Nephrotic Syndrome Ayurvedic Treatment: Causes & Symptoms

Many of us have a myth that nephrotic syndrome is a disease. No, it’s not a disease, but it’s a group of symptoms that can appear if your kidneys aren’t working correctly.

The primary function of your kidneys is the filteration of the blood. This filteration process allows you to pass your body’s waste products, excess fluid and substances through urine. This is done in the glomeruli, which are a part of the kidney.

Healthy kidneys do not let the protein leak into the urine during the filtering process. But if the glomeruli get damaged, then protein such as albumin can leak along with the waste substances through your urine. If too much protein is leaked out, that is called nephrotic syndrome.

Nephrotic syndrome is accountable for around 12% of the causes of chronic kidney disease and almost 20% of end-stage renal disease.

Further, we will discuss its symptoms, various causes, nephrotic syndrome treatment in Ayurveda and Nephrotic syndrome ayurvedic medicines.

About Nephrotic Syndrome

Various conditions tell if your kidneys are working correctly or not. And this cluster of the thing together forms a nephrotic syndrome.

Various conditions are as follows:

• Albuminuria: In this condition, your kidneys do not hold proteins and these proteins keep on flushing in urine in large quantities.
• Hypoalbuminemia: Your body suffers from a lack of protein(albumin) in the blood because of the loss of albumin in the urine.
• Hyperlipidemia: The fats and cholesterols level increases beyond their normal limits.

The conditions mentioned above result in swelling in lower body parts- such as legs, feet, and around joints. It has been observed that in a few cases, swelling can also appear.

Causes Of Nephrotic Syndrome

The causes of Nephrotic syndrome is classified into two categories.

Primary cause: A condition that affects only your kidneys

Secondary cause: A condition in which you have an issue with another part of your body that affects your kidneys.

Certain conditions that can damage your glomeruli involves:

• Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis or FSGS, the primary cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults disease that scars the glomeruli.
• Minimal change disease has become the primary cause of nephrotic syndrome in children, but the doctors are not aware why this disease stops the kidneys from working rightly. The kidney tissue of people having this disease looks normal under a microscope.
• Diabetes, the second major cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults. Diabetes can cause kidney damage which is also called diabetic nephropathy.
• Amyloidosis usually occurs when a substance called amyloid protein accumulates in your blood. This condition can damage your kidneys.
• Lupus is a chronic disease of the immune system which can also harm your kidneys.

Let’s Know The Markers Of Nephrotic Syndrome

The indications of this disorder vary from person to person. However, the most common symptoms are below:

• Hematuria: A medical condition in which a person loses blood in the urine.
• Edema: Swelling or bloating of the body because of fluid accumulation in excessive amounts. Around 95% of patients experience this symptom during this disorder. The swelling generally occurs on the face, feet, hands etc.
• Hypertension: An individual suffering from nephrotic syndrome may experience high blood pressure. (read more about hypertension)
• Pleural effusion: In this, a person faces difficulty breathing because of water accumulated near the lungs.

Certain Risk Factors Associated With Nephrotic Syndrome

Various factors can increase the risk of nephrotic syndrome; let’s know a few of those factors.

• Diseases that harm the functional abilities of the kidneys.
• Infections such as Hepatitis B, HIV, Hepatitis C, or malaria.
• Certain medicines such as NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or antibody drugs used to fight infections can cause nephrotic syndrome.

Ayurvedic View And Treatment Options

As per Ayurveda, the blockage of minute body channels known as Srotas in kidneys leads to nephrotic syndrome. The body channels known as Mutravaha srotas carry urine and are accountable for liquid flow into and outside the kidneys. Any blockage in incoming srotas leads to shrinkage, and if the outgoing channels are blocked, swelling in different parts of the body can be seen.

As per Ayurveda, there are three doshas, namely-Vata, Pita, Kapha. Vitiation in any of the doshas invites diseases. Nephrotic syndrome is a result of vitiation of Pitta dosha. Ayurvedic treatment for nephrotic syndrome focuses on normalizing Pitta dosha.

Nephrotic Syndrome Ayurvedic Treatment

In modern medicine, there has been no definite treatment for this disorder. There are few immunosuppressant drugs in modern medical science that control this disorder, but they are associated with many side effects.

Nephrotic syndrome ayurvedic medicine has some extraordinary herbs which directly improves kidney function and regenerate new normal cells. Few Nephrotic syndrome ayurvedic medicines are following:

• Punarnava(Boerhavia diffusa)– This herb has a remarkable impact on your heart; it increases strength and improves the heartbeat, ultimately increasing blood output from the heart. It also improves the kidneys’ blood circulation, thus reviving the kidney from many diseases such as renal failure, glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and others. It has an anti-inflammatory action that makes it best in renal inflammatory disease.
• Gokshuru(Tribulus Terrestris)– This herb is excellent in giving strength to the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and pennis by increasing blood circulation. Gokshuru directly affects renal tissue to revive the damaged tissues. It also helps in crushing renal stones.
• Rakta chandana– It is an anti-infective and diuretic in nature. It acts like a cooling agent in the urinary tract.
• Palash(Butea monosperma)– It helps to fight urinary infections.

Ayurvedic treatment for nephrotic syndrome focuses on analyzing body Prakriti(type) and prescribing the medicines accordingly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How does ayurvedic treatment for nephrotic syndrome cure this disorder?

Ans. Ayurvedic treatment focus on the root cause of the disorder and work o that cause by proper diet and lifestyle changes.

Q. Is Ayurveda a better option than allopathy?

Ans. Yes, there is no doubt that ayurvedic cure is the best cure if we compare it with the allopathic.

Q. Is Ayurveda a safe option for treating this disorder?

Ans. Ayurveda offers treatment for all the stages of the kidney-related problem and the medicines of Ayurveda has natural herbs that are safe and has no side-effects

Q. How long is the ayurvedic treatment?

Ans. The duration of Ayurvedic treatment depends on the stage of the disease. If you catch the disease in the early phase then it will treat in less time.

Q. If I opt for Ayurvedic treatment then do I need to take care of my diet?

Ans. Of course yes, Ayurvedic treatment works on the principle of diet and lifestyle changes. Diet plays a vital role in treating any disease.