Free guide · Scarlet Beast En español →
Glomerular disease: the signs, the causes, the tests, and the treatment
For anyone just told they have glomerular disease, or one of the diseases that cause it (such as FSGS, lupus nephritis, membranous nephropathy or minimal change disease), anyone waiting on a kidney biopsy, or who saw foamy or cola-colored urine or swelling, and for their families. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says glomerular disease is a condition that can damage the kidneys by attacking their tiny filters, the glomeruli, and that it often progresses slowly, causing no symptoms for many years. This page passes on, by name, what NIDDK says: what it is, the causes and who gets it; the signs and what it can lead to; the tests and the kidney biopsy; the kinds of medicine and what happens if the kidneys fail; and food, family, and the research. It builds the words to say and the questions to ask, and prints a card to keep in your wallet.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Trouble breathing, chest pain, sudden confusion, or fainting? Call 911 (ours). NIDDK says that in some cases glomerular disease can cause rapid kidney failure that may lead to confusion and death if not treated immediately.
- Peeing very little or not at all, or swelling that comes on fast? Get care right away; if you cannot reach your provider, go to the emergency room, and say you have glomerular disease (ours).
- Foamy, pink, red or cola-colored urine, or fast weight gain? Call a provider and say what you saw and when (ours).
- Worn down, or thinking of ending your life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- The kidneys, on this site: Kidney disease · Nephrotic syndrome · IgA nephropathy · Kidneys, bladder and urine: find the right page · Blood in the urine.
- Tests: Getting ready for a kidney biopsy · Medical tests: find the right page.
- Some of the causes: Diabetes · Lupus · Sleep apnea · HIV · Hepatitis.
- Related: High blood pressure · High cholesterol · My medicines list · Get ready for your appointment.
- Care and costs: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · Medical bills.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Kidneys, bladder or urine, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for bladder infections, kidney stones, blood in the urine, bladder pain, bladder leaks, the prostate, kidney disease and bedwetting, on one list.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- Kidney failure: choosing a treatment (dialysis, a transplant, or conservative care): kidney failure (kidneys failing or about to fail; choosing between hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, a kidney transplant, or conservative management, care without dialysis): the signs and when to start, how to choose and change your mind, an advance directive, dialysis at a center or at home, the access, infection signs, the transplant waiting list and living donors, food by treatment, work, and paying for it (Medicare, Medicaid, the social worker).
- Lupus nephritis: when lupus reaches the kidneys, the signs, the tests, the biopsy, and the treatment: lupus nephritis, kidney disease caused by lupus: what it is, who gets it, the signs (foamy urine, swelling, high blood pressure), what it can lead to, the urine and blood tests, the kidney biopsy, and the medicines, blood pressure and food.
- Polycystic kidney disease (PKD): the types, the signs, the tests, and slowing it down: polycystic kidney disease (PKD; many fluid-filled cysts in the kidneys, often in the family; pain in the back or sides, headaches, high blood pressure, blood in the urine): what it is, the two types (ADPKD in adults, ARPKD in babies) and the genes, the signs and what it can lead to (kidney failure, brain aneurysms, liver cysts), the imaging and genetic tests and genetic counseling, pain medicine and the kidneys, a blood pressure goal, the steps that may slow it, food and drink, and the costs.
- One kidney (a solitary kidney): the checkups, keeping it safe, and giving a kidney: one kidney, a solitary kidney (born with one, had one removed, or gave one): the three causes, what it can lead to, the urine, blood and blood pressure checkups, medicines and sports, pregnancy, and giving a kidney.
- Kidney disease in children: the signs, the causes, the treatment, and school: kidney disease in a child (acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease; swelling, foamy or pink urine, peeing more or less, or wetting the bed again): what it is, which children get it and the causes, the signs and what it can lead to, the tests and the kidney doctor for children, the kinds of medicine, dialysis and transplant, and school (an IEP or a 504 plan), friends and feelings.
- Kidney stones: the signs, when it is an emergency, passing a stone, and preventing the next one: kidney stones: the signs, when it is an emergency, passing a stone, and preventing the next one.
- How the kidneys work: where they are, what they do, the nephrons, and how blood flows through them: how the kidneys work (where they are, what they do, the nephrons, the glomerulus and the tubule, and how blood flows through them): the wastes, the balance of water, salts and minerals, the hormones, the numbers in a day, and the words in plain language.
- Anti-GBM (Goodpasture’s) disease: the signs, when to get help, the tests, and the treatment: anti-GBM disease, also called Goodpasture’s disease (the immune system attacks the kidneys and lungs: coughing up blood, shortness of breath, pink or cola-colored urine, swelling): what it is, who gets it, what may cause it, when to get help right away, the tests, the medicines and plasma exchange, dialysis, and keeping it from coming back.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 18, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Glomerular Disease (last reviewed June 2022), which is in English and in Spanish. The numbers (diabetic kidney disease affects more than 1 in 3 U.S. adults who have diabetes; kidney failure is the loss of about 85% or more of kidney function) are NIDDK’s. Ours: 911 for trouble breathing, chest pain, sudden confusion, or fainting; getting care right away for very little or no urine or swelling that comes on fast; calling a provider about foamy, pink, red or cola-colored urine or fast weight gain; never stopping or changing a prescribed medicine on your own; asking which disease is the cause, and about side effects, relatives and clinical studies; 988 when it is too much; health centers when money is tight; and the order of the steps. What we left out: the references, the list of open studies on ClinicalTrials.gov and the video, and NIDDK’s outside links. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.