Kidney & Urinary

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are bacterial infections of the bladder, urethra, or kidneys. They are very common — especially in women — and usually straightforward to treat.

Kidney stones are hard deposits that form in the kidneys from concentrated urine. They are very common in India — particularly in the hot, dry "stone belt" across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, north Karnataka, and parts of north India.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is slow, progressive loss of kidney function. In India, diabetes and high BP cause most of it, and CKD of unknown cause (CKDu) is a serious issue in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and some agricultural regions.

Kidney failure (renal failure) is when the kidneys can no longer clean the blood well enough. It can happen suddenly (acute kidney injury, AKI) or slowly (chronic kidney disease, CKD).

Dialysis is a treatment that does part of what the kidneys normally do — filtering waste and excess fluid from the blood. It is life-sustaining but not a cure; the kidneys themselves don't usually recover unless the injury is acute.

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a cluster of symptoms — sudden urgent need to urinate, frequent urination, and often leakage before reaching the toilet. It is common — especially in older women — and under-reported in India due to embarrassment.

Diabetes is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease in India and worldwide. About 30–40% of people with type 1 and 20–30% with type 2 diabetes eventually develop kidney disease — but good control and the right medicines can dramatically reduce that risk.

Glomerulonephritis (GN) is inflammation of the glomeruli — the tiny filtering units in the kidneys. When glomeruli are inflamed or damaged, the kidneys can't filter blood properly.

Bladder stones are hard lumps of minerals that form in the bladder, usually when urine doesn't empty properly and becomes concentrated. They are less common than kidney stones but can cause significant problems — pain, blood in urine, infection, and blockage.

Hydronephrosis is swelling of one or both kidneys caused by urine that can't drain properly. It's not a disease by itself — it's a sign of another problem, usually a blockage in the urinary tract, but sometimes a problem with urine flowing backwards from the bladder.

Kidney diseases include acute and chronic conditions affecting kidney structure and function. In India, diabetes and high BP cause most chronic disease; infections, stones, obstruction, and drug-induced injury account for much of the acute burden; and CKD of unknown cause (CKDu) is a growing problem in certain regions.

Urinalysis is a simple, cheap, high-value test on a urine sample — and an under-used screening tool in Indian practice. It can pick up urinary infections, kidney disease, diabetes, dehydration, liver problems, and occasionally malignancies before symptoms appear.