What do the kidneys do? Kidneys ...

What do the kidneys do?

Kidneys make a clean sweep of waste products from your life-current They do this by filtering the line and making urine. The urine carries waste yields out of your body.

What is polycystic kidney disease?

Polycystic kidney disease (also called PKD) watchs to run in families. Sacs of fluid (called cysts) swell in the kidneys. They are like little water balloons. If too many sacs grow or if they win too big, the kidneys are damaged. The pouchs may be painful or master infected.

Children of characters with PKD have a 50 percent chance of getting the disease.

by what mode will PKD affect me?

mostly people with PKD can lead a normal life. Many race with PKD have only small health question s About three out of five clan with PKD get high life-current pressure, which can be treated with medicine. In an people, though, PKD can cause kidney failure. About individual half of people with PKD have kidney failure by the agency of age 60. These people may ne to have dialysis (blood filtering from a machine) or a kidney transplant. PKD is usually worse in men blacks, and nation with sickle cell disease. There also is a childhood form of PKD that is usually more stern than the kind that adults get

Can other organs be harm by PKD?

folks with PKD may have sacs in their liver. These pouchs usually do not cause serious enigmas PKD also can cause enigmas with the heart, brain, intestines, pancreas, ovaries, and milt If PKD affects the brain, it can cause an aneurysm (say: ann-yur-iz-em). This is a bulging relations vessel that can explode).

What are the symptoms of PKD?

The greatest in quantity common symptom of PKD is high life-current pressure. Other symptoms are:

* Pain in the back and side

* kindred in the urine

* of frequent occurrence kidney infections

by what mode can my doctor tell I have PKD?

mostly people with PKD start having symptoms during middle age. If you have symptoms of PKD or if you are at risk for the disease, your doctor may want you to have an ultrasound touchstone to look at your kidneys. An ultrasound standard makes a picture of your organs by dint of passing sound waves through your material part This kind of test can present to view if you have cysts in your kidneys. Your doctor also may want you to have a touchstone called a CT scan (this stands for comput tomography) to anticipate for cysts in your kidneys.

Who should be checked for PKD?

If common of your parents has PKD ask your doctor if you should have an ultrasound touchstone of your kidneys. If you have PKD and you have a relative who has had a brain aneurysm, your doctor may want you to have a CT scan or another trial called an MRI (this stands for magnetic resonance imaging) of your brain. MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to make a picture of your brain. If you are at high risk of an aneurysm, your doctor might want you to have a CT scan or MRI each five years to find an aneurysm before it causes problems

Is there treatment for PKD?

There is no way to treat pouchs caused by PKD. If the sacs cause health problems, your doctor can treat your symptoms in this way you will be more comfortable.

Can PKD be diagnosed in unborn babies?

Ye PKD can be diagnosed in unborn babies with a example called amniocentesis (say: am-nee-oh-sen-tee-siss). This is a criterion of the fluid that encircles the baby inside the uterus. Another experiment your doctor can use is called chorionic villus sampling (say: core-ee-on-ik vill-us). This is a example of a small piece of the placenta. If you have PKD and you are pregnant, talk with your doctor about these tests

COPYRIGHT 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians

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