Nephrotic syndrome is a disorder of the glomeruli during which excessive amounts of protein are excreted via urine. It is a warning sign that your kidney is not working right. As a result, you will have high amounts of protein in your urine and low amounts of protein & high amounts of fat in your blood.
Is Nephrotic Syndrome A Serious Condition?
Although the Nephrotic syndrome is not a disease or a serious condition to worry about yet it alerts you that there is something wrong with your kidney and it is not performing the normal function what it is supposed to do. When you do not treat this syndrome at the right time, it can cause permanent damage to your kidney. So, it is often important to get treated right away.
Anyone has the risk of getting this syndrome however they are generally more noticed in males than in females. Nevertheless, children can also be affected by this condition. Clinical studies show that children aged between 2 and 6 have the most chances of getting affected with nephrotic syndrome. There is a multitude of factors that often increase your risk of getting this disease.
- You face a greater risk if you are under non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs constantly
- When you have infections like Hepatitis B and C, you are at increased risk of getting nephrotic syndrome
- Improper vaccination and untreated strep infection.
- Individuals who are suffering from malaria often prone to this syndrome
- Regardless of the underlying histology, renal disease in HIV patients is associated with increased risk of this disease. It can be fatal as well.
- Nephrotic syndrome can either develop gradually or suddenly and at any age. In older adults, bother the sexes are equally affected.1
Causes And Typical Symptoms
A wide variety of kidney disorders can be damaging for the tiny blood clusters called the glomeruli and result in nephrotic syndrome. Nephrotic syndrome can either originate primarily in the kidney or on the other parts of the body due to secondary causes like diabetes mellitus, systematic lupus erythemathematous, and other viral infections.
Kidney inflammations also sometimes result in nephrotic syndrome. Inflammation occurs due to certain medical conditions and especially when you are under certain medications such as steroids. Some conditions of the nephrotic syndrome also occur due to hereditary.
Some of the typical symptoms include
- Feeling low or a general feeling of illness
- Swellings in ankle and feet and puffiness and eyelids
- Normal to intense pain in the abdomen
- The frothy appearance of urine
The swelling (edema) is caused due to the accumulation of fluids in the abdominal cavities. Nephrotic symptoms are diagnosed through urine tests, blood tests and imaging (ultrasound and MRI scan). Basically, a biopsy helps to find the cause.2. 3.
Can It Be Reversed?
Nephrotic syndrome can be reversed by treatment. Childhood nephrotic syndrome also referred to as nephrosis is a serious infection of the belly or causing blood clots in the lower part of the body, typically the legs. The cause of this condition is not known, however, it requires immediate medical attention. Parents have a huge role to play to ensure that your kids don’t have this problem because most of the child care is provided by the parents.
When your child is under medication (prednisone), it is important to maintain a low-salt diet which helps in controlling the syndrome and to result in faster recovery. There is no complete cure for this condition however certain treatments accompanied by anti-inflammatory drugs can help manage symptoms and prevent more kidney damage. When the condition worsens, it results in the failure of your organs (kidney). Once it fails, you either need dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.4
Conclusion
Nephrotic syndrome can be treated based on the underlying cause which is usually the kidney disease however when the cause is not known, it cannot be reversed or halted and the kidney loses its ability completely.
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