysis or a kidney transplant.

This is the process of removing waste products and extra fluid from your blood artificially, when your kidneys can no longer do this. There are two types of dialysis:
Hemodialysis. This involves a machine filtering waste and excess fluids from your blood.

Peritoneal dialysis. This involves inserting a thin tube (catheter) into your abdomen, which fills your abdominal cavity with a dialysis solution that absorbs waste and excess fluids. After a period of time, the dialysis solution drains from your body, carrying the waste with it.

Kidney transplant.This is placing a healthy kidney from a donor into your body surgically. Transplanted kidneys can come from deceased or living donors. You’ll need to take medications for the rest of your life to keep your body from rejecting the new organ.

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