Kidney Disease for Patient Education

**What is Kidney Disease?** A kidney disease does not occur overnight but develops over a period of time and in stages. Kidney disease commonly goes unnoticed due to the slow occurrence of mild symptoms and is called as chronic kidney disease (CKD). Generally, both the kidneys are affected by the disease. Most patients do not show any symptoms in the initial stages, hence it is usually detected only once severe symptoms are visible in the advanced stages. The degeneration can be slowed down or controlled if detected early. When kidneys are damaged, waste gets accumulated inside the body and can cause various problems like high blood pressure, low red blood cell count, swelling, weak bones. When CKD advances or is left untreated, it can lead to kidney failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The treatment for kidney failure is dialysis or a kidney transplant.