According to BS.CKII Le Thi Dan Thuy - Head of the Department of Hemodialysis, Binh Dan Hospital, early detection of abnormal signs and periodic health check-ups are important in detecting and treating the disease.
Signs of chronic kidney failure often do not appear clearly in the early stages. When symptoms become obvious, the disease often has progressed severely. Therefore, many people miss the "golden stage" for treatment and slow down the kidney function decline.
Doctor BS.CKII Le Thi Dan Thuy said that the manifestations of chronic kidney failure are mostly not specific. Patients may often feel tired and sleepless, but think that this is just a consequence of overwork or prolonged stress. Some cases show hypertension but simply think it is a chronic hypertension, while this may also be a sign of chronic kidney disease.
Among the manifestations related to the kidneys, urinary disorders are signs that people need to pay special attention to. Repeated nighttime urination may appear from stage 3 of the disease because the kidneys reduce their ability to concentrate urine. However, many people think that this is a manifestation of old age, insomnia or prostate hypertrophy, so they do not see a specialist.
According to the Head of the Department of Hemodialysis, more specific symptoms such as urinary retention and oliguria usually only appear when kidney function has seriously declined. Meanwhile, urine with a lot of foam - a sign suggesting proteinuria - is also common when the disease is in a severe stage.
Edema is also one of the warning signs of kidney disease. This condition can occur because the patient loses a lot of protein through urine, reduces blood albumin, or kidney function has clearly declined. However, many people mistake it for edema due to varicose veins in the lower extremities, heart failure, or malnutrition, leading to delays in examination.
BS.CKII Le Thi Dan Thuy emphasized that because the symptoms of chronic kidney failure progress silently and are easily confused with many other diseases, periodic health check-ups are an important measure to detect the disease early.
In particular, people in high-risk groups such as those with hypertension, diabetes, who regularly use pain relievers or have relatives with chronic kidney disease need to have health check-ups more often. Early detection helps patients receive timely treatment, slows down the progression of the disease, and limits the risk of hemodialysis or kidney transplantation in the future.
