Types of Homeopathic Medicine for Kidney Failure

According to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 26 million Americans either have kidney disease or are at risk of developing kidney disease. Untreated kidney disease leads to chronic renal failure (CRF), also known as chronic kidney failure. However, the underlying cause of kidney disease may vary. Hypertension and diabetes are common contributors, but genetics, chronic infection, lupus and kidney stones are other causes of kidney disease.

There at two dominant approaches to homeopathic medicine: the classical and the complex. The classical homeopathic approach treats illnesses with a single remedy that precisely matches the patient's "inherent constitutional type and symptom picture." On the other hand, homeopathic practitioners generally employ the complex approach, using several remedies to treat serious ailments and symptoms associated with kidney failure.

The following are some of the common remedies and the rubrics they cover that are associated with kidney failure: Ammonium carb's rubrics are frequent and painful urination, white, bloody, scanty, turbid or fetid urine, mental sluggishness and fatigue. Apis mel's rubrics are general edema or swelling, kidney inflammation and suppression of urine. Arsenic alb's rubrics are difficult urination, uremia, nephritis, scanty and burning or involuntary urination.

Aurum met's rubrics are painful retention of urine and urine with mucous like sediment. Belladonna's rubric is inflamed kidneys. Berberis' rubrics are hypertension, renal (kidney) stones, dark yellow or green urine and neuralgic pain coming from the kidneys. Cannabis ind's rubric is urinary tract infections. Cantharsis' rubrics are tenderness in kidney areas, renal colic and nephritis (kidney inflammation). Chelidonium's rubrics are frequent night urination, copious urination and pale white urine. Cicuta's rubrics are frequent urination, forceful urination, retention of urine and convulsions. Colocynthis' rubric is cramping in the kidneys.

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Dietary Advice For Kidney Patients

The following information will give you an overview of a renal diet, prior to dialysis, and also what to expect when you commence dialysis. You will be informed by the dietician when it is necessary to commence this diet. All patients have different dietary needs, so it is important to start this diet only under the guidance of the dietician.

SALT

Salt is an important aspect of dietary treatment at all stages of your kidney disease. High intake of salt, from the diet, can cause problems with blood pressure control and fluid retention. It is advised to avoid adding any salt to meals and also to reduce the intake of very salty foods such as processed meats, bacon, sausages, soup and packet sauces. Your dietician will advise you on suitable alternatives to using salt.

PROTEIN

Protein intake from the diet is important during the progression of chronic kidney disease and also when you commence dialysis. The protein we eat is used for tissue repair and growth. Any unused protein is broken down into waste products, including urea and creatinine. As your kidneys are unable to excrete urea and creatinine properly, they build up in your blood and cause symptoms such as nausea and loss of appetite.

By eating large amounts of protein foods e.g. meat, fish, chicken, eggs, cheese, milk and yoghurt before commencing dialysis, you will affect the buildup of urea and creatinine in your blood. An appropriate daily intake of protein should be advised by your dietician.

However, once dialysis treatment has commenced it is important to make sure that your body is getting
enough protein to prevent malnutrition. Some of your stores of protein are lost during the haemodialysis
and CAPD sessions. How much protein you need depends on your body size and is specific to each individual.

PHOSPHATE

Phosphate is another mineral found in many foods, mainly meat and dairy products such as milk, cheese, yoghurts, and also bran nuts and cola. Calcium and phosphate work together to keep your bones, teeth and blood vessels healthy. When phosphate and calcium levels are elevated, or out of balance in kidney disease, the extra calcium and phosphate join together to form hard deposits in your body. This is known as calcification. These deposits can form in the heart, lungs, blood vessels, joints and other soft tissue. High phosphate levels also affect your bones, causing kidney bone disease. Over time bones become brittle, weak and painful and liable to fracture easily.

As with potassium, an elevated phosphate level will require you to reduce the intake of phosphate from your diet. It may also be necessary to take phosphate binding substances with your food to reduce the absorption of phosphate from the gut.

