Home Kidneys and urinary system Polycystic kidneys: symptoms, causes and treatment

Polycystic kidneys: symptoms, causes and treatment

by Alivia Nyhan
Published: Last Updated on

It is known as polycystic kidney or polycystic kidney disease, a hereditary disorder; that is, it is transmitted from parents to children in 50% of cases and, as the name implies, compromises the kidneys. In this pathology, tiny sacs of fluid grow in these organs, called cysts, and can cause kidney damage. If there are many fluid sachets or they produce a lot, they can also cause discomfort or infections.

Polycystic kidney disease can be mild and cause minor problems, or it can be severe and cause kidney failure in the patient, although this is very common in people over 60 years of age who suffer from this disorder. If you want to know more about this disease, at FastlyHealwe offer you all the information about polycystic kidneys: symptoms, causes, and treatment.

Primary symptoms of polycystic kidney disease

Common symptoms of polycystic kidneys include abdominal pain, joint discomfort, pain on one or both sides of the body, frequent kidney infections, and blood in the urine.

Excessive urination at night is also part of the most common symptoms of polycystic kidney disease, i.e., considerably increasing urine when sleeping, causing it to go to the bathroom constantly.

Likewise, drowsiness may be present at various times of the day, and the existence of different abnormalities in the nails and the probability of suffering from high blood pressure.

Causes of Renal Polycystosis

Polycystic kidney is a pathology that parents transmit to their children in a probability of 50% of cases when only one of the parents is a carrier of this gene; However, this pathology can occur in both children and adults and is quite common in the latter since, in many cases, the symptoms are not expressed until the middle age of the patient or, sometimes, the symptoms never appear.

When polycystic kidney disease occurs during infancy or childhood, it is a generally severe disorder that progresses very quickly. This leads to end-stage renal disease that can end the child’s life during this stage of life.

Although people with polycystic kidneys have numerous clusters of cysts in these organs, the reason for their formation is not precisely known; however, this pathology is associated with other disorders such as colon diverticula and aortic aneurysms, cysts in the pancreas or liver, and brain aneurysms.

Treatment for polycystic kidneys

If someone in the family has presented polycystic kidney disease, it is essential to do the relevant tests to rule out the infection or diagnose it in time and have better control; this can be through a genetic analysis or an abdominal ultrasound. Suppose it is an isolated case without a family history. It is best to undergo an abdominal computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging when presenting symptoms since these are more effective in detecting even small cysts.

Treating polycystic kidney disease aims to improve and control the symptoms while preventing any complications since this disease is progressive and not curable. For this reason, the doctor to treat it may include drugs that regulate blood pressure, some diuretics, and recommendations for a low-salt diet to delay the growth of cysts.

If there are infections, they should be treated with a specialist’s medicine. On the other hand, likely, cysts that are infected, those that cause discomfort, those causing an obstruction, or are bleeding will need to be drained so surgical treatment may be required in some cases.

When it is not possible to delay the disease, or it evolves very quickly, it can generate some complications, including anemia, cysts rupturing and bleeding, presenting infections in the renal system, affecting liver functions, developing stones in the kidneys, or suffering from end-stage kidney disease.

Upon reaching a chronic state of kidney failure, one can only resort to kidney transplantation or treatment based on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, according to the specialist’s criteria when analyzing the general state of health. Other recommendations for polycystic kidney disease

It is a congenital and progressive disease; there is no way to prevent polycystic kidney disease. Still, some measures could help so that the cysts do not increase, being a good option to follow them as a complement to the conventional treatment given by the specialist. Some cares for polycystic kidney disease are:

  • Stay hydrated; the daily fluid recommendations are enough; this helps the cysts stay controlled.
  • Reduce or avoid the consumption of caffeine products since this substance can accelerate the increase in the size of cysts.
  • Regulates blood pressure; it is best to be below 130/80 mmHg; a higher level tends to stimulate the acceleration of polycystic kidneys.
  • Follow a diet low in potassium and phosphorus because the kidneys cannot control the level of these minerals over time. The ideal is to go to a specialist to make a diet based on your needs.
  • Eliminate or minimize salt intake since it will cost the kidneys more to remove sodium from the body and favors its accumulation in the tissues, causing fluid retention. The kidneys are overexerted, and blood pressure increases.

This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Polycystic kidneys: symptoms, causes and treatment , we recommend that you enter our Kidney and urinary system category .

You may also like

Leave a Comment