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IgA vasculitis (HSP): the rash, the belly and joint pain, the kidneys, and the treatment
For anyone looking after a child who was just told it is IgA vasculitis, formerly called Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), for anyone who has it, and for anyone who had it and is pregnant. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what it is, who gets it, what it can lead to, the symptoms, the tests and the months of kidney checks after, the treatment symptom by symptom, a later pregnancy, prevention, and food. It builds the questions to ask and prints a wallet card. Nothing is saved.
Right now
- Severe belly pain, vomiting that will not stop, a lot of blood in the stool, a seizure, or trouble breathing? Call 911 or go to the emergency room (ours). NIDDK says the bowel can, rarely, fold into itself and become blocked, and that seizures have been seen in rare cases.
- Sudden, severe pain in the testicles? Get care right away (ours). Pink, red or brown urine, foamy urine, or new swelling? Call the health care team and tell them; do not wait for the next visit (ours). NIDDK says blood in the urine is a common sign the kidneys are affected.
- Thoughts of suicide, or all too much? Call or text 988, any hour, free (ours).
More help
- On this site: Blood in the urine · Kidney disease in children · Nephrotic syndrome · IgA nephropathy (a different disease) · Kidney disease · Kidneys, bladder and urine: find the right page.
- Alongside it: Kidney biopsy · Getting ready for imaging · High blood pressure · Pregnant, or with a new baby · Kidney failure · Caring for someone · Depression · My medicines.
- When it is hard to pay: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · Medical bills. Getting ready: Get ready for your appointment.
- In an emergency: 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.
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 20, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page IgA Vasculitis (last reviewed April 2020). The numbers (about 3 to 27 new cases per 100,000 children and infants, and fewer than 2 new cases per 100,000 adults each year; most common between the ages of 4 and 7; kidney checks for at least 6 months) are NIDDK’s, and we add none. Ours: the 911 and emergency-room line; getting care right away for sudden, severe pain in the testicles; calling the team about pink, red or brown urine, foamy urine or swelling; asking before any pain reliever; never starting or stopping a medicine on your own; 988; the questions to ask; the card; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: NIDDK’s section on research studies, its references and its outside links; we name no single medicine and no doses (only the groups of medicines NIDDK names). Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.