Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, happens when the kidneys stop working well enough to remove waste and extra fluid from the body.
This serious condition can happen to anyone, but it is more common in older adults. As people age, their kidneys naturally lose some ability to function, but in some seniors, this decline becomes severe and leads to serious health problems.
One of the biggest challenges with kidney failure in older adults is that the early signs are often hard to notice. They can seem like normal signs of aging or may be mistaken for other health issues.
One of the first signs is feeling tired all the time. When kidneys don’t work properly, waste builds up in the blood. This makes people feel weak, sleepy during the day, and sometimes confused or slow in thinking.
Swelling is another common early symptom. It often shows up in the legs, ankles, or around the eyes. This swelling, called edema, happens because the kidneys can’t remove extra fluid from the body. Gravity pulls the fluid to the lower parts of the body, so swelling is often seen in the feet and legs first.
Changes in urination can also signal a problem. Some older adults may go to the bathroom more often, especially at night. Others may notice they urinate less often. The urine might look different—foamy, darker than usual, or it may even contain blood. These changes are easy to miss, which is why regular health check-ups are important.
Loss of appetite and nausea are also common in early kidney disease. Waste in the blood can cause a condition called uremia, which can change the way food tastes, cause bad breath that smells like urine, and lead to stomach problems. This can result in weight loss.
Dry, itchy skin is another warning sign. It happens because the body cannot balance certain minerals like phosphorus. Some older adults may also feel cold all the time, even when it’s warm. This could be due to anemia—a lack of red blood cells—which often happens in kidney disease.
Mental changes like confusion, memory loss, or mood swings may appear as well. These symptoms can be mistaken for dementia, but they can also be signs that the kidneys are failing. Studies show that poor kidney health is linked to mental decline in older people.
As kidney failure becomes more serious, people may have trouble breathing. This could be because of fluid in the lungs or from anemia. Some may also feel chest pain or have irregular heartbeats due to unbalanced minerals like potassium in the blood.
Sometimes kidney failure happens quickly, caused by illness or injury. But in older adults, it often develops slowly. A person might not feel very sick until the disease is already advanced.
The main causes of kidney failure in older people are long-term health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. These conditions slowly damage the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys. That’s why regular check-ups and blood and urine tests are so important. They can help find kidney problems before serious symptoms appear.
In short, kidney failure in seniors often starts with signs like tiredness, swelling, changes in urination, loss of appetite, confusion, and breathing problems. These symptoms may seem like normal aging, so they are often missed.
But catching kidney disease early and getting proper care can slow it down, reduce symptoms, and help older adults live better, healthier lives.
If you care about kidney health, please read studies about drug that prevents kidney failure in diabetes, and drinking coffee could help reduce risk of kidney injury.
For more information about kidney health, please see recent studies about foods that may prevent recurrence of kidney stones, and common painkillers may harm heart, kidneys and more.
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