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Q:
My daughter is 5 years old, was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome 5 month ago. She never had any problems then all the sudden, her ankle swelled up on day. Doctor said she is releasing too much protein through her kidney. She is on Prednisone, Cyclosporine, Lacets and Lisinopril. I am afraid all the medicines may be doing more harm than good. She has constant swelling in her ankles, what causes it? Could you give me some advises? This is all new to me and I am worried about my daughter. Thanks
A:
Hi, I am so sorry to hear your daughter is suffering. Nephrotic Syndrome is a common type of kidney disease in Children. It can be primary or secondary. Different from many other kinds of kidney disease, Nephrotic Syndrome actually refers to a group of clinical manifestation which include proteinuria, swelling, hypoalbuminemia and hyperlipidemia. For children with Nephrotic Syndrome, the key point is to stop protein leaking. You know protein is the necessary substance of our body and when most of the protein are lost from urine, hypoalbuminemia will occur. Also, swelling symptom is closely related with proteinuria too. Because of great loss of protein, plasma osmotic pressure decreases, as a result of which, fluid ooze into the cellular space and thus form swelling.
Medicines like Prednisone, Cyclosporine and Lacets are commonly used in treating Nephrotic Syndrome, because they show quick treatment effects in controlling symptoms, which is helpful for prevent further kidney damages. However, These medicines can not repaired damaged glomerular filtration membrane which is the root case of proteinuria, so they are not a long-term solution. Besides, long-term taking of these medicines will cause many side effects and affect children’s mental development and physical development. To get swelling symptom controlled, I’d like to introduce you Immunotherapy which combines western medicine and Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine and western medicine see kidney disease in different way and show different treatment effects. By combining them, treatment effects on Nephrotic Syndrome can be increased greatly.
Lastly, help you daughter limit fluid intake and salt intake, which will help her control swelling symptom. Also, ingest adequate vitamin, calcium and high quality protein which can be found in fish, egg white, lean meat and milk.
