What damage lupus can cause to your kidneys?

Lupus can fatally damage your skin, joints, kidneys and brain. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that affects the kidneys is called lupus nephritis.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells and tissues.  As a result it causes damage to body’s organs and tissues including kidneys. Lupus attacks kidneys as they attacking diseases and causes inflammation of small blood vessels that filters wastes in the kidney and sometime the kidneys.

What causes lupus nephritis?

What causes the disease cannot be figured out precisely. Your genes and environment such as infections, viruses, toxic chemicals or pollutant may play a role in the causing the disease. Lupus affects men and women of all ages and races. However, 90 percent of victims of lupus are women for reasons not well understood.

What are the symptoms of lupus nephritis?

Everyone may experience a different set of signs and symptoms. Some common signs of lupus nephritis include:

Blood in the urine (hematuria): Glomerular can cause your glomeruli to leak blood into your urine. Urine colour may look pink or light brown from blood.

·        Protein in the urine (proteinuria): Glomerular disease can cause your glomeruli to leak protein into your urine. Your urine may be foamy because of the protein.

·        Edema: Having extra fluid that your kidneys cannot remove that causes swelling in body parts like your legs, ankles, or around your eyes.

·        Weight gain: due to the fluid your body is not able to get rid of.

How is lupus treated?

The treatment of lupus involves drugs that blocks body’s immune system. These include drugs like steroids (corticosteroid) and antimalarial drugs. Everyone experiences different symptoms of lupus and doctor will make a treatment plan that is right according to patient’s symptoms.

Usually treatment for lupus nephritis includes:  

·               Corticosteroids (often called “steroids”)

·               Immunosuppressive drugs

·               ACE inhibitors and ARBs

·               Diuretics

·               Diet change

Corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs: These medications are used to calm your immune system (your body’s defense system) and stop it from attacking your glomeruli.

ACE inhibitors and ARBs: These are blood pressure medications used to reduce protein loss and control blood pressure.

Diuretics: These medications help your body get rid of excess fluid and swelling. These can be used to lower your blood pressure too.

Diet changes:  Some diet changes may be needed, such as reducing salt (sodium) and protein in your food choices to lighten the load of wastes on the kidneys.

Do these treatments have side effects?

Your doctor can best describe you about the associated risks and benefits of any treatment. Each of the drugs has their own set of side-effects during the treatment. These effects are manageable for most of the patients. Therefore, it is important to discuss your treatment with your healthcare provider.

A woman with lupus nephritis you should be aware of likely affects of your treatment on your general health and on your pregnancy. There are ways to ascertain that treatment is less harmful for pregnant women.

What is long-term look out?

Lupus patients may need to take medicines over many years. However, most patients do well over long term. Periodic check-ups even when symptoms or flare-ups subside, helps to add your prospects of staying well and healthy.

What happens if the kidneys fail?

In case of kidneys failure, dialysis or kidney transplantation is the options. Several patients with lupus nephritis receive kidney transplantation. The drugs used to prevent your body from rejecting the new kidney are the same or similar to those used to treat lupus. It is unusual for lupus to come back in the new kidney. Lupus patients with new kidneys do as well as any other patients with transplanted kidneys.