Kidney Failure Disease Cover In Health Insurance

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs with a fist-sized diameter apiece. You can find them on both sides of the spine. Making urine is how healthy kidneys remove waste from your bloodstream. They also produce the hormones that regulate blood pressure and the production of red blood cells, and they balance the levels of specific components in your body (such as salt, potassium, and calcium). When the kidneys stop functioning properly, it could give rise to several other ailments.

When your kidneys are incapable of removing waste from your bloodstream over time owing to prolonged kidney disease, you experience chronic renal failure. Hazardous amounts of waste may build up when the kidneys fail their filtration capacity, and your blood's molecular composition may go out of balance.

Acute kidney failure, often referred to as acute renal failure or acute kidney damage, occurs suddenly, typically within a few days. The majority of cases of acute renal failure occur in patients who have previously been hospitalised for an injury in the area around the kidneys, particularly in severely ill patients who require intensive care.

Acute kidney failure is serious and needs aggressive care. The disease itself, however, might be curable. You may regain normal or almost normal renal function if your general health and immunity are strong.

Now that we have a clearer understanding of what kidney failure is let us look into the types and causes of kidney failure and the signs of kidney failure, which we should detect in time.

• Knowing the different types of kidney failure is very important because when you are going to get treatment for the disease and also when you are looking out for renal kidney failure symptoms, the type of kidney failure you are facing will make a difference. The five different types of kidney failure you need to look out for include:

• Acute prerenal kidney failure - Kidney failure that is acute and prerenal can result from inadequate blood supply to the kidneys. Because of a lack of sufficient blood flow, the kidneys cannot remove impurities from the body. If diminished blood flow is identified, this kind of kidney failure can be successfully treated and managed.

• Intrinsic renal failure - An accident or event that causes severe trauma to the kidney might cause acute intrinsic renal failure. Overloading the body with toxins and ischemia, which deprives the kidneys of oxygen, are other causes of this type of kidney failure. Ischemia may result from extreme bleeding, distress, blockage of the kidney bloodstream, or glomerulonephritis, an inflammatory disorder that causes the microscopic capillaries in your kidneys to swell.

• Chronic renal prerenal failure - The kidneys start to fail and lose their potential to operate when there is an insufficient blood supply to them for a lengthy period.

• Chronic renal intrinsic failure - This occurs when the kidneys sustain long-term harm as a result of intrinsic renal disease. Intrinsic renal disease ensues when the kidneys are directly harmed, leading to excessive bleeding or a shortage of oxygen.

• Chronic post-renal kidney failure - A persistent urinary tract impediment prevents urination. This builds up pressure on the kidneys, eventually leading to organ damage.

Diabetes and hypertension are the two most typical causes of renal failure. However, kidney failure can also occur quickly due to unanticipated reasons and be brought on without warning.

Acute renal failure is the abrupt (within hours or days) loss of kidney function (or chronic kidney trauma). This kind of renal failure is frequently transient and can be reversed if caught in time. Acute renal failure is frequently caused by:

• Kidney autoimmune disorders
• Certain medicines
• Being extremely dehydrated
• Blockage of the urinary tract
• Diseases of the heart or liver that are not under control in the body.

Typically, kidney failure does not occur without an underlying cause. A collection of illnesses known as chronic kidney disease have an ongoing negative impact on kidney function. Persistent kidney dysfunction can result in renal failure if it is not addressed.

However, if the symptoms of the disease are caught in time, and your physician manages to treat the cause of your kidney failure, you can fully recover and live a normal and healthy life. The key is understanding the cause of the disease and nipping the issue in the bud.
Now that we have spoken about some of the general contributors to kidney failure, we also need to address some of the risk factors that can lead to the development of the disease. Now, it is important to keep in mind that these factors can develop into kidney failure. However, having these risk factors does not always mean that you will have kidney failure.

With this in mind, let us look into some risk factors that could develop into kidney failure.

• Having cysts in your kidney
• An auto-immune disease called Lupus could lead to the development of kidney problems that could turn into kidney failure.
• Glomerular diseases could affect the working of your kidneys.
• Infection of the kidneys
• Consumptions of drugs and alcohol
• Repeated urinary tract infections
• Chemotherapy and radiation can sometimes cause kidney failure
• Formation of blood clots in the region around your kidneys
• Severe burns

Severe allergies

• Uncontrolled cholesterol
• Certain blood disorders
• Colon cancer
• Cervical cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Consumption of tobacco products

To reiterate, these rare risk factors that could lead to kidney failure but may not always do so. After looking at some of the causes of kidney failure, let us now look at some symptoms.

Understanding the signs of kidney failure is the first step in diagnosing the disease. Until a patient understands that something is wrong with them and that the situation may be potentially serious, they may not want to get help for the same. And when it comes to chronic kidney failure, getting help in time can be the difference between life and death.

