Nick Cannon Hospitalized with “Mild Kidney Failure,” Cause Not Disclosed

Mariah Carey took to Twitter today to report that her husband, America’s Got Talent host Nick Cannon has been hospitalized in Aspen, Colorado with “mild kidney failure.” Cannon had been taken to the hospital for abdominal pain.

Mariah later blogged on her website:

This is us in the hospital - role reversal; Last year it was me attached to the machines (after having dembabies) and Nick was there with me through it, and now here we are.

We’re trying to be as festive as possible under the circumstances but please keep Nick in your thoughts because this is very painful. They tried to kick me out of the hospital but here I am pon de bed with Mr. C.

We’re doing OK but we’re “straaaaaanded in Aspen”. #DramaticDivaPlace (I know, we could be in a lot worse places) but the truth is as long as we’re together, we’re OK. I’m not trying to make light out of the situation because it’s a serious moment that’s very tough on all of us so please keep us and our family in your prayers

What do the Kidneys do?

The kidneys are a pair of vital organs that perform many functions to keep the blood clean and chemically balanced. They also help control blood pressure and make hormones that your body needs to stay healthy. They are bean-shaped, fist-sized organs located near the middle of the back, on either side of the spine just below the rib cage.

The kidneys are sophisticated reprocessing machines. Every day, a person’s kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to filter out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra water. The wastes and extra water become urine, which flows to the bladder through tubes called ureters. The bladder stores urine until releasing it through urination.

The actual removal of wastes occurs in tiny units inside the kidneys called nephrons. Each kidney has about a million nephrons.

In the nephron, a glomerulus—which is a tiny blood vessel, or capillary—intertwines with a tiny urine-collecting tube called a tubule.

The glomerulus acts as a filtering unit- it keeps normal proteins and cells in the bloodstream, but allows extra fluid and wastes to pass through.

A complicated chemical exchange takes place, as waste materials and water leave the blood and enter the urinary system. At first, the tubules receive a combination of waste materials and chemicals the body can still use. The kidneys measure out chemicals like sodium, phosphorus, and potassium and release them back to the blood to return to the body. In this way, the kidneys regulate the body’s level of these substances. The right balance is necessary for life.

What is Kidney Failure?

If the kidneys are damaged, they don’t work properly. Harmful wastes can build up in your body. Your blood pressure may rise. Your body may retain excess fluid and not make enough red blood cells. This is called kidney failure.

Kidney disease is most often caused by diabetes or high blood pressure. These diseases damage the blood vessels in the kidneys, so the kidneys are not able to filter the blood as well as they used to. Usually this damage happens slowly, over many years. As more and more blood vessels are damaged, the kidneys eventually stop working.

Other risk factors for kidney disease are cardiovascular (heart) disease and a family history of kidney failure.

What are the Symptoms of Kidney Failure?

People in the early stages of CKD usually do not feel sick at all.
People whose kidney disease has gotten worse may:

• need to urinate more often or less often
• feel tired
• lose their appetite or experience nausea and vomiting
• have swelling in their hands or feet
• feel itchy or numb
• get drowsy or have trouble concentrating
• have darkened skin
• have muscle cramps

If your kidneys fail completely, a kidney transplant or dialysis can replace the work your kidneys normally do.

Check out the Celebrity Diagnosis Casebook on Kidney Failure at Resounding Health.com.