Itching: Is It Your Kidneys?

Giraffe

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Peat said that too little calcium and vitamin D and too much phosphate lead to kidney degeneration, and supplementing those "in many cases will correct the whatever the liver and kidney problem is." [source]

I found a couple of studies that link itching (and a couple of other skin and nail abnormalities) to either kidney disease or low vitamin D levels. Sure there are other possible causes, but since it is so easy to correct low vitamin D levels and to increase calcium intake/decrease phosphorus intake, it's worth a try.

Idiopathic itch, rash, and urticaria/angioedema merit serum vitamin D evaluation: a descriptive case series.

Low vitamin D levels were defined as <32 ng/mL. People were treated with oral supplementation of vitamin D.
With vitamin D treatment 70% (40/57) had complete resolution of symptoms. Mean 25[OH]D for vitamin D responsive patients (16.8 ng/mL) was significantly lower than for vitamin D non-responsive treated patients (20.9 ng/mL, P = 0.02 by unpaired t-Test). Resolution of cutaneous symptoms with vitamin D supplementation occurred in a mean of 4.2 weeks. Symptom recurrence was seen in subsequent months only if vitamin D insufficiency recurred.


Skin and serum levels of calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D3 in uremic pruritus patients before and after broad band ultraviolet B (UVB) phototherapy

Here UVB phototherapy was used.
The study was carried out on 18 uremic patients having uremic pruritus and 9 healthy volunteers who served as controls. [...] Disappearance of itching occurred in all patients following UVB phototherapy.


Skin and nail abnormalities are found in most patients with chronic kidney disease.

Cutaneous abnormalities in patients with end stage renal failure on chronic hemodialysis. A study of 458 patients.
A total of 394/458 (86%) patients had cutaneous abnormalities. These included pruritus (56.6% of patients), paleness (60.7%), xerosis (52.8%), hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation (38.4%), venous dilation near the fistula (22.2%), eczema in the fistula area (14.8%), half-and-half nails (13.5%), onychodystrophy (6.1%), subungual hemorrhage (4.5%), leukonychia (4.5%), stomatitis (5.6%), xerostomia (3.2%), gingivitis (2.4%), uremic breath (2.1%), and skin calcificatins (0.4%). Nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy was not detected in any of our patients.
 

Daft

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I believe subclinical cholestasis, blocking of the bile duct, was a suspected cause in a study I read about "Pruritus with unknown origin". They found elevated TBSA levels. Sorry I can't find the study
 

michael94

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I believe subclinical cholestasis, blocking of the bile duct, was a suspected cause in a study I read about "Pruritus with unknown origin". They found elevated TBSA levels. Sorry I can't find the study
Yes. Kidneys suffer tremendously when bile is fully or partially blocked from leaving the liver. Cholestasis is not some unique case... it is a ubiquitous artifact of all health problems.

I wrote a bit about this a long time ago when I knew much less, but there is still some useful information in this post.
https://raypeatforum.com/community/...onstipation-antifungals-and-probiotics.12707/
 

EIRE24

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Apr 9, 2015
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Peat said that too little calcium and vitamin D and too much phosphate lead to kidney degeneration, and supplementing those "in many cases will correct the whatever the liver and kidney problem is." [source]

I found a couple of studies that link itching (and a couple of other skin and nail abnormalities) to either kidney disease or low vitamin D levels. Sure there are other possible causes, but since it is so easy to correct low vitamin D levels and to increase calcium intake/decrease phosphorus intake, it's worth a try.

Idiopathic itch, rash, and urticaria/angioedema merit serum vitamin D evaluation: a descriptive case series.

Low vitamin D levels were defined as <32 ng/mL. People were treated with oral supplementation of vitamin D.



Skin and serum levels of calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D3 in uremic pruritus patients before and after broad band ultraviolet B (UVB) phototherapy

Here UVB phototherapy was used.



Skin and nail abnormalities are found in most patients with chronic kidney disease.

Cutaneous abnormalities in patients with end stage renal failure on chronic hemodialysis. A study of 458 patients.
That's strange. I suffer from bad kidney function and also acne. I wonder if these two things are linked?
 

EIRE24

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Giraffe

Giraffe

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I believe subclinical cholestasis, blocking of the bile duct, was a suspected cause in a study I read about "Pruritus with unknown origin". They found elevated TBSA levels. Sorry I can't find the study
Yes. Kidneys suffer tremendously when bile is fully or partially blocked from leaving the liver.


Low Serum Vitamin D Level Is Associated With Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy
Conclusion: Our study suggests that low levels of 25(OH) Vit D3 were associated with ICP disease and its severity. However, further larger studies are needed to evaluate the effect of Vit D in the pathogenesis and outcome of the disease.
So vitamin D is low in people with cholestatis. It seems that there is no study that asked if vitamin D supplementation helps with cholestatis, but there are studies that found that vitamin D helps with pruritus (a symptom of cholestatis).
 

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