The different types of kidney failure may have different symptoms, however, if you know the basic signs of kidney failure to look out for, you can get yourself or a loved one help in time.

A few renal kidney failure symptoms to be aware of and seek help for in case of acute renal failure and chronic kidney failure include;

For Acute Kidney Failure-

• Visible swelling of the hands, feet and face
• Confusion
• Coma
• Seizures
• Internalised bleeding
• Inability to pass urine even though there is an urgent need for the same

For Chronic Kidney Failure-

• Sudden loss of weight
• Pain in the lower stomach
• Chest pain
• Tiredness
• Extreme weakness
• Bruising easily
• Vomiting
• Numbness in the body
• A tingling sensation that passes through the body
• Weakness and cramps in the muscles
• Jaundiced skin
• Nausea
• Irritability
• Hypertension
• Anaemia
• Metallic taste
• Sleep apnea
• Seizures
• Coma

Understanding and addressing your symptoms in time is the best first aid you can provide yourself. When you notice that you are increasingly experiencing such symptoms, you must catalogue them and reach out to your doctor as soon as possible. You also need to be very specific about the symptoms you are experiencing so that your doctor can make a correct diagnosis.

No one knows your body better than you do. So if you experience anything out of the ordinary, it is always better to seek help instead of waiting. When it comes to getting treatment, being extra cautious is never a bad thing.

The amount of filtration that takes place is used to assess renal function in general. The kidney's "glomeruli," or microscopic blood arteries, perform the filtering process. The amount of blood filtered every minute (milliters/minute) is known as the "glomerular filtration rate," representing overall kidney function. Although it fluctuates with age and gender, normal levels are around 100 ml/min. GFR can be calculated using calculations considering your age, gender, and the results of a blood test known as creatinine.

A high creatinine reading, which denotes diminished kidney function, is when renal failure is most frequently discovered. Your muscles produce a chemical called creatinine. A healthy kidney will eliminate creatinine in the urine after being removed from the bloodstream. A higher level of creatinine in the bloodstream indicates that the kidneys are not properly purifying the blood, indicating kidney failure.

There are other ways in which kidney failure can also be diagnosed. These are:

• Urinalysis - In order to check for anything unforeseen, such as aberrant proteins or sugar that has leaked into the urine, a specialist may request a sample of your urine. You may also be asked for a urine sediment test to check for red and white blood cells, excess tube-like particles known as cellular casts and high concentrations of bacteria in your urine.

• Kidney Tissue Specimen - The presence of odd plaques, scarring, or pathogenic agents is checked in tissue specimens. Your doctor will obtain the tissue specimen during a kidney biopsy.

• Measuring Urine Output - One of the easiest tests to help identify renal failure is evaluating urine output. For instance, decreased urine production may indicate kidney disease is brought on by a urinary obstruction, which several diseases or traumas can bring on.

• Imaging - Images of the kidneys and urinary system are provided through exams, including CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds, allowing doctors to look for blockages or other issues.

• Blood Specimens - Blood tests to monitor kidney-filtering chemicals such as creatinine and urea nitrogen may be prescribed by your doctor. These values may suggest acute renal failure if they rise quickly.

The cause and severity of the disease affect the kidney failure treatment in the case of each patient. The advancement of kidney failure can be delayed by treating your underlying chronic health condition. Your physician may employ one or more techniques to monitor your condition if the efficiency of your kidneys gradually begins to decline.

Your physician can aid your kidney function as far as possible by keeping a watchful eye on you. They will closely monitor your pressure, perform regular blood tests and give you medicines per your needs.

People with renal failure need careful treatment to stay healthy since the kidneys have a crucial role in the body. The principal kidney failure treatments include

Dialysis: This procedure aids in the body's blood filtration. The machine will be doing the work of the kidneys, which they can no longer do on their own.

• Hemodialysis involves having your blood routinely cleaned by a machine. This renal failure treatment is frequently provided to patients three or four days a week at a hospital or a dialysis facility.

• A catheter and a dialysis fluid are used in peritoneal dialysis to cleanse the blood in a somewhat different manner than Hemodialysis. People can occasionally receive this treatment at home.

Kidney transplant: During a kidney transplant procedure, doctors insert a functioning kidney into your body to replace one that has been destroyed. This healthy kidney, referred to as a donor organ, can originate from either a deceased or an alive donor, who could be a friend or relative. Remember that a person can live a normal life with one functioning kidney.