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Kidney Disease and a Low Protein Diet

If you are have been diagnosed with CKD you are not alone. Dr. Mackenzie Walser writes that it is important for anyone with kidney disease to begin a low protein diet. Calling it a "life saving" approach, based on his 30 years of work with kidney patients at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Walser recommends a very low protein diet, supplemented with essential amino acids to provide adequate nutrition. Based on many years of experience, Dr. Walser believes this diet will help people delay the need for dialysis and reduce many of the uncomfortable symptoms associated with chronic kidney disease.

The cornerstone of Dr. Walser's treatment plan is a very low protein diet supplemented with essential amino acids, that should be planned in accordance with recommendations from a nutritionist or another qualified health professional. You should not start such a diet or attempt any significant modification of your protein intake without consulting with your kidney disease specialist.

Evidence suggests that low protein diets may retard the progression of renal failure or delay the need for dialysis therapy." Again, even the moderately low protein diet recommended by the National Kidney Foundation needs to be designed by a kidney disease specialist.

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How do normal kidneys function

To understand how chronic kidney disease can go unnoticed, let’s take a look at how normal kidneys function and then learn how efficiently they can work even when they are damaged.

Most people are born with two kidneys. The kidneys are about the size of a closed fist. They are located in the middle back above the waist, with one on each side of the spine. The right kidney is a little lower and smaller to make room for the liver.

Most people think that the kidneys are only responsible for making urine, but there are more functions of the kidneys that affects many areas of the body.

A health kidney is responsible for:

• cleaning the blood
• producing urine
• regulating blood pressure
• balancing fluids, minerals and chemicals in the body
• signaling the bones to make red blood cells

Healthy kidneys process all of the body’s blood supply every five minutes. On a daily basis healthy kidneys filter the blood, removing toxins from the bloodstream and turning it into urine that will be excreted from the body. In addition, the kidneys release renin, which is an enzyme that regulates blood pressure. The kidneys also decide when to hold on to or delete fluids, minerals and chemicals in the body to keep levels balanced and healthy. Another task of the kidneys is to signal the release of erythropoietin, a hormone that tells the bones to create red blood cells.

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Artificial kidneys look to replace dialysis treatment

Kidney disease is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States and more than 10 percent of the U.S. population suffers from chronic kidney disease. Kidney disease is the gradual loss of the function of the kidneys. The kidneys filter waste and excess fluid from your blood which is then excreted through urination. Kidney disease is so dangerous because once it reaches an advanced stage, dangerous levels of fluids, electrolytes and wastes can build up in your body. The buildup of these wastes can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue or weakness, sleeping problems, changes in urine output, muscle twitches and cramps, swelling of feet and ankles, and a decrease in mental sharpness. Many of the signs and symptoms of kidney disease can be nonspecific and can also be caused by other illnesses. It is best to be checked by a doctor if you notice any signs or symptoms.

Toby needs dialysis to do the work of his failing kidneys. But the treatments have taken over his life, even forcing him to quit his job.

Now, researchers are studying a wearable artificial kidney. It does the same job as dialysis but it's portable, so it offers patients the ability to move while they receive therapy.

Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy develops on the basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy. Traditional Chinese Medicine, known as Chinese Herbal Medicine, is extracted from plants for use in the treatment of disease and certain medical conditions. It is the world's most ancient form of medicine.

Traditional Chinese Medicine takes effects on kidney disease slowly for the ingredient of herbs needs to be absorbed by our alimentary system firstly. Meantime, the oral herbal soup makes many patients sick due to the bitter taste.

Micro-Chinese Medicine is designed as an external application to avoid the two major disadvantages of TCM.The core technology of Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy is to make the effective herbs of kidney disease super-finely shattered. Then with the help of effective penetrant and osmosis devices, the effective medicines are permeated into kidney lesions by external application, thus achieving the goal of treating kidney disease. Clinical practices have been proved that this application method is both effective and convenient. At present, this therapy has become the core and most basic treating technique of Kidney Disease Hospital.

