Complications Of Acute Kidney Injury
The most serious complications of acute kidney injury are:
- high levels of potassium in the blood in severe cases, this can lead to muscle weakness, paralysis and heart rhythm problems
- fluid in the lungs
- acidic blood which can cause nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and breathlessness
Page last reviewed: 25 February 2019 Next review due: 25 February 2022
How Do You Treat A Bruised Kidney
Lucky for you, most trauma of the kidney can be managed without an operation. In more minor cases, a discharge home with physical restrictions for a couple of days to weeks may be all that is necessary.
Sometimes an overnight stay in the hospital is required to make certain your blood levels are stable. We also want to monitor any blood in the urine so your bladder doesnât get plugged up with clots. After discharge, you may be placed on strict bed rest until the blood in the urine resolves.
If you start requiring multiple blood transfusions or medicine to maintain your blood pressure, then an intervention is likely in your future. Sometimes this can be done via an embolization with an interventional radiologist, other times a surgery is necessary to stop the bleeding.
How Common Is Flank Pain
Flank pain is very common. Nearly everyone gets flank pain at some point.
Kidney stones are one of the most common causes of flank pain. Every year in the United States, more than half a million people receive treatment for kidney stones. One in 10 people will get a kidney stone during their lifetime.
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What Does A Bruise On The Lower Abdominal Area Indicate
Bruising in your stomach or abdominal area is typically caused by: The trauma from the injury causes blood vessels in the affected tissue to break open. This leads to bruising. Similar to bruising of the stomach or abdominal area, bruising of the back or spinal cord can occur in the event of a fall, accident, or injury.
Blood And Platelet Disorders
There are many genetic blood abnormalities that can cause easy bruising, Dr. Kappel says. Some are more serious than others.
Von Willebrand disease and hemophilia, for instance, are blood disorders caused by missing or defective clotting proteins , putting you more at risk for bruising.
With platelet disorders, such as thrombocytopenia, there may be an underproduction or overproduction of platelets in the body, or platelets that dont work normally. In the case of too few platelets, the body wont be able to control bleeding after experiencing physical trauma, Dr. Johnston says.
In addition to bruising easily, people with blood and platelet disorders might experience the following:
- Heavy menstrual bleeding
- Bleeding gums
Fix it: Your doctor can order tests to assess your clotting factors and blood cell analysis if you feel youre more susceptible to bruising, Dr. Kappel says.
Depending on the type of disorder, they might recommend treatments like topical medications, iron supplements or blood transfusions.
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What Causes Kidney Injuries
A direct blow to the back most commonly causes kidney injuries. The kidneys are located in the flank, the area on the side and back of the abdomen just below the ribs. The kidneys are suspended by two connections to the rest of the body, the vascular pedicle that contains the arteries and veins that connect it to the aorta, and the ureter, that drains urine into the bladder. It is reasonably well protected by lower ribs, muscles, and fat of the body, but blunt force can cause the kidney to bruise or break . A kidney is divided into segments or poles so that each segment has its own blood supply and their urine drainage collects into the main ureter. This is helpful when the kidney is injured, since an injury to one part or segment does not doom the whole kidney.
What Are The Symptoms Of Acute Kidney Injury
You might not notice any symptoms of AKI at first. If you do have symptoms, you may notice some or all of the following problems:
- Not enough urine
- Pain or pressure in your chest
If you have very severe AKI, you may have seizures or fall into a coma.
If you notice any of these symptom, contact your health care provider immediately.
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Can Kidney Problems Cause Bruising
Can kidney problems cause bruisingCan Kidney Disease Cause Bruising. Easy bruising is one of the symptoms along with dark tea colored or cola colored urine, swelling in the extremities, a lot of night time urination, and upset stomach with vomiting. Advanced kidney disease is a cause which may contribute to easy bruising.
Bruised Kidney Try These Simple Diy Remedies For Relief
Think you might have bruised a kidney? This type of injury usually happens as a result of blunt trauma maybe you fell or were playing a sport with your grandkids and got whacked by the ball?
Any injury to a major organ is potentially serious, and you should absolutely go to your doctor if you suspect your kidney may be bruised.
That being said, there are some remedies for a bruised kidney which may prove helpful.
Your kidneys are a pair of small organs located in the back of your abdomen.1 One of their main functions is to filter liquid waste from your body, but they are also responsible for keeping blood pressure regular, helping reabsorb nutrients, and regulating fluid levels.2
Kidneys are the organs most susceptible to injury in the urinary tract.3 Though their location often protects them, kidneys can become bruised due to trauma from car accidents, falls, or contact sports. Professional football players, for example, often suffer from bruised kidneys.
