KIDNEY DISEASE: WAYS IT CAN AFFECT YOUR SKIN

If you have kidney disease, you won’t see early warning signs on your skin. However, as the disease progresses, you may develop one or more of the following:

1. Extremely dry skin. Skin can become so dry that it:
• Becomes rough and scaly
• Feels tight and cracks easily
• Develops fish-like scales

Extremely dry skin is common in people who have end-stage kidney disease, which requires dialysis or a kidney transplant.

1. Itchy skin. Extremely itchy skin is a common symptom of advanced kidney disease. The itch can range from irritating to life-disrupting. Your skin may itch all (or most of) the time.

Some people have itch on one area of their skin. The itch can also spread across most of your body.

1. Scratch marks and other signs of scratching. When you scratch often, it affects your skin. You can develop:
• Raw, bleeding skin or sores
• Thick, leathery skin (lichen simplex chronicus)
• Firm, very itchy bumps (nodularis prurigo)

If nothing seems to relieve the itch, you may want to see a dermatologist. Some people who have end-stage kidney disease get relief from a treatment called UVB phototherapy.

1. Color changes to your skin. When the kidneys stop working as they should, toxins build up in your body. This build-up can cause color changes to the skin. You may see any of the following:
• An unhealthy pale color
• Gray hue
• Yellowish color
• Areas of darkened skin, as shown here
• Yellowish, thick skin with bumps and deep lines
• Cysts and spots that look like whiteheads

The last two develop when you’ve had itchy skin for a long time and scratch often.

1. Nail changes. Kidney disease can affect the appearance of your fingernails, toenails, or both. People who have advanced kidney disease can develop:
• A white color on the upper part of one or more nails and a normal to reddish brown color below, as shown here (half-and-half nails)
• Pale nails
• White bands running across one or more nails (Muehrcke’s nails)

Because your nails reveal a lot about your health, see your doctor if you notice any changes to your fingernails or toenails.

1. Swelling. Your kidneys remove extra fluids and salt from your body. When they can no longer do this, the fluids and salt build up in your body. This build-up causes swelling, which you may notice in your:
• Legs
• Ankles
• Feet
• Hands
• Face

You may see the swelling in one or several areas of your body.

1. Rash. When kidneys cannot remove waste from your body, a rash can develop. One rash that occurs in people who have end-stage kidney disease causes small, dome-shaped, and extremely itchy bumps. As these bumps clear, new ones can form. Sometimes, the small bumps join together to form rough, raised patches.
2. Blisters. Some people who have end-stage kidney disease develop blisters, which can form on their:
• Hands (as shown here)
• Face
• Feet

The blisters will open, dry up, and crust over. As they clear, scars appear.

1. Lump in your belly. This can be a sign of kidney cancer. In its early stages, kidney cancer seldom causes symptoms. When the cancer advances, it can cause a mass or lump on the:
• Side
• Belly
• Lower back

Feeling a mass in one of these areas can also be a sign of something less serious going on inside your body. If you find any spot or lump, make an appointment to see your doctor.

1. Skin too tight to pinch. This is an extremely rare side effect that can occur when you get an MRI or another test that requires a contrasting agent. A doctor may request a contrast agent to get a better view inside an area of your body, such as a blood vessel. If you need a contrasting agent, it will be injected into a vein before your test.
   
   Gadolinium is a contrasting agent that can affect your kidneys. When this happens, it can cause:
• Areas of hard, shiny skin that become too tight to pinch
• Inability to fully bend a knee, elbow, or other part of your body
• Skin that feels bound down

This is a rare side effect. If you have kidney disease, be sure to tell any doctor who orders a medical test for you.

1. Calcium deposit under the skin. Your kidneys have several jobs. One is to balance certain minerals in your blood, such as sodium and phosphate. When the kidneys cannot maintain a healthy balance, levels can rise. Some people develop deposits of calcium in their skin, such as the patient in this picture. This patient also has half-and-half nails, which is another sign of kidney disease.
   
   Calcium deposits usually develop around a joint and are not painful. However, when they occur within a fingertip, they can cause a great deal of pain.

If one of these deposits pushes up through the skin, you may see a chalky discharge

HOMOEOPATHIC TREATMENT FOR KIDNEY DISEASES

Few homoeopathic medicine to be thought of

ARSENICUM ALBUM- -Arsenic alb. Is also an effective remedy for renal failure with high level of creatinine in blood. Urine is scanty, burning when urinating. Albuminuria. Epithelial cells, cylindrical clots of fibrin and globules of pus and blood in urine. Feeling weakness in abdomen after urination.Retention of urine.Urine black as if mixed with dung.

LYCOPODIUM CLAVATUM —Lycopodium is an effective remedy for high level of creatinine in blood. Urine scanty , cries before urinating, red sand in urine, must strain, suppressed or retained. Urine milky and turbid. Sometimes haematuria . Urine is burning and hot. The right kidney is mainly affected. The patient experiences impotency.The patient likes warm food and drink, also there is intense craving for sweets.

APIS MELLIFICA - Apis mel is another effective remedy where edematous swellings of face and extremities are present with thirstlessness.. Urination frequent but scanty. There is a feeling of suffocation and breathing difficult. All symptoms are worsen from heat and better from cold.

CANTHARIS - Cantharis is best for kidney failure where uremic delusions with sens of persecution is found. There is suppression of urine with restlessness, flushed face and sparkling eyes. The patient has an urge to pass urine but nothing is voided, there being no urine in bladder.

TEREBINTH - Terebinth is prescribed where uremia with spasms and lock jaw is present which may be occurring every 15 minutes. There is violent convulsions producing most frightful opisthotonos.

HELLEBORUS NIGER - Hellebotus is best for high creatinine in blood with remia and unconsciousness. Pupils dilated and insensible to light. Convulsion is present. The body have a strong urinous odor.

UREA —Urea is prescribed where uremia is present. Urine is thin and of low specific gravity.