Some common symptoms of glomerular disease are:
- High blood pressure
- Decreasing frequency of urination
- Fluid retention
- Swelling in lower legs, face, feet and abdomen
- Fatigue
- Blood loss in urine
At Medanta, the diagnosis of glomerular disease is done using the following methods:
...At Medanta, the diagnosis of glomerular disease is done using the following methods:
Immunosuppressant medications like steroids are used to treat glomerular disease. If the disease is found to be rapidly progressive, plasmapheresis is used to remove blood components responsible for inflammation.
Management of high blood pressure is important to decrease the damages onto the kidneys. Therefore, drugs are prescribed to decrease the amount of proteins in urine and to decrease the progression of glomerular disease.
If left untreated, glomerular disease could lead to complications such as high blood pressure, acute kidney failure, chronic kidney failure and nephrotic syndrome. Acute kidney failure is likely to occur with acute glomerulonephritis. If glomeruli are incapable of filtering out waste, toxins accumulate in blood. In such cases, hemodialysis may be required to remove toxins from blood externally. This could be suggested as a temporary measure until the kidneys are restored to their original functionality, or be a permanent one in case the damages to the kidney are too severe to be treated.
If the functionality of your kidneys is beyond restoration, your nephrologist may suggest a kidney transplantation procedure. In this, a healthy kidney from a donor is transplanted into you by surgical means.
If you have symptoms like lack of appetite, muscle cramps in the night, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dry and itchy skin, etc. you are advised to immediately contact your doctor.