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Kidney Laceration Symptoms Signs Diagnosis And Stages
The diagnosis of a kidney laceration can often be missed initially if there isn’t a high index of suspicion based on the mechanism of injury . It’s easier to detect if the patient has gross blood in the urine, but sometimes, there are only a few red blood cells in the urinalysis seen under a microscope. There should be abdominal pain or flank pain and tenderness when the flank is palpated . Kidney injuries also cause nausea and vomiting, and without the story of injury, the diagnosis can be missed. However, a CT scan of the abdomen can visualize the kidney structures, including the arteries and blood supply, and confirm a kidney laceration sometimes an aortogram is needed to closely examine the kidney’s blood supply.
There are variety of stages of kidney injury depending upon how much damage it sustained. It can be as mild as a bruise of the kidney that causes minimal damage or the kidney can be shattered and torn from its pedicle . A lacerated kidney describes a literal tear of the kidney tissue that may or may not cause urine to leak where it doesn’t belong.
What Happens If Your Stomach Is Painful To Touch
The obstruction obstructs food from travelling through the intestinal tracts and this could lead to death if left neglected. Some of the symptoms of a digestive tract blockage consist of distention, stomach painful to touch, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, constipation and the inability to have defecation.
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How Do I Treat A Bruised Kidney
Treatment of a bruised kidney is typically dependent on the extent of the injury to the organ. Minor bruising will typically resolve itself with rest and limitation of fluid intake. You may experience discomfort or pain, so a medical professional may prescribe painkillers for temporary use. If your injury is accompanied by extreme pain or excessive blood in your urine, you may need to be admitted to the hospital for observation and tests to ensure the kidney is not more seriously damaged.
A bruised kidney is typically considered a minor injury and most medical professionals will opt to let it heal on its own with no medical intervention. The symptoms are typically limited to some abdominal pain and sometimes traces of blood in the urine you should get plenty of bed rest and limit activities until these symptoms subside. Medical professionals also often suggest that sufferers limit their fluid intake to decrease the workload on the kidney until it heals. Most patients make a full recovery by following just these simple steps.
Bruised Kidney Symptoms Diagnosis And Treatment
Bruised Kidney can lead to significant pain and discomfort and if not diagnosed and treated early and properly may lead to serious kidney problems and even death. This guide will give you an in-depth look into this common consequence of road accidents and other incidents that cause traumatic injuries to the kidneys.
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Purple Bruise On Stomach
Purple Bruise On Stomach. Several factors are probably just about allergic reaction but other factors may be something serious like internal bleeding inside your stomach. Discoloration on the skin, especially on the abdominal skin may be alarming. It can be yellow tint, purple bump or even red dash.
Treatment For Bruised Kidney
Treatment depends on the cause and resulting symptoms. Before providing treatment, your doctor will perform tests to diagnose the condition and rule out other health complications.
Your doctor will look at your physical symptoms and ask about your medical history. They can then conduct imaging tests to rule out internal bleeding and further injury, such as:
- X-ray
- MRI scan
- CT scan
In milder cases, the kidney will heal on its own within one to two weeks. Your doctor may recommend bed rest during this time to closely monitor your condition.
In more severe cases, the doctor may administer fluids to maintain blood pressure. Controlling fluid intake will also encourage urine production if she has been affected by the injury. The doctor will also address internal bleeding problems.
If your doctor cant control the bleeding, surgery may be needed.
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Tests Your Doctor May Use
Urinalysis, or a test of your urine, is one assessment your doctor may use. Urinalysis can help doctors see if you have microscopic amounts of blood in your urine.9 This gives them one part of the picture of your kidney injury.
Depending on the severity of your symptoms, your doctor may also order a computerized tomography scan to check the extent of your injury. This is the most common test done to determine injuries to the kidneys. During a CT scan, the patient lies on a table while images are taken. The procedure is similar to an X-ray, but more detailed. A CT scan takes about half an hour to complete.
Your doctor may also order an angiogram, which is a kind of x-ray taken after a special dye is injected into your blood.11 Ultrasounds are also sometimes used to determine kidney injuries.12
How Do I Know If I Have Kidney Cancer
Maybe youve had kidney cancer symptoms such as pain in your side, weight loss, or extreme fatigue. Or maybe your doctor has found a lump in your side during a routine exam or a sign of kidney cancer during a test for another disease. Regardless, to confirm a diagnosis of kidney cancer, you will need a thorough physical exam, health history, and tests.
Your doctor will feel your abdomen and side for lumps and check for fever and high blood pressure, among other things. You will also answer questions about your health habits, any past illnesses, and types of treatment. To make a diagnosis of kidney cancer, your doctor will also order one or more tests like these:
Unlike with many other cancers, your doctor may be pretty certain about a diagnosis of kidney cancer without a biopsy. Sometimes, a biopsy will be done to confirm the diagnosis. A doctor may use a needle biopsy to remove a sample of tissue, which is then examined under a microscope for cancer cells. The biopsy may also tell the grade of the cancer how aggressive the cancer is likely to be. Often the surgeon will simply remove the entire tumor and then have a sample of tissue examined.
