A healthy kidney filters half a bottle of blood every minute. It removes all the extra water to make and produce urine. In some cases, kidney cysts are painful, especially when cysts are complex. The size of a kidney cyst is dangerous, and many factors, including genetics, alcohol consumption, and smoking, can cause it. In this post, we elaborate on all the factors that can be causes of kidney cysts.
It is important to know its early signs and take preventive measures for it. It is a sac filled with fluid that develops with the growing age in your kidney, which generally does not disturb the function of your kidney. The symptoms of complex cysts include fever, frequent urination, and blood in the urine.
What is a Kidney Cyst?
A kidney cyst looks like a pouch-shaped structure with fluid inside it. Generally, kidney cysts become harmless until they develop to a large size. From the result, these complex cysts and the symptoms in an individual’s body become noticeable.
Kidney cysts range in size and have different types. Cyst is dangerous or not usually depending on how big it is or how complicated it is.
How did Kidney Cysts Form?
Kidney cysts form when the surface layer of the kidney is weakened due to various factors, and it starts forming a pouch structure filled with fluid. Kidney cysts do not cause any damage to the body until their size grows and the cysts develop into complex ones. In some cases, when the cysts tend to be suspicious, the doctors advise removing them. It is to be noted that our kidney works well despite having a cyst for many years until it develops into larger ones.
Types of Kidney Cysts
- Simple Cysts: Simple cysts in the kidney are harmless, it does not enlarge it’s size or cause any harm to the function of the kidney. Simple cysts are more common in men than women & are not preventable.
- Polycystic Kidney Disease: Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) causes many cysts formation. It is a dangerous disease. It may also cause kidney enlargement. Its symptoms:
- Pain in the back and side
- Frequent kidney infections
- Blood in the urine
- High blood pressure
- In medical research, there is no proper cure for polycystic kidney disease. But the treatment and lifestyle changes can ease the complications. Polycystic kidney disease can also lead to kidney failure. Professionals deal with it through kidney dialysis or a kidney transplant treatment.
- Acquired Cystic Kidney Disease (ACKD): Acquired cystic kidney disease often has no symptoms. It is developed in people with chronic kidney disease. If there are any noticeable complications, they can be treated with medications. It does not cause kidney enlargement or the formation of more kidney cysts.
- Medullary Sponge Kidney (MSK): Medullary sponge kidney is a rare congenital disorder at birth, causing urinary tract infection (UTI) or kidney stones.
- Multilocular Cystic Nephroma: Multilocular cystic nephroma is a rare, not-so-dangerous, slowly growing tumor in the kidney, which occurs mostly in females.
What are the Main Causes of Cysts in the Kidneys?
Kidney cysts are mostly shown in males in comparison to females because of smoking, drinking, and alcohol. It also occurs when the nephron tubes are filled with fluid, or we can say that due to a weak kidney surface.
Physicians are not able to detect the exact cause of simple kidney cysts. There are no such complications in simple kidney cysts, but if your doctor diagnoses a complex kidney cyst, then he will suggest that you get it removed, as it can cause more cysts to form. Kidney cysts create some symptoms, such as infection in the kidney & fever.
Infection can include or create several problems, like urine blockage, and cysts can burst, and sometimes it causes blood in the urine or over the kidney.
- The weak kidney surface layer develops cysts when the nephron tubes are filled with fluid.
- Smoking and drinking affect the kidney condition critically by reducing the blood flow in the kidney and deteriorating kidney cysts, or may develop more kidney cysts.
What Causes Kidney Cysts to Grow?
The question is arrive what causes a kidney cyst to grow in a male or a female? Here are some causes:
Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)
- The mutations generally occur in PKD1 and PKD2, which disrupt proteins. These are the main causes for growing kidney cysts.
- Abnormal cells are also a reason for growing renal cyst, that produced by faulty proteins.
- Inflammation and Fibrosis can also damage kidney functionality.
Simple Kidney Cysts
- If a weak area of the kidney produces the poches and if that area is filled with fluid, it can also cause a cyst.
- Growing old may be the cause of renal cysts.
- High blood pressure can increase these types of problems.
What Causes Kidney Cysts in a Fetus?