Some complications that can occur when the right treatment for kidney failure is not administered in time include:

• Irreversible Kidney Damage - Kidney failure can occasionally result in end-stage kidney impairment or a total loss of renal function. To survive end-stage kidney failure, patients need a kidney transplant or lifelong dialysis, a mechanised filtration procedure that removes wastes and contaminants from the system.
• Severe Chest Discomfort - You might suffer chest discomfort if your pericardium, the membrane that protects your heart, becomes infected due to kidney failure.
• Fluid Accumulation - Shortness of breath may result from an accumulation of fluid within your lungs brought on by acute renal failure.
• Muscle Soreness - Muscle soreness can happen when the fluids and electrolytes in your body—your blood chemistry—are out of equilibrium.
• Death - Acute renal failure can cause kidney function to decline and result in fatality.

Although chronic kidney disease cannot be reversed, there are numerous things you can do to assist in maintaining the kidney function you now have. Healthy routines and habits may delay the rate at which renal function declines. If you take care of how you live and modify your lifestyle, you can prevent the onset of many diseases, including kidney failure.

One of the first things you should do is cut alcohol from life. Alcohol has the ability to make your kidney work harder, speeding up the process of renal failure. You will not understand just how much harm alcohol is doing you until you have to get dialysis to remove it from your blood since it doesn't metabolise out of your system. Your doctor might advise you to reduce alcohol use if you suffer from kidney failure or advanced kidney disease. It can be advisable for some individuals to cut out alcohol from their diet fully.

Some preventive actions you can take to protect your kidneys include:

• Take proper medications if you are diagnosed with kidney disease
• Moderate the medications you consume and be careful not to overdose on any medication
• Be extra-cautious when it comes to taking over-the-counter medications for any disease
• Limit your consumption of salt
• Monitor your sodium and potassium levels
• Get regular screenings done
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Do not consume drugs of any kind
• Be careful with your phosphorus consumption
• Do not consume too much of protein
• Do not smoke if you are not in the habit of doing so, and cut down on your smoking if you are a regular smoker
• Quit smoking if possible
• Monitor and control your blood sugar levels if you have diabetes
• Keep a close eye on your blood pressure if you have hypertension
• Go for regular check-ups if you have any kidney problems
• Ask your doctor for risk factors when consuming any medication
• Exercising regularly
• Building your immunity
• Be mindful of the choices you are making regularly

As stated at the very start of the page, having health insurance can be very helpful for a variety of reasons. We must remember that health can take a turn for the worse at any given time. A person whom we perceive to be healthy can turn out to be severely ill.
We also need to acknowledge that we do not give ourselves the care we should, especially where our health is concerned. We often pass off various discomforts as momentary feelings of no consequence. As a result, our ailments have often progressed greatly when we seek treatment. In such instances, having mediclaim insurance can relieve a person greatly.

Some reasons why having health insurance is a must today include;

• Lifestyle - The way of life has changed a lot compared to what it was before. People are often overburdened, pressured, and working on close to no energy. This results in people being unable to look after themselves, leaving them open to various illnesses.
  Even if you cannot devote the time and energy necessary to maintaining your health, at least having mediclaim insurance allows you to relax, knowing that should things ever go wrong, you have the necessary arrangements in place.

• Emergencies - Life is unpredictable, and your health can also be unpredictable, as we've already stated. Even someone who believes they are in excellent health occasionally needs emergency medical attention.
  Having health insurance in these situations enables you to be ready for anything. Knowing that you can pay for the care you require will allow you to stay calm amid adversities.

• Expenses - Healthcare costs are high. It can be expensive to receive treatment, particularly if you need to be hospitalised or receive long-term assistance. Nevertheless, if you're covered by health insurance, you won't have to stress about paying for medical bills.

• Tax Incentives - When you purchase health insurance, you protect your health and reduce your tax liability. As per Section 80D of the Income Tax Act of 1961, you may be qualified for a tax deduction of up to ₹25,000 or ₹50,000 when it pertains to senior citizens if you have bought a mediclaim insurance plan.

When it comes to buying health insurance, there are two ways in which you can go about it. You can either buy your policy online or offline. Both methods are easy to follow and will not take too long to see. We will discuss both methods to help you decide how you wish to buy your policy.

Online - To buy a policy online, you must,

Offline- If you wish to buy your policy offline, you must;

• Find a Tata AIG office close to you.
• Go to the office and approach the counter stating you wish to buy a health insurance policy.
• An official will approach you to explain the different plans you can choose from.
• When you have decided on a plan, you will be given an application form.
• Fill out the application form and attach the necessary documents.
• Submit the application and your documents at the counter.
• You will then need to pay the application fee.

This concludes the application process. You will now have to wait for the verification of your application to be completed, post which you will receive your policy statement.

Documents Required to Buy Tata AIG’s Mediclaim Insurance

To buy health insurance from Tata AIG, you need to submit;

• Age proof
• ID proof
• Income proof
• Residence proof
• Coloured photographs
• Any documents to do with your medical history