1. Glomerulonephritis (GN) Basics
There are many kinds of nephropathy, which are involved in over ten aspects according to materials now available . Primary glomerulonephritis (abbrev . nephritis) is the most commonly seen in the various kidney disorders
Glomerulonephritis (GN) is inflammation of the glomeruli, which are structures in your kidneys that are made up of tiny blood vessels. These knots of vessels help filter your blood and remove excess fluids. If your glomeruli are damaged, your kidneys will stop working properly, and you can go into kidney failure. Sometimes called nephritis, GN is a serious illness that can be life-threatening and requires immediate treatment. GN can be both acute, or sudden, and chronic, or long-term.
2. Causes
Acute GN can be a response to an infection such as strep throat or an abscessed tooth. It may be due to problems with your immune system overreacting to the infection. This can go away without treatment. If it doesn’t go away, prompt treatment is necessary to prevent long-term damage to your kidneys.
Certain illnesses are known to trigger acute GN, including:
strep throat
systemic lupus erythematosus, which is also called lupus
Goodpasture syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease in which antibodies attack your kidneys and lungs
amyloidosis, which occurs when abnormal proteins that can cause harm build up in your organs and tissues
Wegener’s granulomatosis, a rare disease that causes inflammation of the blood vessels
polyarteritis nodosa, a disease in which cells attack arteries
Heavy use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen (Aleve), may also be a risk factor. You shouldn’t exceed the dosage and length of treatment listed on the bottle without seeking advice from your primary care provider.
Chronic GN
The chronic form of GN can develop over several years with no or very few symptoms. This can cause irreversible damage to your kidneys and ultimately lead to complete kidney failure.
Chronic GN doesn’t always have a clear cause. A genetic disease can sometimes cause chronic GN. Hereditary nephritis occurs in young men with poor vision and poor hearing. Other possible causes include:
certain immune diseases
a history of cancer
exposure to some hydrocarbon solvents
As well, having the acute form of GN may make you more likely to develop chronic GN later on.
3. Sympotoms
Early symptoms of acute GN include:
puffiness in your face
urinating less often
blood in your urine, which turns your urine a dark rust color
extra fluid in your lungs, causing coughing
high blood pressure
The chronic form of GN can creep up without any symptoms. There may be slow development of symptoms similar to the acute form. Some symptoms include:
blood or excess protein in your urine, which may be microscopic and show up in urine tests
high blood pressure
swelling in your ankles and face
frequent nighttime urination
bubbly or foamy urine, from excess protein
abdominal pain
frequent nosebleeds
Your GN may be so advanced that you develop kidney failure. Some of the symptoms of this include:
fatigue
lack of appetite
nausea and vomiting
insomnia
dry, itchy skin
muscle cramps at night
4. How is GN diagnosed?
The first step in diagnosis is a urinalysis test. Blood and protein in urine are important markers for the disease. A routine physical exam for another condition can also lead to the discovery of GN.
More urine testing may be necessary to check for important signs of kidney health, including:
creatinine clearance
total protein in the urine
urine concentration
urine specific gravity
urine red blood cells
urine osmolality
Blood tests may show:
anemia, which is a low level of red blood cells
abnormal albumin levels
abnormal blood urea nitrogen
high creatinine levels
Your doctor may also order immunology testing to check for:
antiglomerular basement membrane antibodies
antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies
antinuclear antibodies
complement levels
Results of this testing may show your immune system is damaging your kidneys.
A biopsy of your kidneys may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis. This involves analyzing a small sample of kidney tissue taken by a needle.
To learn more about your condition, you may also have imaging tests such as the following:
CT scan
kidney ultrasound
chest X-ray
intravenous pyelogram
5. TCM Understanding of Nephritis
TCM considers that the occurrence and development of nephritis are closely related to the dysfunctionof three Zang-organs ( the lung, spleen and kidney ) however , the pathological key lies in the kidney disorder
TCM treatment of nephritis is mainly based on differentiating the syndromes ascertained from the clinical presentations instead of distinguishing the acute or chronic one . As to its etiology , the exogenous cause is the invasion of the six exopathogens or pathogenic toxin from carbuncles and sores, of which pathogenic wind, cold, damp and heat are not only the pathogenic causes of acute nephritis, but also the induced or worse factors of chronic nephritis . Endogenous cause is chiefly the dysfunctions of
the lung, spleen and kidney, sometimes involving the heart and liver disorders . During an advanced stage of the nephritis, a lot of serious or critical symptoms and signs, such as vomiting, edema, anuresis, convulsion, bleeding and coma, may occur . The rules of treating Biao of the disease should be focused on eliminating pathogens and regulating Qi-blood, e .g . dispelling wind
to disperse the lung-Qi , clearing away heat to detoxify , promoting diuresis to alleviate edema, purging the bowels to discharge water and motivating blood to remove blood stasis are usually used to relieve dropsy . And the rules of treating Ben of it should be adopted according to different conditions of deficient vital Qi , marked by invigorating spleen, tonifying kidney, nourishing Yin, warming Yang, strengthening Qi, replenishing blood and so forth .
6. Typical Chinese Medicine Therapies
Blood Detoxifying and Function Rebuilding Therapy
So far Blood Detoxifying and Function Rebuilding Therapy is the most advanced treatment for Nephritis. Through treating the underlying causes of kidney damage, the disease can be treated from the root with no further relapse.
The treatment process includes three steps, named combined blood purification techniques to remove blood stasis, supply essential elements to the blood, and recover the kidney function.
Immunotherapy
Nephritis is an immune disorder. When a person with low immunity or immune dysfunction get an infection or fever, he is very like to suffer from immune disorder. Massive immune complexes will occur and get deposited in the kidneys. In order to eliminate these harmful complexes, excess immune response occurs, causing damage to the kidneys.
As a holistic treatment, Immunotherapy can treat this disease thoroughly by recover renal function and regulate the immune system. So there is no any relapse.
Superfine Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy
For people who prefer to get herbal remedy, Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy is a good choice. However, different from traditional oral herbal medicine, this treatment is applied externally. So, it has no adverse effect to patient’s body.
In treating Glomerulonephritis, the remedy can help promote the microcirculation, inhibit inflammation in the kidneys, clear up the immune complex deposits and improve renal function.
7. Successful cases – see the achievement section for patients cured.
Contact our TCM-adviser for your arrangements. Next cured patient will be You.