Patient's question:
Recently, my appetite has been poor, and I've also noticed some swelling in my body. I feel completely exhausted. When I went to the hospital for a check-up, they said it's kidney disease. What exactly is kidney insufficiency?Doctor's answer:
Renal insufficiency is a clinical syndrome caused by various factors, characterized by severe damage to the glomeruli, leading to disruptions in the body's excretion of metabolic waste and regulation of water, electrolytes, and acid-base balance. It is divided into acute renal insufficiency and chronic renal insufficiency. The prognosis is severe, making it one of the main life-threatening conditions. Initially, it may present with discomfort, accompanied by symptoms such as vomiting and bad breath. It is often accompanied by mental fatigue, drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, memory loss, insomnia, occasional numbness in the limbs, burning pain in the hands and feet, and skin itching, or even unbearable itching and pain in the lower limbs. In the late stages, it may progress to lethargy, restlessness, delirium, muscle tremors, and even convulsions, seizures, and coma.