Nephrology

Nephrology is the medical specialty that deals with the diagnosis and clinical treatment of diseases of the urinary system, especially the kidney.

Sometimes these diseases only affect the kidneys, but it is necessary to stress that in most cases the diseases that affect the kidneys are general diseases such as diabetes Mellitus, hypertension and some immunological diseases, which cause lesions in various organs and also in the kidneys. The inappropriate use of some commonly used medicines, such as painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, for example, can also cause kidney damage. If not diagnosed early and if not treated properly, kidney diseases can lead to progressive loss of kidney function and develop into chronic kidney failure.

In most of these situations, loss of renal function can be avoided if patients are observed early and followed by a nephrology appointment. The reality is that many patients are only sent to a nephrologist late, usually when they already have moderate or severe renal insufficiency and, in such conditions, the renal insufficiency is already irreversible. Often the best thing the nephrologist can do is to prevent or slow down the worsening of the disease, which has already had several years of evolution.