Kidney Scar
The kidneys play an important part in the human body. It helps cleanse out the body’s toxicity, it helps produce red blood cells that carry oxygen to the different parts of the body, and so much more. The kidney’s basic function is to keep the body clean. When the kidney is damaged, it can lead to a lot of complications with some that cannot be treated.
Scarring of kidneys is usually a result of a previous or present illness of the kidney. Illnesses of the kidneys that are left untreated can develop complications such as scarring.
Causes of Kidney Scarring
- Kidney scarring can result from a variety of diseases involving the kidney. This can include urinary tract infections and even diabetes.
- Glomerulosclerosis is also a scarring of the kidneys but affects the glomeruli or filter of the kidney.
- With Glomerulosclerosis, the disease often results from systemic diseases such lupus or diabetes.
- Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis or FSGS is also described as a scarring but affecting scattered regions of the kidney. FSGS may result from a system disorder but may also be an idiopathic kidney disease with an unknown cause.
Kidney Scarring Symptoms
- The most common and primary sign of a scarred kidney is proteinuria.
- Proteinuria is a condition wherein proteins pass through to the urine. Normally, the kidney filters out urine and does not allow proteins to pass. When the kidney is scarred or damaged, proteins are able to pass through to the urine.
- When protein is allowed to escape in the urine, this can cause edema in different parts of the body.
- Patients affected with diseases involving the kidney, especially damaged or scarred kidneys also experience renal hypertension and manifest high blood pressures.
Kidney Scarring Treatment
- A scarred kidney is irreversible. This is a permanent condition that cannot be treated.
- The goal of the physicians is to prevent further scarring from happening.
- Treatments revolve around palliation or treating the symptoms that come with the condition.
- Doctors address the problem of proteinuria and maintain the patient’s blood pressure within normal to acceptable limits.