What is Acute Nephritis?
Acute nephritis involved the kidney structure. It is also referred to as acute glomerulonephritis. Often a seemingly simple infection of the throat or skin may take place. This may be due to a special germ called the streptococcus, and this one is a real troublemaker. It may take a couple of weeks or more before the kidney symptoms set in, and by then the original infection has most probably totally vanished. It is not even a memory. But the child may feel vaguely ill. There may be blood in the urine, and smaller than normal amounts may be passed. As the child retains fluid, there may be weight gain, headaches, abdominal upsets and a fever. The condition may gradually or rapidly deteriorate. The blood pressure may increase, and occasionally this has an adverse effect on the brain. There may be mental impairment, vagueness; the patient may be restless, have disturbances of vision, probably convulse and slip into a coma. Fortunately these advanced forms are fairly uncommon, but they are
