Is uremia cancer?

Written by Guan Hai Fang
Urology
Updated on September 27, 2024
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Uremia is not cancer. Chronic kidney failure refers to the presence of various kidney diseases that lead to a progressive and irreversible decline in kidney function, culminating in a series of symptoms and metabolic disorders that form a clinical syndrome, commonly known as chronic kidney failure. The end stage of chronic kidney failure is what is often referred to as uremia. Uremia is not a separate disease, but a clinical syndrome common to various late-stage kidney diseases. It is a symptom consisting of a series of clinical manifestations that occur when chronic kidney failure enters its terminal stage. Typically, this includes disturbances in water and electrolyte acid-base metabolism, with metabolic acidosis and water-electrolyte imbalance being the most common.

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Does uremia transmit to others?

Uremia is not contagious to others because it is not an infectious disease. Uremia is a severe renal failure, so patients with uremia can interact, communicate, live, work, and study with healthy people without the need for gastrointestinal or respiratory isolation. Normally, if a patient with uremia is stable, they can engage in sexual activities and the disease will not be transmitted through sexual contact. Uremia usually presents symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, edema, and increased blood pressure. Therefore, patients with uremia need to undergo dialysis treatment. They can choose either hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Dialysis treatment can significantly improve the symptoms of uremia and enhance the quality of life of the patients.

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How to diagnose uremia

Uremia is the final state of chronic renal failure. This disease cannot be diagnosed through physical examination and medical history inquiry alone. Diagnosis requires testing, combined with the patient's physical examination and medical history, to comprehensively determine the diagnosis. Patients with uremia first need to have a blood test to check kidney function, with blood creatinine levels needing to exceed 707μmol/L. Secondly, they should undergo an ultrasound of the urinary system. Typically, the kidney size in such patients is reduced, which can be detected by the ultrasound. These two diagnostic methods used together can diagnose uremia. Patients also need to be checked for potential complications caused by uremia, such as measuring blood pressure and performing a complete blood count to check for renal anemia, among others.

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Can uremia be cured?

First, it is necessary to clarify the cause and the severity, so it is important to visit the nephrology department for comprehensive tests. Once the cause is determined, the next steps can be planned based on the results, and dialysis may be necessary if required. If there is no improvement, treatments such as kidney transplantation can be considered. It is also crucial to rest, avoid fatigue, reduce activities, especially strenuous activities, maintain a positive mood, adjust your mentality, and have regular follow-ups. Therefore, this issue needs to be actively addressed, as it can be very troublesome to manage and the prognosis may be very poor if not taken seriously.

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Symptoms of pre-uremia

The pre-uremic stage is the period of chronic renal failure. During the pre-uremic stage, many patients may have no symptoms at all. However, some patients do experience many uncomfortable symptoms, such as back soreness and weakness, fatigue, and feeling cold easily. During this stage, patients may also experience nausea and vomiting, especially pronounced nausea after waking up in the morning, as well as weight loss. Some patients in the pre-uremic stage exhibit symptoms of edema, which can occur in the eyelids, facial area, or in both lower limbs. Additionally, patients may experience feeling cold, anemia, and an increased frequency of urination at night. Of course, some patients may also experience itching of the skin on both lower limbs.

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Causes of Uremia

Uremia is a syndrome caused by the progressive development of various chronic kidney diseases that ultimately leads to bilateral renal failure in patients, unable to timely remove excess water, electrolytes, and various toxins from the body. The causes of uremia are many and complex. Common causes include chronic nephritis, diabetic nephropathy, and hypertensive nephropathy. Other diseases such as chronic interstitial nephritis, chronic pyelonephritis, uric acid nephropathy, chronic obstructive nephropathy, renal vascular diseases, and hereditary nephritis can also lead to uremia. Once uremia occurs, patients often exhibit symptoms of general discomfort and may need to choose dialysis treatment, which can be either hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, depending on individual circumstances.