All you need to know about kidney and liver failure

All you need to know about kidney and liver failure

Hepatorenal syndrome is a condition that is identified as a type of kidney failure that occurs in people who have serious damage caused to the liver, commonly due to cirrhosis. When the kidney stops functioning, toxins begin to accumulate in the body which leads to liver failure as well. Therefore, kidney and liver failures are co-dependent in this case. This condition is of two types: 1 and 2. In Type 1 the kidney failure is more rapid, while type 2 patients tend to move gradually toward renal failure and the symptoms are less aggressive.

Symptoms
The symptoms caused by the hepatorenal syndrome are a cause of medical emergency in most cases. If any of the symptoms associated with the condition occur, the patient must be rushed to a doctor without any delay. The common symptoms associated with the condition include

  • Nausea
  • Increase in body weight
  • Confusion
  • Reduced urination
  • Change in the color of urine, which usually becomes dark-colored
  • Swelling in the abdomen area
  • Jaundice
  • Dementia
  • Vomiting
  • Delirium

Causes and risk factors
In most cases, the hepatorenal syndrome is a complication associated with liver disease. Almost in all patients, the condition is caused as a result of liver cirrhosis. When a person suffers from cirrhosis of the liver, there are several factors that can cause the hepatorenal syndrome, such as

  • Infections, especially the ones that affect the kidneys
  • Digestive tract disorders such as gastrointestinal bleeding
  • Use of diuretics, the substance used for increased production of urine

The primary reason behind the condition is mostly any kind of disease related to the liver. These diseases can include

  • Hepatitis caused by viruses such as Hepatitis B and C, autoimmune diseases, or substances
  • Liver tumors
  • Live cirrhosis

The most severe type of liver disease, which is linked to extreme damage to liver function, fulminant liver failure is also associated with hepatorenal syndrome. All these conditions can lead to kidney disease and eventually kidney failure at various levels in hepatorenal patients.

Other than these, some of the risk factors that increase the chances of kidney failure originating from liver disease have been identified, and these include

  • Abdominal cavity infections, which can occur in people who suffer from live cirrhosis and are known as spontaneous bacterial peritonitis or SBP.
  • Liver cirrhosis patients also suffer from a common problem which is bleeding into the gut. This is one of the risk factors of hepatorenal syndrome

Treatment options

There are various treatment options that a hepatorenal syndrome patient might need. Vasoconstrictors are medications that the patients might be prescribed to keep their blood pressure levels under control, which otherwise can be a problem with hepatorenal syndrome patients. To keep the kidney functions stable, dialysis may also be required. With the help of dialysis, the toxins, excess salt, and extra water can be extracted from the blood. Another effective treatment for patients is liver transplant surgery. Although getting a healthy liver for transplant can take a while, if one does manage to get it, the chances of survival increase greatly.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.
Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.
How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.
All You Need to Know about Cat Food

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.