The presence of kidney cysts in a fetus is usually due to developmental or genetic causes. Genetic causes may include ARPKD and ADPKD, but cysts may appear due to obstructive uropathy and increased pressure in the kidneys. These conditions are often diagnosed on prenatal ultrasound, and further testing may be done after birth.
What Problems can Kidney Cysts Cause?
Here are signs & symptoms of a kidney cyst that can create a big problem in future:
- Blood while urinating happens because the cysts inside you burst, which spreads blood around the kidney or during urination.
- Trouble while urinating
- Mild headache
- Kidney cysts generally lead to a high fever. These are common symptoms of a kidney cyst.
- Sometimes you are suffering from or experiencing back pain, abdominal pain.
- Other signs of infection.
Early Signs of Kidney Cyst
Generally, kidney cysts don’t show any early signs, but the larger cysts may show symptoms like:
- Fever
- Mild Headache
- High Blood Pressure
- Frequent Urination.
What Foods Affect Kidney Cysts?
Avoid these foods that may affect kidney cysts:
- High-Sodium Foods:
- Canned Soups
- Processed Meats
- Fast-Foods
- Foods that contain high salt.
- High-Protein Diets:
- Red Meat
- Chicken
- Eggs
- Nuts
- Phosphorus-Rich Foods:
- Cold Drinks
- Dairy Products
- Organ Meats
- Potassium-Rich Foods:
- Bananas
- Oranges
- Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Caffeine & Alcohol
Prevention Tips for Kidney Cyst Problems
There is nothing particular to prevent Kidney cysts. A Balanced diet and overall healthy lifestyle can help prevent from causes of Kidney cysts.
- Balanced Diet: It is important to have a balanced diet and avoid contaminated food as much as possible.
- Weight Management: It is important to manage weight because the more weight puts extra pressure on the kidneys.
- Hydrating: It is always important to keep yourself hydrated to cleanse out all the toxins from your kidneys.
- Blood Pressure Maintenance: We should track on sodium intake to keep our blood pressure managed.
- Staying Fit: Staying active and fit is the key to maintaining a balanced diet, and exercising daily leads to good health.
Treatment & Diagnosis of Kidney Cysts
1. Simple Kidney Cyst Diagnosis: If a doctor diagnoses a simple kidney cyst, they may recommend an ultrasound, otherwise, the cyst goes away by itself.
- Ultrasound: It produces higher-frequency sound waves and echoes that show the image of your kidney.
- CT Scan: Computed tomography shows a 3D image of your kidney.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which releases radio waves, has a high-powered magnet that helps in differentiating between kidney stones and cysts.
2. Surgery: It is done when cysts create a higher risk, which means they show any symptoms, the doctor recommends the surgical process.
- The surgeon who operates inserts some dedicated tools inside the abdomen with an attached small video camera for monitoring while operating. The surgeon clears out the fluid-filled pouch and might cut or burn the wall. Simple cysts do not require surgery, there might be rare cases where it’s required to treat a simple cyst.
- Blood and urine tests for Kidneys: Blood and urine tests also show how well your kidneys are performing.
Cost of Kidney Cyst Removal In India
The cost of Kidney cyst removal varies differently and depending upon many factors. The average cost in India ranges ₹30,000 to ₹2,00,000, depending on the treatment and cyst factors such as its size, procedure, hospital, or its kind, such as simple, complex.
Risks Involved in Kidney Cyst Removal Treatment
The common treatment risks include:
- Bleeding: Bleeding during the operation is a risk in polycystic kidney disease.
- Urination: There is a chance of urination when the operation is going on.
- Injury to surrounding organs: There is a chance of injury to surrounding organs during the operation.
- Infection: Infection can spread to the organs while operating
Precautions & Recovery after Treatment
It is important to monitor yourself after surgery and take good care. Pain can sometimes be unbearable, so you can go to a doctor for screening. Hydrating yourself is very important for recovery and avoiding junk food and contaminated food items. Staying active and doing a light stretch every morning will be really helpful for recovery.
Conclusion
Simple kidney cysts do not need any treatment and can go away on their own. Polycystic kidney disease is generally inherited through family genetics and is dangerous, which can often cause kidney failure if not taken care of properly. Hereby, we can conclude that we should always take care of our health and adopt a healthy lifestyle, and take preventive measures, as said, prevention is better than cure.