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Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

In the first stage, the GFR is equal to or greater than 90 mL/min, which is same as that of a healthy kidney. There are almost no symptoms and hence, diagnosing the condition is difficult. But it is generally recommended for patients suffering from diabetes, to undergo tests, which can give details of the amount of creatinine or urea in the blood. An increased amount of creatinine in the blood or proteins in the urine is a clear indication that a person is suffering from chronic kidney disease. Other methods used to understand the state of a person's kidney are MRI, ultrasound, X-ray and CT scan. If the problem is diagnosed at this stage, the treatment becomes relatively simpler and medication can be used to stop, retard or reverse the CKD.

The symptoms in this stage are not identifiable, just as in the first stage. The GFR lies between 60 and 89mL/min. The diagnosis can again, be done through X-ray, MRI, ultrasound and CT-scan. Kidney dialysis is generally not required if a person is detected with kidney disease at the second stage.

This is the stage where the symptoms start showing. The GFR falls somewhere in between 30 to 59 mL/min. The patient shows symptoms of fatigue and breath shortage. Liquids start accumulating in different parts of the body and this is visible due to the swelling of the hands and legs. Urine color of the person also shows identifiable changes. It changes to dark orange, red or brown. A person, if diagnosed at the third stage, is referred to a nephrologist, who performs various lab tests to understand the root cause of the problem and suggests the type of treatment. A person in this stage, should also consult a dietitian who would recommend a diet that best suits his condition. If a patient is suffering from polycystic kidney disease, he may experience pain at the back of his body, around the area where the kidneys are located.

With the GFR falling further, the patient starts showing additional symptoms. With increase in urea content in the patient's blood, he normally develops a bad breath. Nausea and loss of appetite are the common symptoms of a patient going through the fourth stage of CKD. There are a variety of nerve problems and he loses his capability to concentrate. The GFR in the fourth stage, is between 15 to 29 mL/min. Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are the common treatments at this stage. A kidney transplant is also recommended by many nephrologists, if the GFR is very close to 15 mL/min.

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Eat a Healthy Diet for CKD

We literally are what we eat—we build our cells out of our food. So, if you eat mostly fast food and drink sugary sodas, you may be able to improve your kidney health by eating better foods. Studies have found that eating more fresh vegetables, fruit*, and low fat dairy and less saturated fat, starches, and sweets may help slow CKD.

Some doctors believe a diet lower in some proteins can help slow kidney disease. Ask your doctor to refer you to a dietitian who specializes in treating those with chronic kidney disease. A dietitian can help you learn how to keep your kidneys healthy longer by eating the right foods. Don't limit your protein until you have talked about it with your doctor or dietitian.

Control Your Blood Sugar Levels

If you have diabetes, stay at a healthy weight, exercise, and take medications as prescribed to keep your blood glucose in the "normal" range. Tight control of blood sugar can help slow the progression of kidney disease. Your HbA1c levels, which measure your blood sugar control over a period of 3 months, should be less than 6.5%.

Quit Smoking

In people with CKD, smoking is linked to an increase in the amount of protein spilled in the urine. In smokers with diabetes, CKD may progress twice as fast. Scientists are not sure why this is the case, but if you have kidney disease and you smoke, quitting may help slow down the damage.

Avoid Certain Pain Medications

Some over-the-counter pain pills containing ibuprofen or naproxen, and even acetaminophen (e.g., Motrin®, Advil®, Aleve®, Tylenol®) can affect kidney function. This is especially true if you have kidney, heart, or liver disease or you take diuretics (water pills). Avoid using combinations of these pain pills and caffeine—both at once can further damage your kidneys.

Exercise

With your doctor's okay, start an exercise program to control weight and keep your heart and blood vessels healthy and your muscles and joints in good working order. Although written for people on dialysis, Exercise: A Guide for People on Dialysis has useful information to help anyone with a chronic illness get more exercise.

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