In the early stage, this damage is reversible and can be reversed by controlling blood sugar, blood pressure and blood lipids; in the late stage, this damage is irreversible and develops continuously and progressively to uremia. Therefore, early detection and treatment are especially important.

Be alert to suspicious symptoms

Diabetic nephropathy is a chronic kidney disease caused by diabetes, which is easy to be ignored by patients because there are no special symptoms at the beginning or the symptoms are not typical. Be highly alert to the occurrence of diabetic nephropathy when the following symptoms appear

1. A large amount of foam in urine when urinating: this is what people call proteinuria. Diabetic patients with this condition must go to the district hospital as soon as possible for urine examination.

2. Elevated blood pressure: Once diabetic patients have kidney problems, elevated blood pressure is often one of the very obvious symptoms.

3. Nausea, vomiting and edema: Metabolic waste and water in the body cannot be excreted from the kidneys when the kidneys are damaged, which will lead to edema of the gastrointestinal mucosa, thus showing nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. A large amount of protein leaks out from the kidneys, resulting in low plasma protein levels, which in turn leads to generalized edema.

4. Blurred vision can occur in diabetic nephropathy: mainly because the vascular damage in the fundus is synchronized with the vascular damage in the kidney. Therefore, if a diabetic patient has blurred vision, in addition to checking the eyes, it is also important to check whether there is a problem with the kidneys.

Regular screening helps early detection

In order to prevent and treat diabetic nephropathy earlier, diabetic patients should have regular screening tests. In general, urine microalbumin testing is the most important, in which type 1 diabetes should be checked regularly for urine microalbumin excretion if the history of the disease is more than 5 years; type 2 diabetes should be checked regularly for urine microalbumin excretion from the date of detection. If urine microalbumin is positive in 2 out of 3 tests within 6 months, you should be highly alert to the presence of diabetic nephropathy. As diabetic nephropathy progresses, in addition to urine microalbumin testing, 24-hour urine protein quantification, liver and kidney function, blood lipids, blood routine, and fundus examination are all indicators that need to be tested frequently.