Does Lupus Nephritis Cause Edema in Legs
2013-12-04 16:33
Lupus nephritis is an autoimmune kidney disease which is caused by systemic lupus erythematous (SLE). It is a serious problem, patients often have some obvious symptoms, such as weight gain, high blood pressure, dark urine, foamy urine and swelling. Some patients with lupus nephritis asked if lupus nephritis cause edema in legs, the answer is certain.
Then, how does lupus nephritis cause edema in legs?
There are two common causes of edema in legs. One is the heavy loss of protein, and the other is the reduction of kidney function.
- heavy loss of protein in urine
Lupus nephritis patients often have the symptom of foamy urine, which means loss of protein in urine. If the loss of protein last for a long time and cannot be controlled, the protein level in blood will decrease. As we know, the loss of protein in blood will cause the decrease of plasma osmotic pressure. In order to keep the balance in blood, excess fluid will move into the interstitial spaces between cells, which will cause edema in legs or some other parts of body.
- the reduced or impaired kidney function
Kidneys have the function of filtering toxins and wastes in blood, and it also can keep the balance of electrolyte. Once the kidney function is damaged, they may fail to filter the wastes in blood sufficiently. Therefore, the sodium will not be excreted and accumulate in blood, which will also cause edema in legs.
Edema is a common symptom for kidney disease patients. If they have the symptom, they need to control it timely. Because a long-term of swelling will increase the kidney damage, which may finally cause kidney failure.
There are some suggestions for patients to remit the symptom of edema in legs.
- keep a low salt diet, and limit the high sodium foods
- limit the daily fluid intake
- take some diuretics
For lupus nephritis patients, if they want to remit the edema in legs fundamentally, they need to have effective treatments on their kidney damage. Because most of edema is caused by the reduced kidney function. Here we recommend traditional Chinese medicine to treat lupus nephritis, which has no side effects on them. And some of the Chinese medicines have the function of repairing damaged kidney tissues and improving the immunity, which can improve their kidney function effectively. If you are interested in Chinese medicine, we are glad to tell you more information.
- Tag: Lupus Nephritis Symptoms
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