N18.80: Unilateral chronic impairment of renal function

Your kidney is damaged and has stopped working properly.

This is also referred to as renal insufficiency.

There are normally 2 kidneys in the body. They filter blood and create urine. They thus help to detoxify the body. Furthermore, the kidneys regulate the blood pressure and salt content in the blood, among other things.

If a kidney no longer works properly, it stops being able to carry out its functions properly. One result of this may be that your blood pressure is too high. If both kidneys stop being able to produce enough urine between them, you excrete little urine. Too much fluid then remains in the body. This fluid can then collect in the legs, for example.

The kidneys also produce messenger substances. If a kidney no longer works properly, not enough messenger substances may be produced. This can impact on the body in many ways. For example, the bones may become less solid. Not enough of the red blood pigment may be produced. The salt content and acid content in your blood may also change. Deposits may also form more rapidly in the blood vessels.

If both kidneys between them stop working well enough, they may not be able to filter out enough of certain substances from the body. These substances then remain in the body and may damage the body.