Yes, you can have kidney problems for years without knowing because Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is often called a "silent disease," with few or no symptoms until kidneys are severely damaged (up to 90% function loss), making regular blood/urine tests crucial for early detection, especially if you have risk factors like diabetes or high blood pressure.
Generally, earlier stages are known as 1 to 3. And as kidney disease progresses, you may notice the following symptoms. Nausea and vomiting, muscle cramps, loss of appetite, swelling via feet and ankles, dry, itchy skin, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, urinating either too much or too little.
When you have a chronic illness like kidney disease, you have a lot more to think about, which can lead to feelings of anxiety, anger, worry, and stress.
Chronic kidney disease can progress silently over many years. The result is that many clinicians put off addressing chronic kidney disease until symptoms emerge or test results worsen, often leaving early-stage patients undiagnosed and poorly informed about the disease.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD and chronic renal disease) means that there's damage to your kidneys and they aren't working as well as they should. Your kidneys are like a filter in your body — filtering out wastes, toxins and extra water from your blood.
Many people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) will not have symptoms because it does not usually cause problems until it reaches an advanced stage.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is when the kidneys have become damaged over time (for at least 3 months) and have a hard time doing all their important jobs.
Swollen ankles and feet
Decreased kidney function can lead to sodium (salt) retention, causing swelling in your feet and ankles. Swelling in the lower extremities can also be a sign of heart disease, liver disease and chronic leg vein problems. Learn more about salt and kidney disease.
At first, kidney disease is silent. Symptoms often don't appear until the kidneys are badly damaged. Many people don't have any symptoms until their kidney disease is advanced. Blood and urine tests are the only way to know if you have kidney disease.
IgA nephropathy is a hidden chronic kidney disease. It arises from abnormal IgA production by the immune system, which keeps the kidneys in a prolonged state of inflammation. It tends to develop in younger people, with few early symptoms, yet it can cause irreversible kidney damage over time.
FEAR + FRIGHT. Fear is the emotion of the kidneys and the bladder, organs associated with the water element. It is a normal adaptive emotion, but can become chronic when ignored. Kidney issues often arise when we are dealing with fear, such as a change in life direction or unstable living conditions.
Kidney pain often feels like a dull ache that gets worse if someone gently presses on that area. While it is more common to feel kidney pain on only one side, some health problems may affect both kidneys and cause pain on both sides of your back.
Fatigue is a very common symptom for people living with kidney disease, with approximately 70% of people reporting fatigue and up to 25% reporting severe symptoms. It is often poorly controlled, can cause significant distress and can have very negative impacts on people's lives.
Diabetes and high blood pressure are the top culprits damaging kidneys most, as they harm the delicate filtering blood vessels, leading to chronic kidney disease (CKD) and failure; other major factors include smoking, obesity, dehydration, poor diet (high sugar/salt/red meat), certain medications (NSAIDs), lack of sleep, and genetic conditions. These factors create a cycle where damaged kidneys worsen blood pressure, further damaging them.
You can check kidney function at home using at-home test kits for urine (detecting protein/albumin) or finger-prick blood tests (checking creatinine/eGFR), often with smartphone apps for analysis, or by monitoring symptoms like increased nighttime urination (nocturia), swelling, or changes in urine (blood, foam) and discussing results with a doctor, as home tests screen but don't replace professional diagnosis.
For thousands of years 'fishy' smelling breath and urine have been associated with renal disorders. This smell is now known to be caused by the presence of unusually high concentrations of amines. Some amines are exogenous volatile organic compounds (VOC) that are ingested as part of normal diet.
People can have kidney problems without being aware of it. There are often no symptoms until the problems are quite advanced. Take our free, quick and easy online health check which helps inform you about your likelihood of kidney disease.
Sometimes other tests are also used to assess the level of damage to your kidneys. These may include: an ultrasound scan, MRI scan or CT scan – to see what the kidneys look like and check whether there are any blockages.
Kidney disease is called a 'silent disease' as there are often few or no symptoms. In fact, you can lose up to 90 per cent of your kidneys' functionality before experiencing any symptoms.
Kidney disease is labelled a “silent killer” due to its lack of physical symptoms. Even with symptoms present, these are often overlooked or attributed to another health issue. This presents a real problem for patients, where early diagnosis is key to the progression of kidney disease to kidney failure.
The key to reversing kidney damage is early detection. If it is caught early enough, the underlying issue can be treated and your kidneys can begin to heal themselves. Treatment for kidney damage will likely involve changes to your lifestyle and possibly medical procedures.
Kidney function tests are urine (pee) and/or blood tests that evaluate how well your kidneys work. Your kidneys support your overall health by getting rid of waste and balancing body fluids and electrolytes. Most kidney function tests measure how well your glomeruli (glo-MARE-yoo-lye) work.
Signs and symptoms of Stage 1 CKD include:
CKD is more common in people aged 65 years or older (34%) than in people aged 45–64 years (12%) or 18–44 years (6%). CKD is slightly more common in women (14%) than men (12%). CKD is more common in non-Hispanic Black adults (20%) than in non-Hispanic Asian adults (14%) or non-Hispanic White adults (12%).
Stress and uncontrolled reactions to stress can also lead to kidney damage. As the blood filtering units of your body, your kidneys are prone to problems with blood circulation and blood vessels. High blood pressure and high blood sugar can place an additional strain or burden on your kidneys.