Glomerulonephritis
Overview
Glomerulonephritis is damage to the tiny filters inside your kidneys (the glomeruli). It's often caused by your immune system attacking healthy body tissue.
Symptoms
If you have severe glomerulonephritis, your pee may be a dark colour because it contains blood. But the blood in your pee may only be noticed when a sample is tested. Your pee may also be frothy if it contains a large amount of protein. If a lot of protein leaks into your urine,swelling of the legsor other parts of the body can also develop. This is known as nephrotic syndrome. Depending on the cause of glomerulonephritis, other parts of your body can be affected with symptoms such as: rashesjoint painstomach painhigh temperatureshortness of breathyellowing of the whites of the eyes or the skin, although this may be less noticeable on brown or black skin (jaundice)peeing a lot less than usualtirednessloss of appetite and weight loss Some people with glomerulonephritis also havehigh blood pressure.
Causes
Glomerulonephritis often happens if there's a problem with your immune system. It can be caused by inflammatory conditions like systemiclupuserythematosus (SLE) orvasculitis. In some cases, it can be caused by infections, such as: HIVhepatitis Bandhepatitis Cinfection of the inner lining of the heart(endocarditis) Some types of cancer and certain medicines can also cause glomerulonephritis. Sometimes it’s not clear what causes it. If you're diagnosed with an inherited type of glomerulonephritis, a doctor can advise you about the chances of someone else in your family being affected. They may recommend screening, which can identify people who may be at increased risk of developing the condition.
When to see a doctor
See a GP if you noticeblood in your urine. This does not always mean you have glomerulonephritis, but the cause should be investigated. Also see a GP if you have other symptoms of glomerulonephritis, such as pain in your joints, tiredness and shortness of breath. If the GP suspects glomerulonephritis, they'll usually arrange: blood tests– to check how much protein is in your blood and measure your creatinine level (creatinine is a waste product produced by your muscles)a urine test – to check for blood or protein in your pee If you do have glomerulonephritis, further blood tests may be needed to help find out the cause. If your kidney problem needs to be investigated further, other tests may be recommended, including: anultrasound scan– this is to check the size of your kidneys, make sure there are no blockages, and look for any other problemsabiopsy– this is to remove a small sample of kidney tissue, carried out usinglocal anaestheticto numb the area; an ultrasound machine locates your kidneys and a small needle is used to take a sample