Kidney failure is the loss of the eliminative functions of the kidneys, bladder, and/or renal system. The renal system works to eliminate excess fluids and wastes from the body. When these essential functions fail, dangerous fluids and waste materials accumulate in the body.
Kidney failure can be caused by a number of conditions or substances, including over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Some of the prescription drugs that have been linked to kidney and renal failure include Baycol, Gadolinium Mri/MRA contrast Agent, Vioxx, Bextra, and Celebrex.
The symptoms of kidney failure may develop slowly, and many people may not seek treatment until the condition worsens. However, without treatment, kidney failure can lead to severe, life threatening conditions and may prove to be fatal.
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs the size of the adult human fist. Located at the back of the upper abdomen on either side of the spine, the kidneys are a part of the renal system, a system that works to remove excess fluid and waste materials from the blood.
Blood enters into the kidneys through the renal arteries, branches of the aorta. From the aorta, blood moves through nephrons in the kidneys. Nephrons are capillary blood vessels that filter fluid from the bloodstream. Filtered fluid contains both waste materials and healthy, vital substances. Waste materials (urea, creatinine, and uric acid) are expelled through urine), where as healthy substances (sugar, calcium, salts, and amino acids) are reabsorbed into the bloodstream.
Pharmaceutical drugs (including Baycol, Gadolinium Mri/MRA contrast Agent, Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex) or other conditions can cause pre renal, renal, or post renal kidney failure.
Pre Renal Kidney Failure
Pre renal kidney failure is caused by conditions or substances that interfere with blood flow to the kidneys. Conditions that may leave the kidneys with insufficient blood flow or blood supply include:
- Low blood pressure: Low blood pressure can be caused by severe bleeding, infection, dehydration, or shock.
- Reduced blood flow: Reduced blood flow to the kidney can be caused by a weak heart, heart attack, or congestive heart failure.
- Low blood volume: Low blood volume can be caused by severe dehydration and an excessive loss of fluid, which decreases the volume of blood and the amount of blood available to the kidneys.
Renal Kidney Failure
Renal kidney failure is caused by conditions that affect the structure and function of the kidneys, including:
- Toxic injury: The kidneys’ main purpose is filtering toxins from the body and are thus vulnerable to toxic injury. Exposure to toxic substances, including alcohol, drugs, heavy metals, fuels, and solvents can cause kidney failure. Certain pharmaceutical drugs also have the potential to injure the kidneys, including Baycol, Gadolinium Mri/MRA contrast Agent, Vioxx, Bextra, and Celebrex.
- Inflammation: Sudden inflammation of the kidneys caused by an allergic reaction to drugs, including common pain medications containing aspirin and ibuprophen (Advil, Motrin, and others), can cause damaging kidney inflammation.
- Atheroembolic Kidney Disease: Atheroembolic kidney disease occurs when masses of plague and cholesterol accumulate in arteries and harden. If the plague dislodges, the plague (emboli) enter the bloodstream and moves throughout the body. When emboli move to the kidneys, they can accumulate and cause severe inflammation. Kidney tissue inflammation can restrict blood supply to the kidneys.
Post Renal Kidney Failure
Post renal kidney failure is caused by problems with the flow of urine as it leaves the body. This may occur in the bladder (urethral obstruction) or the tubes that lead from the kidneys into the bladder (ureters).
Symptoms of Kidney Failure
Generally, the symptoms of kidney failure slowly develop and are a result of the slow build-up of waste in the blood and the gradual failure of the kidney’s eliminative functions.
Overtime, the build-up of fluid and wastes in the body results in swelling the eyes, hands, ankles, and feet. If fluid and waste continue to accumulate in the blood, fluid overload increases the water content of the blood and increases the pressure on the blood vessels. Other symptoms of kidney failure include:
- Decreased urine flow or urine output
- Leg, feet, and ankle swelling from fluid retention
- Shortness of breath
- Seizures or Epilepsy
- Chest pain or pericarditis, an inflammation of the membrane that envelops the heart
- Ureters stones
- Bladder Obstruction
Kidney Failure Treatment
Treating kidney failure involves treating the underlining condition that caused the damage to the kidneys, including heart attacks, allergic reactions to drugs, dehydration, and others. A physician may also subscribe calcium, glucose, or sodium polystyrene sulfonate to prevent the accumulation of potassium in the blood, which may lead to irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias).
Kidney failure is also treated through dialysis to remove excess fluid and toxins from the body. Dialysis is a way of filtering wastes and fluids from the blood while the kidneys heal.
The most common from of dialysis used for kidney failure is called hemodialysis. Hemodialysis removes chemicals, wastes, and fluids from the blood stream by filtering through a dialyzer, a mechanical, artificial kidney. Blood is removed from the body through a surgically created vascular in the arm or leg. The blood is then filtered through membranes inside the artificial kidney that filter the waste.
Caused by preexisting conditions, over-the-counter or pharmaceutical drugs (Baycol, Gadolinium Mri/MRA contrast Agent, Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex) or other traumatic or physiological conditions, kidney failure is a severe and often life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical intervention.
Contact the defective drug attorneys of AWKO Law if you wish to seek legal action for kidney failure.