Jason’s case is not unmoral for children of his age. After taking into consideration all of his ailing factors and noted symptoms it is apparent that Jason is suffering from Glomerulonephritis. Glomerulonephritis is the term used for several related diseases that damage the Glomeruli, the tiny filtering units in your kidneys. Glomerulonephritis is associated with disorders in which your immune system attacks the Glomeruli.
In a healthy kidney, blood passes through the Glomeruli, which filter out certain chemicals including waste products. Most of the water and certain chemicals such as sugars are then reabsorbed into the bloodstream. The remaining waste material is collected as urine and excreted from the body. As blood enters into the renal artery it travels through smaller vessels on its route to the cortex of the kidney. Once in the cores the vessels become even smaller forming capillary balls called Glomeruli. The Glomeruli pick up certain substances that travel through the Glomeruli capillary wall and enter the proximal kidney tubules, creating an ultra filtration systems, which eventually becomes urine. Substances that do not filter through the Glomeruli wall continue through the Kidneys blood supply, allowing it to reenter the renal vein and inferior vena cava. On a normal basis only small molecular weights (such as sugars, fatty acids, water, etc.) Are filtered at the renal Glomeruli. Larger waste such as proteins and hormones do not normally filter through the glomular barrier. If the Glomeruli are damaged by an infection than substances, which are not normally filtered, will end up in the renal urinary tubules. This will allow the red blood cells to discolor the urine and appear on a Urinalysis, which is a sign of glomerular disease.
This process is adversely affected by the damaged Glomeruli. The most obvious disturbance is that red blood cells leak through the Glomeruli into your urine. Some proteins also pass from your blood into your urine. If this is a large amount, mostly in children, it causes an illness know as Nephrotic syndrome. As more of the Glomeruli are damaged, the affected kidney becomes less efficient as a filter.
Glomerulonephritis can occur in mild or severe forms. It may be acute by starting in a few days or it may take as much as a few months to develop. The condition is mostly noticed after a urinalysis the urine may be discolored either a pinkish red, which shows large amount of blood, or a smoky color showing very small amounts of blood in the urine.
In a severe case the patient may feel ill or tired. The patient may also produce very small amounts of urine and accumulate large amounts of fluid in the system. This retention of fluid will cause puffiness in the eyes and also ankles. If fluid accumulates in your chest you may not be able to breathe well or become short of breath.
Jason shows all of these symptoms noted above. The bruising to the body may be something totally different but in some cases when a person retains fluid it may give a discoloration and seem as though the skin is bruised. Many children of this age or any age from 6 - 11 should frequently have a urinalysis after illnesses such as strep throat. Many of these cases are so mild that the only treatment will be rest but some, more severe cases must be treated with antibiotics. Jason should fully recover.