Symptoms Of Acute Nephritis

September 3, 2023

Acute nephritis is a condition in which the kidneys rapidly become inflamed. Since the body heavily relies on the kidneys to filter waste into the removal system, kidney inflammation can prevent the body from doing its job. If acute nephritis is not treated, patients can experience kidney failure. Luckily, cases of acute nephritis can respond well to treatment if detected in time. This is why understanding what the symptoms are is so crucial because this knowledge is what leads to early detection.

Pelvic Pain

Experiencing pelvic pain is a symptom commonly found in each of the three types of acute nephritis: interstitial nephritis, glomerulonephritis, and pyelonephritis. Pyelonephritis, in particular, can cause affected individuals to experience pain in the pelvis and the sides since it is a urinary tract infection that travels to the kidneys' pyelum (in other words, the pelvis) from the bladder. Infections, kidney stones, and catheter use are all thought to be at the root of this infection. Doctors will often perform x-rays and will treat with antibiotics if abnormalities are found in the kidneys, ureter, or bladder.

Frequent And Painful Urination

In addition to experiencing pelvic pain, it is quite common for acute nephritis patients to endure frequent and even painful urination. Infections and inflammation that occur in the bladder or kidneys are often the culprits behind frequent and painful urination. Inflammation can cause the wall of the bladder to become stiff. This stiffening of the bladder wall makes it harder for the bladder to expand when it is trying to fill up. As the bladder becomes fuller, pain can be felt until the contents of the bladder can be expelled. Since the bladder becomes stiffened and fills up faster, affected individuals will feel they have to urinate a lot more quickly than they used to.

Swelling

Swelling, also known as edema, is another common symptom of acute nephritis. With interstitial nephritis, the spaces that exist in between the tubules of the kidneys become swollen, which can be caused by various factors, including autoimmune disorders, side effects from antibiotics or other medications, calcium overload in the bloodstream, or a potassium deficiency. Patients might notice edema in their face, ankles, and feet, which is typically an early indicator of acute nephritis. The edema is caused by an excess buildup of fluid and salt and can also be a contributing factor to high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Vomiting

Vomiting is not as common of a symptom in all types of acute nephritis, but it has been seen in patients with glomerulonephritis. The kidneys are the body's waste-clearing organs, and the glomerulus acts as a filter. When the kidneys fail to deal with waste properly, the body will try to find other ways to expel it, including throwing up. This is the most common in children who have nephrotic syndrome, where the kidneys end up leaking out excess proteins since the glomeruli are too damaged to properly filter them. Diarrhea might also occur in these cases.

Kidney Pain

Acute nephritis can ultimately be a painful condition. Excess amounts of inflammation in the kidneys can lead to kidney pain. Affected individuals might feel the pain on one or both sides of their body where their kidneys are located, and the pain levels might change over time. They might even feel pain behind their rib cage and into their upper back, especially if they have glomerulonephritis. Once the condition is properly diagnosed, and treatment gets underway, the pain patients feel in their kidneys should lessen as the inflammation goes down. The earlier the issues are addressed, the more likely a successful recovery is.

Cloudy Or Bloody Urine

An individual who has cloudy or bloody urine may have acute nephritis. We know acute nephritis describes the sudden inflammation of the nephrons inside the kidneys. The nephrons are structures responsible for the two-step process of blood cleaning that separates waste products from necessary nutrients. The glomerulus sifts out protein and blood cells, while the other component called the tubule captures excess protein and minerals. Nephritis causes both parts of the nephrons and tissues surrounding them to become irritated and inflamed.

This inflammation can cause damage to the surrounding capillaries and cause blood to leak into the urine. When the bloody urine is expelled from the body, it may appear brown, rust colored, or pink. Microscopic quantities of blood may cause the urine to appear cloudy instead of translucent. It is also possible inflammatory byproduct and much-needed minerals and electrolytes leak into the urine when the kidneys are not functioning well from acute nephritis. These extra substances may cause the urine to appear cloudy.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a common symptomatic indication of an individual affected by acute nephritis. The nephrons respond to hormones when the blood pressure becomes too high or too low. The nephrons do this by transporting sodium, which induces the transportation of fluids. When the blood pressure becomes too elevated, healthy functional nephrons increase the output of sodium and fluids through the urine. When salt and fluids are removed from the blood, the extracellular fluid volume decreases.

With less fluid taking up space in the blood vessels, the pressure on the blood vessel walls is then reduced. However, acute nephritis patients have nephrons that do not function well in response to hormones. This malfunction results in the kidneys retaining too much fluid and salt, which increases the extracellular fluid volume. The increased fluid volume causes an increase in blood volume, which boosts the venous blood return to the heart. This mechanism increases cardiac output from the heart, effectively raising the patient's blood pressure.

High Fever

Acute nephritis can cause patients to present with a high fever. This condition has numerous causes, and elevated body temperature is typically precipitated by that underlying cause. These causes can include streptococcal infections, hepatitis B or C, endocarditis, measles, mumps, mononucleosis, and numerous others. These infections are the result of a viral, fungal, or bacterial invasion to which the patient's immune system responds to abnormally. However, the initial response to the pathogen is a natural elevation in body temperature in an attempt to make the body less hospitable for the pathogen. The fever worsens when the nephrons in the kidneys become inflamed.

Additionally, acute nephritis can be caused by an abnormal reaction to certain medications or substances. The affected individual's immune system produces the same initial response of elevating the body's internal thermostat. This may be due to the body recognizing the medication as a harmful toxin and trying to destroy it with high temperatures. Along with a fever, the abnormal response of the immune system includes inappropriately attacking the nephrons, resulting in nephritis.

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