ENKIBack to ENKIENKI kidney knowledge
Understand the words shaping your kidney care.
Clear, source-led guides for CKD, IgA nephropathy, test results, daily care, and better clinical conversations.
Published collection
Start with the terms that appear most often in kidney reports and conversations.
Reference resource
Map eGFR and urine ACR together.
An interactive, printable CKD category map with clear thresholds, limitations, and a citation-ready evidence trail.Open risk mapPractical resource
Bring one clear worksheet into the room.
A private, printable nephrology appointment planner for results, medicines, symptoms, priority questions, and the follow-up plan.Open appointment plannerBilingual reference
Two languages. One kidney-care vocabulary.
Thirty-six English-Spanish terms for reports, appointments, treatment conversations, and trustworthy patient education.Explore the glossaryKidney Biopsy: What to Expect, Preparation, Recovery, and Results
A comprehensive patient guide to what happens before, during, and after a kidney biopsy, including medication safety, bed rest recovery, and interpreting your results.
Acute Kidney Injury: Causes, Warning Signs, Recovery, and Long-Term Care
Understand acute kidney injury (AKI): clinical causes, sudden warning symptoms, hospital management, recovery stages, and protecting long-term kidney function.
Bone Health and CKD: What Mineral and Bone Disorder Means, What to Test, and How to Protect Your Skeleton
What CKD mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) is, why kidneys affect calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D, which tests matter, and how to protect bones safely.
Polycystic Kidney Disease: What It Is, What to Watch For, and What to Ask
What PKD is, how the inherited types differ, which symptoms and complications to watch for, how it is diagnosed and treated, and the questions worth asking your care team.
Metabolic Acidosis and CKD: What Low Bicarbonate Means and How to Act
Understand low bicarbonate in CKD, why a result needs clinical interpretation, treatment limits, sodium and potassium monitoring, and urgent symptoms.
Exercise and CKD: Safe Workouts, Daily Movement, and Protecting Your Kidneys
Learn how regular physical activity protects kidney health, safe aerobic and resistance workouts for CKD, hydration rules, dialysis access precautions, and emergency warning signs.
Edema and CKD: Managing Fluid Retention, Swelling, and Daily Comfort
Learn why chronic kidney disease causes swelling in legs, feet, and eyes, how diuretics and sodium restriction work, and when fluid retention requires emergency care.
Fatigue and CKD: Why It Happens, What to Test, and What Helps
Fatigue with CKD can have several causes. Learn what to discuss with your care team, how to pace activity, and which symptoms need urgent care.
Sleep Problems and CKD: Why They Happen and What Helps
Sleep problems are common in CKD. Learn why kidney disease affects sleep, what insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless legs feel like, and safe ways to improve sleep.
Kidney Transplant: What It Means and What to Ask
How kidney transplant evaluation and the waitlist work, what surgery and recovery are like, which medicines you take for life, and which symptoms need urgent care.
Types of Dialysis: Hemodialysis vs Peritoneal Dialysis
Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis both clean your blood when your kidneys cannot. Compare the schedules, home vs in-center options, first-week side effects, and the warning signs that need urgent care.
Itchy Skin and CKD: Why It Happens and How to Find Relief
Itching is common in chronic kidney disease, especially in later stages and on dialysis. Learn why it happens, what helps at home, and which treatments to ask about.
Hydration and CKD: How Much Water Is Right for You
Why fluid needs vary in chronic kidney disease, how to tell if you are drinking the right amount, and when extra water does not help.
Heart Disease and CKD: Shared Risks, Warning Signs, and What Helps
Understand how heart disease and chronic kidney disease feed each other, which symptoms need urgent care, which tests and medicines protect both organs, and the daily habits that lower risk.
Vaccines and CKD: Which Shots Matter and When to Get Them
Vaccination is a routine part of kidney care. Learn which vaccines are usually recommended with CKD, on dialysis, or after a transplant, and how timing changes with your treatment.
Gout and CKD: Flares, Medicines, and What to Ask
How gout and chronic kidney disease affect each other, which gout medicines need adjusting in CKD, and what to ask your care team before and after a flare.
Protein and CKD: How Much You Need and What to Ask
How much protein you need with chronic kidney disease, why it changes as kidney function does, which foods count as protein, and what to ask your care team or renal dietitian.
Medicines and CKD: What to Ask Before Taking Anything
Which medicines and pain relievers need care or dose changes in chronic kidney disease, and how to check every medicine with your care team.
Creatinine and Kidney Health: What Your Level Means and What to Ask
Creatinine is a waste product your kidneys remove. A high creatinine level can signal kidney disease, but many things affect it. Learn how creatinine is tested, what the number means, and what to ask your care team.
Anemia and CKD: What Your Blood Count Means and What to Ask
Anemia is common in chronic kidney disease and can cause fatigue, low energy, and shortness of breath. Learn why CKD causes anemia, how it is diagnosed, and what treatments may help.
Diabetes and Kidney Health: What It Means and What to Ask
Diabetes is a leading cause of kidney failure. In the United States, current CDC estimates suggest that about 4 in 10 adults with diabetes have CKD. Learn how diabetic kidney disease is found, slowed, and what to ask your care team.
Phosphorus and CKD: Levels, Foods, and What to Ask
What a phosphorus result means with kidney disease, which foods contain more or less phosphorus, how food additives change the numbers, and how phosphate binders fit in.
Blood Pressure and Kidney Health: What Your Numbers Mean and How to Act
Why blood pressure and kidney disease are linked, what readings mean, and what you can do — and when to call for help.
What Is uACR? Understanding the Urine Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio
What a uACR result means in mg/g or mg/mmol, when a high value may signal kidney damage, why one result needs confirmation, and what to ask next.
What Does eGFR Mean? Kidney Function, CKD Stages, and Next Steps
What an eGFR result means, why it is not a kidney-function percentage, how G1–G5 and uACR classify CKD, and what a low result means next.
Living with CKD: What It Means and What to Ask
What a chronic kidney disease diagnosis means for work, activity, eating, and emotions — and the questions worth asking your care team.
Traveling with Dialysis: Planning, Treatment, and What to Pack
Learn how to plan travel while on dialysis: arranging treatment or supplies ahead of time, what to pack, insurance questions, and when to get urgent care.
Starting Dialysis: What It Means and What to Ask
What to expect on your first dialysis day, how to prepare, which emergency symptoms need urgent care, and what to do if you miss a session.
Sodium and CKD: Levels, Foods, and Lower-Sodium Swaps
Learn how common CKD sodium guidance applies to food labels, lower-sodium choices, fluid buildup, and potassium-based salt substitutes.
Potassium and CKD: Levels, Foods, and Safe Choices
What a potassium result means with kidney disease, which foods contain more or less potassium, and how to manage potassium without giving up meals you enjoy.
CKD stages explained
Understand CKD G stages, albuminuria A categories, and why eGFR and urine albumin are combined to estimate kidney and cardiovascular risk.
What is CKD?
A clear introduction to chronic kidney disease, including what CKD means, how it is identified, common causes, and what usually happens next.
What is IgA nephropathy?
Understand IgA nephropathy, how IgA deposits affect kidney filters, common signs, diagnosis, monitoring, and why individual risk varies.
Preparing for a nephrology appointment
A practical checklist for organizing kidney results, medicines, symptoms, priorities, and questions before a nephrology appointment.
These guides explain general concepts and help you prepare questions. Personal decisions still belong with a qualified clinician who knows your history.