When the kidneys do not work properly it is called kidney disease. Kidney disease can happen very slowly
without anyone noticing (called ‘chronic kidney disease’ or CKD). Kidney disease usually affects both
kidneys and can also cause damage to other parts of the body, especially your heart.
Kidney disease damages the kidney filters so that they can’t remove wastes and water. When enough of the
filters are damaged, the body will fill up with excess wastes and water that would normally be removed by the
healthy kidneys.
Even though a person with kidney disease might still be passing a lot of urine, there are not enough wastes in
it to keep them healthy and instead the wastes build up in the body.