What is Nephrology

Nephros, in Greek refers to “Kidney” and logy refers to “Study”- hence Nephrology essentially means study of Kidney. It is a speciality of Internal Medicine that is concerned with the study of healthy kidney, kidney disease- prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

A Nephrologist specializes in managing

• Acute Kidney Failure i.e. AKI
• Chronic Kidney Failure i.e. CKD
• Kidney Stones i.e. NEPHRO/ UROLITHIASIS
• Infection in Urine/Kidney i.e. UTI / Pylonephritis
• Cyst in Kidneys i.e. Cystic Kidney Disease
• Urine Abnormalities
  • Protein in Urine (Protenuria)
  • Blood in Urine (Hematuria)
• Disease of vessels affecting kidneys (Vascolitis)
• Autoimmune Diseases affecting the kidney SLE, Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Tumors / Renal Mass

He also specializes in various  forms of Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT) including  Renal Transplantation.

 Facts about kidney-

• Every human being is born with 2 kidneys. The size of an adult kidney matches the size of a fist.
• Kidneys are placed on either side of the spine, below the rib cage.
• Kidneys remove metabolic wastes and drug from the body
• They regulate the electrolyte (Sodium/ Potassium) balance in body and acid/ base balance.
• Kidneys control the production of red-blood cells from bone marrow by secreting a hormone – Erythropoetin
• They are also responsible for bone metabolism and bone health.

Having your kidneys malfunction due to important pre-existing conditions like Diabetes, Hypertension and due to various acute causes like drugs, infection, inflammation of the kidneys can lead to health complications like swelling of lips/ face, urine output, weakness, lethargy, breathing difficulty, electrolyte acid/base imbalance leading to heart complications.

This cause-and-effect relationship shows how important it is to have healthy kidneys and to be proactive in consulting a nephrologist who can treat/manage any kidney issues you might have.

A Nephrologist can provide you with the most accurate and comprehensive treatment plan for your kidney disease ; thereby helping to reverse some forms of kidney problems if detected and treated early.