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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.
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.
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.