How to Prevent Kidney Disease and Reversing Kidney Disease

Avoid this one over-the-counter medication to prevent three types of kidney disease!

Introduction: Reversing Kidney Disease Plus How to Prevent Kidney Disease

Kidneys are the organs that help filter waste products from the blood. They are also involved in regulating blood pressure, electrolyte balance, and red blood cell production in the body. When kidneys fail, harmful wastes build up in the body, blood pressure may rise, and the body may retain excess fluid. Kidney disease may reduce red blood cell production resulting in anemia. Several conditions discussed below may lead to kidney failure. Methods used to prevent or control these conditions will therefore prevent kidney disease or worsening of kidney disease.

Reversing kidney disease may not be possible if it has progressed too far, but you can learn how to prevent kidney disease in the first place or prevent it from becoming worse.

Seek a Physician for Signs or Symptoms of Kidney Disease

First of all, you need to watch for the signs and symptoms of kidney disease. Kidney disease may not cause specific symptoms. This makes it especially important to follow steps for how to prevent kidney disease. Annual lab testing is suggested by many healthcare providers starting at age 25 to watch out for slowly worsening kidney function tests which do not cause any symptoms. Kidney disease may be detected incidentally on metabolic panel, radiology imaging, or urinalysis. Detection of kidney disease early is critical for how to prevent kidney disease. The earlier that kidney disease is detected, the better the chances are for reversing kidney disease. Signs and symptoms of kidney disease include:

low urine production
increasing blood pressure
fluid retention and edema
nausea and vomiting
difficulty in emptying the bladder
reduction of urine flow
painful urination
discolored urine
bloody urine
flank pain

Physician Evaluation for How to Prevent Kidney Disease or Worsening of Kidney Disease

Any signs of kidney disease should prompt further evaluation by your primary care physician or Nephrologist with lab testing which evaluates for the cause. Common initial tests include comprehensive metabolic panel, urinalysis, urine electrolytes, urine protein, urine for eosinophils, urine microalbumin, urine sediment, and renal ultrasound. Without the signs and symptoms above, adults over age 25 and should have a minimum yearly comprehensive metabolic panel to monitor for developing chronic kidney disease without symptoms followed by more frequent checks if needed as recommended by the physician. For further criteria about diagnosis of different types of kidney disease, please see Kidney Disease

Reversing Kidney Disease Once Diagnosed

Referral to a Nephrologist, a kidney specialist is necessary to optimize renal function by treatment, to reduce morbidity, and to reduce risk of mortality. The most important next step after proper diagnosis is to control health conditions which have caused kidney disease. Furthermore, using treatments to address the underlying cause of kidney disease is how to prevent kidney disease from becoming worse. This may be as simple as correcting hydration after becoming dehydrated or as complex as treating high blood pressure and/or diabetes to stabilize kidney disease.

Diabetes and How to Prevent Kidney Disease:

Diabetes mellitus is the most common cause of kidney disease. Take lifestyle measures to prevent, control or possibly even reverse diabetes by losing weight and strictly controlling blood glucose. Preventing diabetes or controlling blood glucose for those with diabetes is how to prevent kidney disease or prevent it from becoming worse. Controlling blood sugar in diabetes will retard progression of kidney disease.

The way to look for early signs of kidney disease in those with diabetes is the presence of microalbuminuria (protein seen in the urine). The American Diabetic Association recommends that all with type 2 diabetes have an annual screening for microalbuminuria. This should start at the time of diagnosis for type 2 diabetics and starting 5 years after diagnosis for type 1 diabetes mellitus (4). Compliance to this recommendation was reported to be suboptimal at times among primary care physicians, but electronic medical records and quality control has improved adherence (5). Please do not rely on your physician to screen you, and take the responsibilty to remind your doctor. Take lifestyle measures and medication to treat diabetes as advised by your doctor. Strictly control blood glucose to reduce diabetic nephropathy rate of progression. Your doctor may use medications called angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB’s) may prevent or in some cases, reverse rate of kidney disease progression (6). These medications also reduce proteinuria.

