Kidney Disease And High Uric Acid

Is there any link between kidney disease and high uric acid? Some people may found kidney disease and uric acid always go hand in hand and they wonder if there is any link between them. As for this concern, here we will give an explanation.

Kidney is in charge of discharging uric acid

Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen and created when the body breaks down substances called purines. Normally, the output of uric acid equals its production, so the level of uric acid in the body is always kept in a stable range: 149~416umol/L for male and 89~357umol/L for female. In normal condition, about two-thirds of uric acid are discharged out of our body through kidneys, so impairment of kidney function will cause elevation of uric acid. This is the reason why kidney disease patients always have high uric acid.

What to do with high uric acid caused by kidney disease?

1. Most of the uric acid are expelled through our kidneys, when high uric acid will bring extra burden on kidney. Under such a condition, controlling uric acid level will be helpful. In our body, about one-third of uric acid come from our daily food, so avoiding foods high in purine is necessary and they are beans, Lentinula edodes, nori, sardine, anchovy, shrimp and beer and so on. And in our daily diet, foods low in purine include cabbage, eggplant, cucumber, onion, turnip, cauliflower, potato, peach, apple and pear and so on.

2. Proper fluid intake: drinking more water will help to discharge excess uric acid in the body. However, for some kidney disease patients, they might be asked to limit fluid intake due to swelling and the exact intake of water always depends on their illness condition. In this light, knowing how much water is allowed is very essential.

3. Avoid drastic physical exercises. Long-term high uric acid causes damages on joint easily, so try to avoid drastic physical exercises and this will help to protect joint from being damaged. For kidney disease patients with high uric acid, aerobic exercises like swimming, TaiChi, walking and golf are recommended.

4. Do not take medicines for high uric acid and gout causally. Many drugs used for high uric acid and gout can cause kidney damages and worsen kidney condition. Therefore, please talk with your doctors in advance before you take any medicines.

5. Improve kidney function: In kidney disease, high uric acid occurs as failed kidney can not discharge excess uric acid. Seeing from this angle, improving kidney function is an important measure for lowering high uric acid level. In clinic, many herbs like dandelion, Leing Gong Teng, cranberry and Milk thistle can be used to improve kidney condition. They show different treatment effects in different cases and if used properly, they will cause further health problems. Therefore, talk with doctors about the possible side effects and dose before taking them. (Also, you can consult our consultant online directly or leave your illness condition to kidneycares@hotmail.com and our experts will give suggestions according to your illness within 48 hours)