Does kidney failure cause hallucinations, forgetfulness?

by D
(CA)

QUESTION: Hello,

I want to ask if kidney failure can cause hallucinations, forgetfulness?

If so, why?

Thank you.


ANSWER: Hello,

Kidney failure is a severe unreversible damage of the kidney. Yes, it's true that it can cause hallucinations and even forgetfulness.
Before exlaining WHY, I want to say a couple of words about the role of kidneys in our body.

The kidneys play an essential role in cleaning out our body the byproducts of our body. These are considered as toxins, so kidneys should clean them off.

When kidneys are damaged, they cannot remove these toxins from our body. The result is that they will keep staying inside our body, acummulating all the time until the end.

Now, these toxins will affect our entire body including the brain. If the toxins will reach the brain, then, they will alter the normal functioning of the brain. The end-result is that the patient will
- get a decreased body temperature
- will feel more sleepy
- most of the times will get hallucinations,
- will forget things, people,
- seems like living in another world, place
- until the patient will leave this world peacefully.

So, the most important thing is not to let this happen. If onset, there is no step behind.

Hope this answers your query. Let me know if you have any other concern.

Dr.Albana