Common Symptoms Of Uremia

Unusual Fatigue

Given what we've already learned, it should come as no surprise that patients with uremia and kidney failure experience unusual fatigue on a daily basis. Toxins build up in the blood when the kidneys don't filter them out, which makes it hard to sleep and thus regain any energy overnight. Given the link between obesity and kidney disease, some of this fatigue can also be attributed to sleep apnea. Likewise, iron-deficiency anemia causes serious fatigue, and it occurs towards the beginning of kidney failure.

When the kidneys begin to fail, the bone marrow stops producing as many red blood cells, causing anemia, resulting in an overall reduction in energy levels and strength. Doctors regularly monitor a patient's anemia when they're on dialysis or waiting for a kidney transplant. Other symptoms suggesting anemia include headaches, dizziness, pale skin, chest pain, cold extremities, brittle nails, dry skin, sore tongue, and strange cravings for dirt or ice.

Abnormal Bleeding

An individual who has uremia may experience abnormal bleeding as a symptom manifestation of their condition. Abnormal bleeding in uremia can present as easy bruising of the skin, oral bleeding, nasal bleeding, blood in the urine, blood in the stool, or blood in coughed-up sputum or mucus. An affected individual may also lose an abnormally large quantity of blood when undergoing invasive procedures or when they have become injured. This type of bleeding occurs when the toxins that build up in the blood of uremic patients render a large number of their platelets non-functional. The exact mechanism of the action is not entirely understood.

However, other factors that can contribute to this symptom are anemia and an abnormal reaction between the platelets and endothelial tissues. Toxins in the blood due to uremia can cause problems with the normal process of platelet adhesion. There is also a defect that can be seen in some patients where the platelets are not secreted properly. It is estimated between twenty-four and fifty-five percent of patients affected by uremia precipitated from their end-stage renal disease are impacted by bleeding complications.