Hypertension and How to Prevent Kidney Disease:

Hypertension may not only lead to cardiovascular disease, but it is also the most common cause of kidney disease after diabetes mellitus. The key to preventing hypertension related complications is to diagnose hypertension early and treat it before it has been present long enough to cause chronic disease. Hypertension may be discovered years after it starts but treating hypertension even if found late has a lower chance of reversing kidney disease, but will prevent worsening of kidney disease.

How to Prevent Kidney Disease by Avoiding Intravenous Contrast

Avoid contrast and drugs with toxic effects upon the kidneys whenever possible. Avoid contrast with CT scans and MRI scans when it is not necessary to use it. Ask your doctor and radiologist or radiology technician questions. Ask them to hold the contrast if it is not really needed. Talk to your physician ordering the scan to see if contrast is really necessary. If contrast is needed, hydrate well prior to a procedure which uses contrast to improve renal clearance of contrast. Before a procedure, such as an MRI or CT scan, increase hydration. Fluid intake should allow you to make clear urine or urine with a slight tint of yellow for 24 hours prior to the procedure. This hydration should continue for 24 hours after the procedure. If you are a diabetic taking metformin (Glucophage), stop this for at least 48 hours prior to contrast. Otherwise, this may lead to a complication of lactic acidosis and/or kidney failure. Reversing kidney disease from contrast is possible, but this depends on the extent of damage.

How to Prevent Kidney Disease by Avoiding Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)

NSAIDs are used commonly for inflammatory conditions and pain control.. They are available over the counter by names such as Advil and Motrin (ibuprofen), aspirin, and Aleve (Naproxen sodium). NSAIDs are also available in stronger forms by prescription. Meloxicam (Mobic), and Celecoxib (Celebrex) are prescription strength. Ibuprofen and Naproxen also come as higher doses in a prescription. If you are not sure if you are taking an NSAID, here is a list of NSAIDs. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is not an NSAID but comes with higher risk of liver toxicity than NSAIDs. When you are learning how to prevent kidney disease, remember that excessive use of NSAIDs may lead to kidney failure. If you have dehydration, diabetes or high blood pressure, this risk is even higher. To avoid kidney disease related to NSAIDs, avoid frequent use, high doses, or long term use which may cause three different types of kidney failure: 1) interstitial nephritis, 2) membranous glomerular nephropathy and 3)minimal change renal disease (7). When using these drugs, pay close attention to labels and dosing schedules. Reversing kidney disease due to these causes is possible depending upon the amount of damage which occurred.

How to Prevent Kidney Disease From Obstruction

Obstruction of urinary flow eventually causes kidney disease. The obstruction may be caused by an enlarged prostate from benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer or kidney stones. This obstruction leads to renal failure if obstruction is not relieved. For these conditions, a Urology physician is often necessary to relieve the obstruction.

How to Prevent Kidney Disease From Blood Vessel Diseases

Several blood vessel diseases which cause kidney disease includes aneurysms, malformations, renal artery stenosis, and peripheral vascular disease. When these diseases occur in the arteries supplying the kidneys, they may result in kidney failure. The majority of these diseases are caused by atherosclerosis. Western style diet, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure, and high cholesterol may result in atherosclerosis. Once advanced, reversing kidney disease from these conditions is difficult. Good lifestyle choices such as abstaining from smoking, prevention of high blood pressure, and prevention of diabetes, will improve blood vessel health and help prevent blood vessel diseases which lead to kidney disease.

