IgA Nephropathy, Micro Hematuria

A:

IgA Nephropathy actually is not as terrible as we thought and as long as we stop it in early stage, we still can live a full life. Here are some suggestions for you and hope it is helpful.

Firstly, get all of your symptoms controlled

The typical symptom of IgA Nephropathy is hematuria which also can be called blood urine. In our kidney, there are glomerular filtration membrane which can help to protect red blood cells from being leaked. However, once this membrane is damaged, red blood cells leak out with urine and therefore form blood urine. With effective control, more and more red blood cells will leak out and kidney function will become poorer and poorer. Therefore, it is beneficial for you to bring hematuria under control. Aside from blood urine, some patients may also suffer from protein urine and high blood pressure,both of which can worsen kidney function. Therefore, try to get all the symptoms you have controlled.

Secondly, make an adjustment about your diet.

Generally, you need to adjust your diet according to the following principles:

1. low-salt diet: salt is high in potassium and high intake of sodium not only elevates blood pressure, but also increase kidney burden.

2. Limit protein intake, but try to take some high quality protein. Protein is the necessary substance of our body, but if we take too much of it, renal burden will be increased and kidney function will be worsen. Because of this, IgA Nephropathy patients can take some high quality protein which can meet the demand of their body and meanwhile produce less wastes. High quality protein can be found in lean meat, milk, egg white and fish.

3. Take some carbohydrate and fat: as you need to limit protein, you may need to take some carbohydrate and fat to produce energy.

4. Replenish enough vitamin, but remember to avoid foods with high potassium and phosphorus if you have high level of potassium and phosphorus.

5. Limit water intake if you have swelling symptoms.

Thirdly, receive a right treatment

It is far from enough to stop IgA Nephropathy if we only adjust our diet and control our symptoms. IgA Nephropathy progresses as more and more renal tissues are damaged by inflammation which occurs due to large amounts of IgA or IgA immune complexes in mesangial area. Therefore, if we want to stop IgA Nephropathy, we must clear IgA or IgA immune complexes away from kidney. As long as these substances are removed, inflammation will be stopped and also further kidney damages will be avoided effectively.