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As a hemodialysis patient, you want to learn all you can about your treatment and what you can do to ensure your health is at its best. One important area you should know about involves infectious diseases. These are diseases that happen when harmful germs get into your body and make you ill....

What is membranous nephropathy? Many diseases can affect your kidney function by attacking and damaging the glomeruli, the tiny filtering units inside your kidney where blood is cleaned. Glomerular diseases include many conditions with many different genetic and environmental causes. Membranous...

Your comprehensive guide to kidney disease and related conditions and topics.

The National Kidney Foundation has not issued specific recommendations regarding fluoride intake and kidney disease due to the limited available research on the topic. The benefits of water and dental products containing fluoride is the prevention of tooth decay and dental cavities in people of all...

Nephrotic syndrome may occur when the filtering units of the kidney are damaged. This damage allows protein normally kept in the plasma to leak into the urine in large amounts, which reduces the amount of protein in your blood. Since the protein in the blood helps keep fluid in the bloodstream,...

Though dialysis is the preferred choice for some people, many other people with kidney failure choose to have a kidney transplant. Transplantation has many advantages, such as a lifestyle free from dialysis and fewer fluid and dietary restrictions. Kidney transplants, when successful, usually...

What is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy? Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is a technique for treating stones in the kidney and ureter that does not require surgery. Instead, high energy shock waves are passed through the body and used to break stones into pieces as small as grains of...

What is hematuria? Hematuria means that red blood cells are in the urine. Urine does not normally contain red blood cells because the filters in the kidney prevent blood from entering the urine. In hematuria, the filters or other parts of the urinary tract allow blood to leak into the urine....

Do you know a child six-years-old or older who wets the bed at night? You are not alone… 5 to 7 million children in the U.S. ages six and over wet their beds at night. Information for Parents Information for Kids/Teens Information for Medical Professionals If you would like more information,...

Good health care is always a team effort—especially for people with chronic kidney disease. This fact sheet tells you about the health professionals who care for dialysis patients. For information about the health care professionals who care for transplant recipients, see “Your Transplant Care Team...

What is minimal change disease? Many diseases can affect your kidney function by attacking and damaging the glomeruli, the tiny filtering units inside your kidney where blood is cleaned. The conditions that affect your glomeruli are called glomerular diseases. One of these conditions is minimal...

What is membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis? Many diseases can affect your kidney function by attacking and damaging the glomeruli, the tiny filtering units inside your kidney where blood is cleaned. The conditions that affect your glomeruli are called glomerular diseases. Glomerular diseases...

Myth: The only option for receiving dialysis treatment is to travel to a center at least three times per week for hours at a time. Fact: Dialysis can be done in many ways: You can do dialysis in a hospital or an outpatient dialysis clinic or in your own home. Hemodialysis at a dialysis center is...

What is glomerular disease? Your kidneys may be small, but they perform many vital functions that help maintain your overall health, including filtering waste and excess fluids from your blood. Your kidneys have about one million tiny filter units called nephrons. Each nephron has a glomerulus, so...

Goodpasture's Syndrome is an uncommon autoimmune disease that affects both the kidneys and the lungs. An autoimmune disease means that the immune system, which usually protects the body from infection, attacks healthy parts of the body by mistake. What causes the disease? The body's immune system...

The information on this page has been designed to help patients by raising awareness about the link between high potassium, chronic kidney disease, and congestive heart failure. Understanding the Dangers of High Potassium: An educational Infographic A recent survey of 488 adults...

A urinalysis is a simple test that looks at a small sample of your urine.  It can help find problems that need treatment, including infections or kidney problems.  It can also help find serious diseases in the early stages, like kidney disease, diabetes, or liver disease.  A...

Having too much water in your body is called fluid overload or hypervolemia. One of the main functions of the kidneys is to balance fluid in the body. If too much fluid builds up in your body, it can have harmful effects on your health, such as difficulty breathing and swelling. When you are on...

dRTA (distal Renal Tubular Acidosis) - a resource center for patients and their families. dRTA is a rare type of kidney disease that can have a have major impact on a person’s health throughout their life. National Kidney Foundation has created this website to raise awareness and understanding...

Why are kidneys important for bone health? Healthy kidneys do many important jobs. They remove wastes and extra fluid from your body, help make red blood cells, and help keep bones strong. They also help to keep the right amount of minerals in your blood. Minerals are nutrients that your body needs...

The prostate gland is about the size of a walnut and is located below the bladder, the organ that stores urine. The prostate gland is part of the reproductive system in men. The job of the prostate gland is to make fluid for semen, which is used to carry sperm during ejaculation. Why does the...

In recent years, better ultrasound machines have allowed your doctor to see your baby's kidneys more clearly during pregnancy. Different types of problems can be found including absence of one or both kidneys, abnormal position of a kidney, hydronephrosis (swelling of a kidney), fluid-filled cysts...

What is BK virus? BK virus is a virus that most people get in childhood. Symptoms can feel like a common cold. Once you get a BK virus infection, the virus stays in your system for good. But it does not cause a problem for most people. This is called latent, or like being ‘asleep’ in your body....

What is dry weight? Your normal weight without any extra fluid in your body is called "dry weight." Extra fluid can be dangerous and cause extra strain on your body, including your heart and lungs. When you have kidney failure, your body depends on dialysis to get rid of the extra fluid and wastes...

Anti-Rejection Medications. Medications that are taken every day for the rest of your life after receiving a transplant. When you get a kidney transplant, your body knows that the new kidney is foreign (that is, not originally part of your body). Your body will attack the new kidney and try to...

Thin basement membrane disease (TBMD) is an inherited disorder that mainly affects the glomeruli, which are tiny tufts of capillaries (small blood vessels) in the kidneys that filter wastes from the blood. It is a rare disorder that has been diagnosed in less than 1 percent of the population. The...

Mineral and Bone Disorder: if you have kidney disease or kidney failure This brochure focuses on the impact of early stage CKD on bone health, the disease cascade and consequences of CKD mineral and bone disorder (MBD), the connection between CKD-MBD and heart disease...

What is Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD)? PTLD is group of conditions that may happen after a transplant. It involves the immune system and causes white blood cells called lymphocytes to multiply out of control.  The seriousness varies from an overgrowth of the lymphocytes...

What is Fabry Disease? Fabry disease is a rare disorder that happens when the body lacks an important enzyme called alpha-galactosidase A (alpha GAL). This enzyme breaks down certain fats so they can be removed from cells and passed out of the body or be recycled for other functions. When alpha GAL...