Chronic kidney disease has five stages. It starts with a mildly damaged kidney and ends up with kidney failure. Treatments like medicines and dialysis can help patients from advancing to stage 5 of kidney disease.

Our kidneys play important towards good health. They act like blood filters removing toxins, waste, and surplus fluids.

They also help to:

• Regulate blood chemicals and blood pressure 
• Promote red blood cells and keeps the bones healthy.

Suppose you have chronic kidney disease (CKD), which means you have damaged your kidneys for over a few months. As a result, your damaged kidneys cannot filter blood properly. This condition can lead to various serious health problems.

There are five stages of CKD, with different symptoms and treatments associated with each stage.

1-   Stage 1 kidney disease

In stage 1, the kidneys have very mild damage. They're adaptable and can adjust to this damage, letting them perform at 90 percent or even better.

CKD can be discovered during routine blood or urine tests at this stage. You may also undergo these tests if you are a diabetic patient or are suffering from high blood pressure.

Symptoms

Typically, there are no symptoms at this stage as your kidneys function at 90 percent or even better.

Treatment

You can slow down the advancement of this disease by following these steps:

• If you have diabetes, then manage your blood sugar levels.
• If you have hypertension, follow your doctor's advice for lowering your blood pressure.
• Maintain a balanced diet.
• Stop consuming tobacco.
• Engage in some physical activity for at least 30 minutes daily.
• Try to maintain a healthy weight.

Ask your general physician to refer you to the Best Nephrologist in Delhi NCR.

2-   Stage 2 kidney disease

In stage 2, kidneys function between 60 and 89 percent.

Symptoms

You might still have very few or almost no symptoms at this stage. Some nonspecific symptoms are:

• fatigue
• weakness
• sleep problems
• loss of appetite
• itching

Treatment

It's time to visit the Best Kidney Hospital in India. There is no permanent cure for CKD, but early treatment can stop or slow its progress.

But it is crucial to address the underlying cause. If you have heart disease, high blood pressure, or are diabetic, follow your doctor's instructions for managing these conditions in their early stage.

Besides your doctor's guidance, it is also essential to maintain a good and balanced diet, get regular exercise, and manage a healthy weight. Quit smoking and alcohol.

3-   Stage 3 kidney disease

Stage 3 means your kidney is working between 45 and 59 percent, and stage 3B means it is functioning between 30 and 44 percent.

At this stage, the kidneys aren't filtering toxins, waste, and fluids well, which start building up.

Symptoms

Not everyone has stage 3 symptoms. But some may have:

• back pain
• loss of appetite
• fatigue
• sleep problems
• urinating more or less than usual
• persistent itching
• swelling of the hands and feet
• weakness

Complications may include:

• bone disease
• anemia
• high blood pressure

Treatment

It's essential to manage the conditions to preserve kidney function. This may include:

• cholesterol-lowering medicines
• phosphate binders to control calcification in the blood vessels
• low-salt and diuretics diet to reduce fluid retention
• Maintaining a lower protein diet so the kidneys don't have to work that hard
• erythropoietin supplements for anemia
• high blood pressure medicines 
• vitamin D supplements to manage weakening bones

Once diagnosed with stage 3 CKD, you need to pay frequent visits and tests with your doctors to ensure adjustments can be made if required.

Take the help of a dietitian available at GS Hospital to ensure you get nutrients.

4-   Stage 4 kidney disease

Stage 4 means you have extreme kidney damage. They function between 15 and 29 percent so that you may build up more toxins, waste, and fluids in your body.

You must take all necessary steps to prevent progression to kidney failure.

Symptoms

Patients with stage 4 CKD experience symptoms that include:

• sleep problems
• muscle twitches or cramps
• persistent itching
• fatigue
• weakness
• back pain
• decreased mental sharpness
• urinating more or less than usual
• loss of appetite
• chest pain
• nausea and vomiting
• shortness of breath
• swelling of the hands and feet

Complications may include:

• bone disease
• anemia
• high blood pressure

Patients with such conditions are at high risk of heart disease and stroke.

Treatment

In stage 4, you must work under the guidance of your doctors. In addition, you should start taking treatment in its early stages and begin discussing dialysis and kidney transplant. These procedures take careful planning and time, so choosing only the Top Kidney Hospital in UP is wise.

5-   Stage 5 kidney disease

Stage 5 means your kidneys are functioning only 15 percent, or you have kidney failure.

This allows the buildup of waste and toxins, which become life-threatening.

Symptoms

Symptoms of kidney failure include:

• breathing problems
• fatigue
• trouble sleeping
• back and chest pain
• urinating more or less
• nausea or vomiting
• muscle twitches or cramps
• decreased mental sharpness
• little to no appetite
• persistent itching
• severe weakness
• swelling of the hands and feet

This also reflects that your risk of heart disease and stroke is increasing.

Treatment

When you have complete kidney failure, things become complicated and life-threatening without a kidney transplant or dialysis.

Dialysis isn't the complete cure for kidney disease but a process that helps to remove fluids and waste from your blood. There are two types of dialysis one is hemodialysis, and the other is peritoneal dialysis.

Hemodialysis

Hemodialysis is a process done three times a week at a dialysis center.

Before each session, two needles are placed in the patient's arm, where they are attached to a dialyzer, which is referred to as an artificial kidney. There your blood is pumped with the help of the filter and returns to your body.

You can learn to do this at home, but it is advisable to be practiced under the expert guidance of medical professionals as it requires vein access.

Peritoneal dialysis

In this process, a catheter is surgically placed into your abdomen for peritoneal dialysis. During the treatment, dialysis solutions are passed through the catheter into the abdomen so you can go easily in your daily life. After a few hours, you can drain the catheter into a bag and dispose of it. This should be repeated 4 to 6 times a day.

A kidney transplant replaces your damaged kidneys with a healthier one. Patients don't need dialysis but must rely on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives.

Key takeaways

The five stages of CKD - chronic kidney disease, are determined by the degree of damage done to the kidney and with blood and urine tests.

While it's a disease that develops with time, not everyone will end up with kidney failure. Symptoms of kidney disease in its early stage are mild and can be easily overlooked. That's why it's essential to have regular checkups, especially if you have diabetes or high blood pressure- two primary reasons for kidney disease.

Early diagnosis and management can help slow or prevent the progression of chronic kidney disease.