Top 5 Symptoms of IgA Nephropathy

Nowadays IgA nephropathy is becoming more and more common and it has attracted a lot attention. Here are its top 5 symptoms.

1. Hematuria. Hematuria (blood in urine) is more common among children and it usually occurs within 24-72 hours after upper respiratory tract infection or acute gastroenteritis or urinary tract infection. The gross hematuria can last from hours to days and then turn into persistent microscopic hematuria. The blood urine is often accompanied by light systemic symptoms such as muscle aches, urinary pain, lumbar bone pain or transient increase of blood pressure and urea nitrogen.

2. Edema. Some patients will have edema with reduced urine output, urinary frequency (especially at night). Edema often occurs at hand, ankle and eyes. When IgA develops into renal failure, patients can also have shortness of breath.

3. High blood pressure. Some patients have hypertension along with the continuous decline of renal functions. High blood pressure will speed up the glomerular sclerosis and deterioration of illness conditions. Therefore it is very important for them to first bring the blood pressure under control and maintain that the kidneys are in a relatively stable internal environment.

4. Proteinuria (protein in urine). There are about 60% patients have proteinuria which is often less than 1g per day. 10% to 24% patients can have nephrotic syndrome and some patients may have massive proteinuria without nephrotic syndrome.

5. Physical discomforts. Due to the progressive decline of kidney functions, there is excessive accumulation of metabolic wastes and toxins in the body. Therefore patients often suffer from physical discomforts such as nausea, vomiting, poor sleep at night, loss of appetite, itching, fatigue, anemia, etc.