The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist. They are located just below the rib cage, one on each side of your spine. Your kidneys help to remove wastes from your blood  and returns the clean blood back into your body. Your kidneys also remove acid that is produced by the cells of your body and maintain a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals—such as sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium—in your blood. Without this balance, nerves, muscles, and other tissues in your body may not work normally.

Your kidneys are essentially chemical factories that help your body by:

• controlling the acid-base balance (pH balance) of your blood.
• removing waste from your body
• control the production of red blood cells
• making sugar (glucose) if your blood doesn’t have enough sugar.
• making a protein called renin that increases blood pressure.

Your kidneys also create hormones known as Calcitriol and
Erythropoietin which helps your body:

• make red blood cells.
• maintain body fluid at the correct levels for the body to function.
• keep your bones strong and healthy.

Your blood circulates through your kidneys many times a day. In a single day, your kidneys filter about 150 quarts of blood. Most of the water and other substances that filter through your glomeruli are returned to your blood by the tubules. Only 1 to 2 quarts become urine.

Well-functioning kidneys are essential to your overall health. Early detection of kidney disease can be life-saving. Medication and changes to lifestyle, along with an early referral to a kidney specialist, can prevent or delay kidney failure.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) means your kidneys are damaged and can’t filter blood the way they should. The disease is called “chronic” because the damage to your kidneys happens slowly over a long period of time. This damage can cause wastes to build up in your body. CKD can also cause other health problems. People with diabetes or high blood pressure have the highest risk of kidney problems. Accidents or trauma can also harm your kidneys, such as car accidents or sports injuries. Other causes of CKD are congenital, meaning that individuals may be born with an abnormality that may cause damage to the kidneys.

Kidney disease also increases your risk of having heart and blood vessel disease. These problems may happen slowly over a long time. Early detection and treatment can often keep chronic kidney disease from getting worse. When kidney disease progresses, it may eventually lead to kidney failure, which requires dialysis or a kidney transplant to maintain life.

Most kidney problems don’t have signs in their early stages. As kidney damage progresses, you may notice things such as cramping muscles, dark urine or urine with blood in it, foamy urine, itchy, dry skin, more frequent urination, puffy eyes or swollen ankles and feet, sleep problems, fatigue and lack of appetite.

Glomerulonephritis is a disease that causes inflammation of the kidney's tiny filtering units called the glomeruli. Glomerulonephritis may happen suddenly, for example, after a strep throat, and the individual may get well again. The condition can progress to the point that dialysis is needed to clean the blood and remove excess fluid and toxins.

Polycystic Kidney Disease is the most common inherited kidney disease. It is characterized by the formation of kidney cysts that enlarge over time and may cause serious kidney damage and even kidney failure. The cysts can vary in size, and they can grow very large. Having many cysts or large cysts can damage your kidneys. It can also cause cysts to develop in your liver and elsewhere in your body and cause serious complications, including high blood pressure and kidney failure.

Kidney Stones are very common, and when they pass, they may cause severe pain in your back and side. There are many possible causes of kidney stones, including an inherited disorder that causes too much calcium to be absorbed from foods and urinary tract infections or obstructions. Sometimes, medications and diet can help to prevent recurrent stone formation. In cases where stones are too large to pass, treatments may be done to remove the stones or break them down into small pieces that can pass out of the body.

Urinary Tract Infections occur when germs enter the urinary tract and cause symptoms such as pain and/or burning during urination and more frequent need to urinate. These infections most often affect the bladder, but they sometimes spread to the kidneys, and they may cause fever and pain in your back. Women are at greater risk of developing a UTI than men are.

What Do Your Kidneys Do?

What is Chronic Kidney Disease?

Other Conditions That Can Cause Kidney Disease