How to Prevent Kidney Disease and Reversing Kidney Disease From Pre-renal Failure:

Inadequate hydration may be associated with adverse health conditions. Good hydration maintenance may prevent chronic diseases such as kidney disease, kidney stones, constipation, exercise induced asthma, elevated blood glucose, urinary tract infections, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, thrombosis leading to embolism, ischemic stroke, and lung disease (10). The average sized person eating an average diet in the U.S. consumes 2.5 liters per day of water per day (9). Consume adequate water for hydration (at least 2 liters or 8, 8 ounce glasses per day, but more is better), up to 1 gallon daily. Conditions related to low blood volume or low perfusion states such as heart failure, liver disease, dehydration, blood loss, and diarrhea may result in pre-renal failure. Reversing kidney disease due to these conditions is done so by treatment of the underlying cause. Dehydration should be avoided by drinking adequate water unless fluid restriction is necessary for heart failure or other conditions. For severe dehydration such as in heat illness, or diarrhea, a rehydration regimen with 4-8 ounces of water alternating with the same amount of Gatorade or Pedialyte may be consumed every 5-10 minutes with use of a timer if necessary over the course of 2 hours. This regimen allows rehydration promptly while reducing nausea which often accompanies illness. If oral fluid intake is not possible in setting of dehydration with kidney disease, intravenous fluids are required. Reversing kidney disease often fully recovers once pre-renal failure is treated.

Progression of Kidney Disease and Dietary Protein Intake

Reducing or eliminating red meat may reduce the risk of worsening kidney disease. Lew QJ et al (11) studied different sources of protein within the diets of over 63,000 Chinese adults age 45 to 74. The intake of red meat, fish, eggs, poultry, and dairy product intake was obtained by a food questionnaire. Researchers found that 951 cases of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the kind of kidney disease that requires hemodialysis, occurred over a 15 1/2 years. It was found that the risk of end-stage renal disease increased as as the amount of red meat intake increased. Additionally, substituting red meat with another protein source was found to reduce the risk of ESRD.

References: How to Prevent Kidney Disease and Reversing Kidney Disease

1.Levi TM1, Souza SP2, Magalhães JG2, Carvalho MS2, Cunha AL2, Dantas JG3, Cruz MG4, Guimarães YL4, Cruz CM5.Comparison of the RIFLE, AKIN and KDIGO criteria to predict mortality in critically ill patients. [Article in English, Portuguese]. Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. 2013 Oct-Dec;25(4):290-296. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24553510

2.Roy AK1, Mc Gorrian C, Treacy C, Kavanaugh E, Brennan A, Mahon NG, Murray PT. A Comparison of Traditional and Novel Definitions (RIFLE, AKIN, and KDIGO) of Acute Kidney Injury for the Prediction of Outcomes in Acute Decompensated Heart Failure. Cardiorenal Med. 2013 Apr;3(1):26-37. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23801998

3.Levey AS1, de Jong PE, Coresh J, El Nahas M, Astor BC, Matsushita K, Gansevoort RT, Kasiske BL, Eckardt KU. The definition, classification, and prognosis of chronic kidney disease: a KDIGO Controversies Conference report. Kidney Int. 2011 Jul;80(1):17-28. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21150873

4.American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes–2010. Diabetes Care. 2010 Jan;33 Suppl 1:S11-61. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20042772

5.Anabtawi A1, Mathew LM. Improving compliance with screening of diabetic patients for microalbuminuria in primary care practice. ISRN Endocrinol. 2013 Oct 9;2013:893913. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24224095

6.Ruggenenti P1, Cravedi P, Remuzzi G. Mechanisms and treatment of CKD. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2012 Dec;23(12):1917-28. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23100218

7.Nawaz FA1, Larsen CP, Troxell ML. Membranous nephropathy and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Am J Kidney Dis. 2013 Nov;62(5):1012-7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23773370

8. Dupage Medical Group. NSAID List. http://cdn.dupagemedicalgroup.com/userfiles/file/patientForms/nsaid-list.pdf Accessed August 8, 2016.

9.Manz F, Wentz A. Hydration status in the United States and Germany. Nutr Rev. 2005 Jun;63(6 Pt 2):S55-62. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16028572

10.Manz F, Wentz A. The importance of good hydration for the prevention of chronic diseases. Nutr Rev. 2005 Jun;63(6 Pt 2):S2-5.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16028566

11.Lew QJ, Jafar TH, Koh HW, Jin A, Chow KY, Yuan JM, Koh WP. Red Meat Intake and Risk of ESRD. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2016 Jul 14. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27416946