Kidney Disease Treatment
Once you have been diagnosed with a kidney disorder, you will want to explore all of the kidney disease treatment options available to you. A goal for treatment of chronic kidney disease is to keep additional damage from degrading the kidneys, and hopefully restore health to your systems.
If there is another condition that is causing your kidney disorder, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, you will want to work on managing those conditions first. It is also important to stay away from variables that can make your kidney damage worse.
Those with kidney disease should be very conscientious of their dietary choices. A naturopath or dietician can work with you to see that you are getting the proper levels of sodium, fluids, and protein for your stressed or damaged kidneys.
You should be aware that taking certain medicines like ibuprofen (such as Advil), naproxen sodium (Aleve), and celecoxib (Celebrex), among many others can put a lot of extra strain on your kidneys and should be avoided at all costs.
As part of treatment for chronic kidney disease, your doctor may prescribe you a blood pressure medicine, such as an ACE inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB). These pharmaceuticals are used to lessen the levels of protein in the urine and help regulate high blood pressure. Make sure that your doctor knows about any other prescription or herbal medicines that you are taking, to prevent any potential interactions.
In more severe cases of kidney disease, dialysis may be recommended. There are two main types of dialysis, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Hemodialysis uses a machine to clean and filter your blood, to temporarily rid your body of harmful waste buildup, extra salt, and extra water. Hemodialysis helps to control blood pressure and keeps in check the proper balance of important chemicals such as potassium, sodium, and calcium.
Peritoneal dialysis is another procedure that essentially does the same thing, although this type of dialysis utilizes the lining of your abdomen to filter out your blood. How it works is a dialysis solution travels through a catheter into your belly, and attracts wastes, chemicals, and extra water from the tiny blood vessels in your peritoneal membrane into the dialysis solution. Then the used solution is drained from your abdomen through the catheter.
In the most extreme cases of kidney failure, transplant may be an option. In this procedure, a new kidney replaces your old kidney.
It should be noted that are many simple, non-invasive, yet effective things that you can do to help maintain the health of your kidneys. A diet consisting of natural, unprocessed foods and pure water is a great place to start. Foods such as sprouts, garlic, seeds, asparagus, watermelon, green vegetables and whole grains all work to build up your kidney strength. Many herbs like corn silk, goldenrod, hydrangea and stinging nettle act as kidney cleansers and diuretics, helping to keep the kidneys flushed and the blood clean. Pure cranberry juice works to acidify your urine and kill bacteria in cases of urinary tract infections.
There are also many Ayurvedic herbs that help with improving kidney function. Some common Ayurvedic herbs that may help include gokshur or tribulus terrestris, punarnava, kaasni and varun. Other herbs include: nettle, golden seal, Korean ginseng, and cordyceps. Hot, fresh ginger root compresses applied directly to the kidney area is also a gentle and relaxing way to help to bring circulation to the kidneys.
The most important factor is a correct and early diagnosis of the root cause of your kidney condition, together with the professional care of a medical doctor, naturopath, or both. Then you will have many options to begin to restore health and prevent any further damage to your kidneys.
