While kidneys filter blood, they also produce urine to remove waste products. When blood flow through the kidney drops, filtering of the blood drops or may not occur at all. When this occurs, waste products stay in the blood and little or no urine is made, even though the kidney is working.
When nitrogen waste products, the condition is called uremia. These waste products become poisonous as they build up, damaging tissues and reducing the ability of the organs to function.
Uremia is caused by:
- Glomerulonephritis
- Urinary stones
- Polycystic kidney disease
- IgA neuropathy – is a kidney disease that occurs when an antibody called immunoglobulin A (IgA) lodges in your kidneys
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Lupus
- Goodpasture syndrome – a rare autoimmune disease
