How to Identify Nephropathy

Nephropathy is a term that refers to an abnormal state of the kidney brought about by certain pathological causes. One of the causes of nephropathy is diabetes (diabetic nephropathy). Diabetes is a disease which is associated with excessively high amounts of sugar in the blood and urine. The kidneys are made up of filtering vessels called nephrons. Each nephron contains a group of small blood vessels (glomerulus) that filter waste from the blood. When diabetes sets in, an elevated amount of sugar in the blood will cause damage and scarring of these filtering nephrons. As the disease worsens, an increasing amount of nephrons are affected, causing the kidney to malfunction. Although diabetes is linked to causing nephropathy, not all diabetic patients are susceptible of having it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Find out the result of your urine exam. It is but a normal procedure for the doctors to schedule you for a urinalysis (chemical analysis of urine) when you have diabetes. If nephropathy is present, there will be abnormal deposits of protein in the urine. This is caused by an excessive amount if sugar in the blood that damages the filtering nephrons of the kidney, causing it to leak and release protein or albumin into the urine.
2. Look to see if your urine appears normal. With nephropathy, there will be a lot of bubbles settling along the surface of the urine, making it appear foamy (foamy urine).
3. Notice how often you feel tired and check if your feet or legs appear swollen. Excessive fatigue and edema (abnormal accumulation of serous fluid in a connective tissue) of the feet legs are secondary to hypoalbuminemia. Since the kidney is leaking due to nephropathy, the protein or albumin is excreted unto the urine, leading to reduction of sebum albumins or proteins in the body (hypoalbuminemia). As kidney damage becomes worse over time, body swelling may take place.
4. Check your blood pressure. High blood pressure may occur when the damage on the kidney worsens. This may be associated with headache and dizziness.
5. Observe if you feel generally ill. An overall ill feeling is but normal considering the presence of diabetes and nephropathy causing a major imbalance in the normal system of the body.
6. Watch for some other existing symptoms like nausea and vomiting, generalized itching and loss of appetite.

Tips & Warnings

• Notify your doctor immediately if any of these symptoms are observed in order to prevent further complications.