Chronic Renal Disease Stages & Treatment in Ayurveda

Chronic kidney disease refers to the abnormality in the kidney function resulting in kidney failure over time. CKD is different from acute kidney disease in which the kidneys lose their function in a time span. CKD happens slowly and might take years to progress into renal failure.  It ramps in stages according to how kidneys are functioning. Since the kidneys have a larger capacity to compensate for the loss, they do not fail at once. CKD is broadly categorized into five different stages based on the glomerular filtration rate. GFR is the filtration capacity of the kidneys. IN view of CKD, it defines how much kidney function is still left. This means, that the higher the GFR, the better the kidney function while a low GFR indicates the falling health of the kidneys.

Chronic Kidney Disease Five Stages

Stage 1: This is the initial stage of CKD in which the GFR stays above 90. The damage to the kidneys has begun even though GFR is normal. High blood pressure, swelling in the body, abnormal urine tests, and UTIs are common in this stage. Sometimes, you may have no sign of kidney damage in stage 1 of CKD.

Stage 2: In this stage, GFR starts to drop, and lies between 89-60. Changes in kidney function can be witnessed in stage 2. The good news about stage 2 is that you can reverse this stage with ayurvedic medicines and changes in a diet plan.

Stage 3: This stage is divided into two categories, stage 3a, and stage 3b. We can consider stage 3 to be a moderate loss of kidney function.  An individual with stage 3 may not feel like eating anything, so low blood count, malnutrition, anemia, nausea, and vomiting are common in this stage. Stage 3B of CKD has GFR in the range of 44-30 characterized by the severe loss of kidney function.

Stage 4: This is the last stage before end-stage renal disease with GFR between 29-15. The signs that may appear at this time include bone disease, anemia, and high levels of phosphorus, calcium, or vitamin D.

Stage 5: Also called end-stage renal disease, it is the complete failure of the kidneys resulting in a waste buildup in the body.

Chronic Kidney Disease Treatment in Ayurveda

At this stage, you will need firsthand treatment to get over it, or else it can be lethal. Some common signs that may appear during this stage include kidney swelling, blood in the urine, shortness of breath, high blood pressure, abnormal thyroid levels, nausea, and vomiting, etc. It is important to prevent kidney disease in its early stages to prevent ESRD in the later stages. For an ayurvedic treatment of kidney failure, you may consult Doctor Puneet Dhawan at Karma Ayurveda.