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Acute glomerulonephritis
Can acute nephritis patients eat red dates?
In cases of acute nephritis, it is recommended that patients avoid eating red dates. During the acute phase of acute nephritis, there is severe inflammatory reaction in the glomeruli of the patient, and the extensive cellular proliferation may affect the filtration barrier of the glomeruli. If the glomeruli cannot filter blood, it leads to the accumulation of metabolic waste in the body, reduced urine output, and also affects the regulation of electrolytes and acid-base balance. Therefore, patients with acute nephritis may experience kidney failure and hyperkalemia, among other issues. Red dates contain a high amount of potassium ions, making them a high-potassium food, especially dried dates, which are even richer in potassium ions. Therefore, in cases of acute nephritis, especially if the patient has renal failure, it is advised to avoid eating red dates.
Principles of Acute Nephritis Treatment
The treatment of acute nephritis mainly involves managing the complications of acute nephritis, because acute nephritis itself can potentially heal automatically. The inflammatory reaction in the glomeruli can naturally subside, and proteinuria can decrease, kidney function can recover. However, acute nephritis may cause some complications that could be life-threatening to the patient. Therefore, treatment should focus on these complications to help the patient overcome difficulties, and then wait for the acute nephritis to heal automatically. Common complications mainly include heart failure, high blood pressure, pulmonary infections, etc. Thus, if a patient experiences heart failure, diuretics or even dialysis may be needed, and if an infection occurs, a full course of antibiotics is necessary for anti-inflammatory treatment.
Is acute nephritis contagious?
Acute nephritis is not contagious. Although acute nephritis often follows a history of streptococcal infection, when such streptococci infect the human body, they can cause an immune complex reaction, which circulates through the bloodstream to the kidneys causing inflammation. Furthermore, these streptococci can have a cross-immune reaction with kidney tissue. These mechanisms together lead to diffuse proliferation of glomerular capillary cells, causing hematuria, proteinuria, and even renal failure. However, this condition generally is not contagious. Although this disease is related to streptococcal infection, these streptococci are mostly opportunistic pathogens and are unlikely to cause harm to people other than the patient, making it difficult to trigger a nephritis reaction again.
Does acute nephritis easily lead to excessive internal heat?
What is referred to as "getting heated" generally refers to the appearance of herpes around the mouth. In fact, most people carry the herpes virus, which typically does not flare up under normal circumstances. However, when the body's immune system is weakened, the virus can become active. For example, factors like long-term fatigue, lack of sleep, or other illnesses can lead to the reemergence of these sores. They can also appear during acute nephritis, as this condition involves kidney abnormalities or possible symptoms like blood and protein in the urine. Some patients may also experience reduced urine output and acute kidney failure. During acute kidney failure, the immune system is often weakened, which can lead to the reappearance of herpes around the mouth, commonly known as "getting heated."
How long does hematuria last in acute nephritis?
The condition of acute nephritis is generally quite severe. Patients may experience hematuria and proteinuria, with diffuse cellular proliferation in the glomeruli. However, this disease is self-limiting, and the condition can heal on its own. It is important to control the causes of acute nephritis and the complications it may cause to help patients overcome the difficulties. Afterward, the patients' hematuria and proteinuria could potentially disappear. Generally, it takes about 3 to 4 weeks for the urinalysis to turn negative, and some patients may even take up to six months to recover. If recovery takes more than six months, it is possible that the patient's acute nephritis has become chronic nephritis.
Symptoms of acute nephritis recurrence
When acute nephritis recurs, patients may experience a series of symptoms similar to those at the onset of the disease. Patients may present with hematuria, including visible hematuria in some cases. Due to the presence of a significant amount of protein in the urine, patients may develop edema in parts like the lower limbs and eyelids, and in severe cases, edema can become generalized. The presence of protein in urine also leads to increased urine foam. Some patients may experience acute renal failure, a dramatic decrease in urine output, and gastrointestinal reactions such as nausea and vomiting. Patients may also develop hypertension and heart failure, among other conditions.
Sequelae of acute nephritis
Most cases of acute nephritis do not cause complications; generally speaking, acute nephritis is a self-healing disease that can recover on its own. Approximately three to four weeks later, the condition can gradually alleviate, with the patient’s urine protein and occult blood decreasing until they disappear and kidney function returns to normal, and the edema can also subside, so generally there won’t be any complications. However, there are a minority of patients whose conditions are prolonged and do not heal, and if the patient's condition persists for three months or even half a year without recovery, it might evolve into chronic nephritis. Also, some patients may experience severe kidney failure, heart failure, and pulmonary infections during acute nephritis, leading to severe consequences. The likelihood of these situations occurring is relatively low.
Is acute nephritis easy to treat?
In most cases, acute nephritis is not difficult to treat because the disease itself is self-limiting, meaning that acute nephritis can heal naturally within about 3 to 4 weeks. However, acute nephritis can cause some complications, and in severe cases, it may lead to disability or death. Therefore, when patients with acute nephritis develop serious complications, treatment may be relatively difficult or complications such as pulmonary infections, heart failure, and acute renal failure may occur. But with appropriate treatment, most cases are hopeful to be controlled.
Acute nephritis has the following characteristics:
Acute nephritis has the following characteristics: First, patients with acute nephritis often have a history of a precursor upper respiratory tract infection. After catching a cold, patients may develop hematuria, proteinuria, or anuria. Second, patients with acute nephritis will experience a decrease in complement C3 in the blood. After recovery from acute nephritis, complement C3 can restore itself. Third, acute nephritis is self-limiting; generally, the patient's condition will gradually improve over three to four weeks, and recovery can be complete after eight weeks. However, a very small number of patients might experience prolonged illness, evolving into chronic nephritis. Fourth, the pathological characteristic of acute nephritis is diffuse proliferation of capillary endothelial cells, which is a manifestation of pathological damage to the glomeruli.
Will acute nephritis cause facial swelling?
Acute nephritis can also cause facial swelling in patients. The pathological damage in patients with acute nephritis is the diffuse proliferation of glomerular cells, which reduces the glomeruli's ability to filter blood. As a result, patients may experience proteinuria and hematuria. Decreased kidney function in water excretion can lead to water accumulation in the body, causing edema in the lower limbs or facial area. The increase in urinary protein can also increase vascular permeability and decrease plasma osmotic pressure, leading to the movement of water outside the blood vessels. These factors can all cause edema. In the body, water tends to accumulate in areas where tissues are looser, such as the facial area. Thus, it is possible for patients with acute nephritis to experience facial swelling.