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Symptoms Of Kidney Pain
- A dull ache that’s usually constant
- Pain under your rib cage or in your belly
- Pain in your side usually only one side, but sometimes both hurt
- Sharp or severe pain that may come in waves
- Pain that can spread to your groin area or belly
Other symptoms that can happen with kidney pain
The symptoms of your kidney pain depend on its cause. With kidney pain you may also have:
- Fever
- Blood in your urine
Whats Causing Me To Bruise So Easily And What I Do To Prevent It
It seems like every time I bump into something, I bruise. Whats causing me to bruise so easily and is there something I can do to stop it?
Bruising, also called ecchymosis, is caused by extravasation or leaking of blood into the skin. The bleeding is the result of a complex process and begins with our largest organ-the skin. The skin acts as a barrier of protection to the blood vessels. When there is direct trauma to the skin, it can result in bleeding of these vessels. An essential part of the bleeding process is clotting. Clotting is an important process to prevent further bleeding and to promote healing. It is a cascade of events involving platelets and other clotting factors. These factors are produced in the bone marrow, liver and the result of adequate nutritional intake. Easy bruising is the result of any abnormality in this process.
Kidney patients are on medications that increase the risk for bleeding. Review of the appropriateness of these medications should be done routinely. Also, herbal supplements may interfere with these medications and increase the risk for bleeding.
As a reminder, patients should be counseled on appropriate nutrition and foods to take when using anticoagulant medicine. Adequate nutritional intake should be reviewed by a dietitian. If there is no explanation for the bruising, the patient should seek appropriate medical attention to evaluate for a systematic disorder.
This article originally appeared in the March 2008 issue of aakpRENALIFE.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Bruised Kidney
A bruised kidney can produce different symptoms depending on the severity of the cause of injury. A commonest symptom of a bruised kidney is pain in the location of the kidney. The pain from a bruised kidney can be a dull ache or it can be an acute pain. Pain is felt on the side of the injured kidney. Patient also has tenderness along with pain. Hematuria is another symptom, which develops when there is kidney contusion or a bruised kidney. Hematuria is nothing, but blood in urine and can occur depending on the degree of the bruised kidney. Patient can also experience nausea and vomiting when suffering from a bruised kidney. A bruised kidney can also cause back muscles spasms. Patient can also have pain in the abdomen with a bruised kidney.
What Causes Flank Pain
Pain in the flanks can result from several injuries, conditions and diseases. The most common causes of flank pain include:
- Problems in the urinary tract: Severe kidney pain can result from several types of urinary tract infections , including a kidney infection and infection of the bladder. Infections and ureteral obstructions usually cause pain as well as other symptoms, such as fever, chills, bloating, vomiting and blood in the urine . Dehydration can lead to urinary tract problems that cause flank pain.
- Back problems:Arthritis, fractures and structural problems in the spine can cause lower back pain. A herniated disk, pinched nerve and degenerative disk disease cause pain to spread to the flanks. Severe strains can lead to muscle spasms in the flank or lower back.
- Disease: Flank pain may be a sign of several types of disease, including gallbladder disease, liver disease, kidney cancer and some gastrointestinal diseases. Renal artery disease, a condition that blocks blood flow to the kidneys, can also cause flank pain.
- Shingles: A viral infection causes shingles. Symptoms of shingles include a painful rash, usually on one side of the trunk .
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm: The lower part of the aorta can swell up. If it gets too big, it can rupture . An abdominal aortic aneurysm causes pain and tenderness in the flank area.
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When To Contact A Doctor
A person who is experiencing kidney pain should contact a doctor as soon as possible to find out what is causing it.
People must contact a doctor to diagnose and treat kidney pain. Receiving the correct treatment ensures that the kidneys do not become damaged, which can lead to kidney failure.
Doctors may order tests such as:
- urine tests, which can help them identify any infections
- imaging tests, such as CT or ultrasound scans
- cytology, which can help them identify cancer cells in the urine
Renal Tumors Or Cysts
Renal tumors or cysts do not typically cause pain unless the growth is advanced or the disbursement is extensive. The three most common growth abnormalities include:
- Renal adenoma: A type of benign tumor that can grow to a substantial size
- Renal cell carcinoma : A type of cancer that usually begins in the tubules of the kidneys
- Polycystic kidney disease : An inherited disorder in which benign, fluid-filled cysts proliferate throughout the kidneys
The pain would most often be unilateral and accompanied by hematuria, either visible or invisible .
If cancer is involved, persistent malaise and unexplained weight loss are telltale signs suggestive of an advanced malignancy.
PKD may also be symptom-free until such time as the formation of cysts causes structural damage to the kidney. In addition to flank pain, usually bilateral, PKD may cause progressively worsening symptoms, including headaches, high blood pressure, hematuria, abdominal pain and swelling, recurrent kidney stones, recurrent UTIs, and renal failure.
As opposed to many of the other renal conditions, PKD is associated with excessive urination rather than impaired urination. The most common form of PKD, known as autosomal dominant PKD, manifests with symptoms when patients are in their 30s and 40s. Around 10% will advance to renal failure.
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