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Nephrotic syndrome: in adults and in children
For anyone, or the parent of any child, with swelling and protein in the urine, or who was just told they have nephrotic syndrome. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says nephrotic syndrome is a group of symptoms that indicate the kidneys are not working properly: too much protein in the urine, low albumin in the blood, swelling, and high cholesterol. This page passes on, by name, what NIDDK says: what it is and what causes it; the signs, in adults and in children, and what it can lead to; the urine and blood tests and finding the cause; the treatment in adults; and steroids, relapses, vaccines and food in children. It builds the words to say and the questions to ask, and prints a card to keep with you.
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, or fainting? Call 911 (ours).
- Swelling, weight or how much you pee changing fast, or a fever? Call your provider that day; if you cannot reach them, go to the emergency room (ours). NIDDK says nephrotic syndrome can lead to blood clots, infections and kidney problems.
- On steroids or another prescribed medicine? Do not stop or change it on your own; ask first (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 · Kidneys, bladder and urine: find the right page · Blood in the urine.
- Tests: Getting ready for a kidney biopsy · Urinary tract imaging · Medical tests: find the right page.
- Related: High blood pressure · High cholesterol · Lupus · Diabetes · Symptom diary.
- Getting ready: 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).
- Glomerular disease: the signs, the causes, the tests, and the treatment: glomerular disease (FSGS, lupus nephritis, membranous nephropathy, minimal change disease and others; foamy or cola-colored urine, swelling, or a kidney biopsy that showed it): what it is, the causes and who gets it, the signs and what it can lead to, the tests and the biopsy, the kinds of medicine and kidney failure, and food, family and research.
- 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.
- IgA nephropathy (Berger’s disease): the signs, the biopsy, and the treatment: IgA nephropathy, Berger’s disease (pink, cola-colored or foamy urine, swelling, or a kidney biopsy that showed it): what it is, who is more likely to have it, the signs and what it can lead to, the tests and the biopsy, the kinds of medicine and less salt, and food, family and research.
- 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.
- Amyloidosis and the kidneys: the types, the signs, the tests, and the treatment: amyloidosis and the kidneys: the five types (AL, AA, LECT2, hereditary, dialysis-related), who gets them, nephrotic syndrome and the other signs, the tests, the treatment for each type, caring for the kidneys, prevention and food.
- IgA vasculitis (HSP): the rash, the belly and joint pain, the kidneys, and the treatment: IgA vasculitis, formerly Henoch-Schönlein purpura or HSP (a raised rash that does not turn pale when pressed, belly or joint pain, or blood in the urine, most often in a young child): what it is, the symptoms and when to get help, the tests and months of kidney checks, the treatment, and a later pregnancy.
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) pages Nephrotic Syndrome in Adults (last reviewed October 2020) and Nephrotic Syndrome in Children (last reviewed October 2021), and a few lines on its Glomerular Disease page (last reviewed June 2022). NIDDK has no Spanish version of the two nephrotic syndrome pages, so our Spanish page is our own AI translation; the glomerular disease page is in Spanish too. The numbers (about a million nephrons; fewer than 5 in 100,000 children a year; most often 2 to 7 years old; birth to 3 months, 3 to 12 months, 12 months or older; a biopsy usually at 12 or older; a 24-hour urine collection; about 85% of kidney function lost in kidney failure) are NIDDK’s. Ours: 911 for trouble breathing, chest pain, or fainting; calling your provider that day, or going to the emergency room, when something changes fast or there is a fever; never stopping or changing a prescribed medicine, above all a steroid, on your own; asking before any vaccine and any pain reliever; asking what is causing it and what each test is for; that it was not caused by something you ate; 988 when it is too much; health centers when money is tight; and the order of the steps. What we left out: the clinical trials sections, the references, the names of the kinds of immune medicine on the glomerular disease page, and NIDDK’s outside links. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.