Nephritis is a common disease, with a incidence rate of 2%~5%, and a growing trend. Many of them have misconceptions about nephritis, which makes the simple condition complicated, resulting in delayed treatment or aggravation of the condition. There are several common misconceptions:
Mistake 1: Believing that nephritis is a persistent disease that cannot be cured
In fact, nephritis can not only be treated, but most can be cured or controlled. The efficacy mainly depends on whether the diagnosis and treatment are timely and reasonable, and more importantly, it is related to the patient's own health measures (such as diet and rest). The reason for this misconception is that nephritis itself has hidden symptoms that are not easily detected at an early stage, and it is too late to seek medical attention when a large number of renal tissues are damaged or functional lost; The second is that some patients have symptoms that have resolved after treatment, feel good about themselves, believe that their condition has recovered, and neglect treatment during the maintenance period. When you feel unwell and go to a doctor again, the nature of the disease has changed. Therefore, every patient with kidney disease, regardless of their condition, should be regularly reexamined to prevent accidents.
Mistake 2: Avoid salt
Folklore has it that nephritis patients should avoid salt for a hundred days. In fact, there is no scientific reason for this. Little is known that salt is an essential element in the metabolism of the body's tissues. Long-term salt deprivation not only does not alleviate the disease, but also reduces the function of many organs, which is not conducive to recovery. In mild cases, the condition may be prolonged, while in severe cases, life may be endangered. Generally, if there is no obvious edema or hypertension, 3 to 5 grams of salt should be added daily. For severe edema or hypertension, salt intake can be appropriately reduced, preferably 1 to 3 grams per day.
Mistake 3: Believing that eating animal kidneys can nourish the kidneys
In fact, although animal kidneys have a high protein content, they are not suitable for consumption, as their cholesterol and purine content are both high, which can increase the burden on the kidneys and cause adverse consequences.
Myth 4: Nephrotic patients are unwilling to drink more water and are afraid of increasing renal load
In fact, on the contrary, daily metabolites in the human body rely on urine to carry them out of the body. If the urine volume is insufficient, it will instead cause waste material accumulation in the body, aggravating kidney damage.
Myth 5: Abuse of antibiotics
Some patients equate nephritis with general inflammatory diseases (such as enteritis, pneumonia, cystitis, etc.) and use antibiotics for treatment. In fact, there is an essential difference between the two. Nephritis is caused by abnormalities in the immune system. Inflammatory diseases are caused by bacterial infections. The latter can be treated with antibiotics, while the treatment of the former is mainly to eliminate antigen substances and prevent abnormal immune reactions, mainly using immunosuppressants. Many antibiotics are accompanied by renal toxicity. If abused, it can cause antibiotic induced renal damage and worsen renal lesions.
Myth 6: Superstition and Partial Prescriptions
The so-called partial prescription generally has three situations:
First, it is inherited from the experience accumulated by predecessors. Although some folk remedies have cured some cases, their therapeutic mechanisms need to be studied and confirmed using modern medical knowledge and methods;
Secondly, some are symptomatic rather than curative;
Third, there are even fake drugs. "Nephritis patients cannot casually use our prescription because there are tens of different types of nephritis, and the etiology, nature, and severity of the disease are completely different for different types of nephritis. The treatment methods are also different. It is obviously inappropriate to use a partial prescription to treat all kidney diseases;"; Moreover, some Chinese herbal medicines have nephrotoxicity, and taking them casually may aggravate renal lesions. Therefore, for patients with nephritis, treatment options should be considered after the nature and extent of the lesion are confirmed.