Acute Glomerulonephritis is a common disease in children ranging from 2 to 4
years old. Before the onset of the disease, the children often have prodromic
infections such as respiratory tract infections (pharyngitis and amygdalitis),
skin infection and so on. In most cases, the prognosis of the disease is good if
the patients can find the disease and receive treatment in time. Therefore, it
is very important for all parents to know the symptoms of Acute
Glomerulonephritis in children.
1. Hematuria
Nearly all children with Acute Glomerulonephritis have hematuria. In the
initial stage of the disease, about 50%~70% of children have gross hematuria and
then develops into microscopic hematuria in 1~2 weeks. If the disease is not so
serious, some children may not have gross hematuria.
2. Edema
Edema and hematuria are the early symptoms of Acute Glomerulonephritis in
children. About 70%~90% of children will have edema. Generally, edema appears on
eyelid and faces especially serious in the morning and then spread to low limbs.
In most cases, the children only have mild edema, but some may have serious
edema.
3. Proteinuria
Nearly all children with Acute Glomerulonephritis have proteinuria, but it
usually disappears in a short time. Only few children may have a large amount of
urine protein (>3.5 grams) per day.
4. Hypertension
The children with Acute Glomerulonephritis usually have mild or moderate
Hypertension, but some may have serious Hypertension. It is caused by retention
of water and sodium and increased blood volume.
5. Decreased urination
In the initial stage of Acute Glomerulonephritis, the urine output volume
usually declines for edema. The urine output volume varies with the edema
degree. The more serious the edema is, the less the urine output volume the
children have.
6. Decline in renal function
In the initial stage of Acute Glomerulonephritis, some children have mild
decline in renal function. The creatinine clearance rate declines, serum
creatinine level and uric nitrogen increase slightly. However, some children may
have acute kidney dysfunction. Some children have seriously declined urine
output volume and even anuria.
Besides the above symptoms, some children may have dizziness, headache,
nausea, vomit and so on.
If children have the above symptoms, their parents should pay more attention
to their children for they may have Acute Glomerulonephritis. Early inspection
of the symptoms will be beneficial for effective treatment of the disease.