Free guide · Scarlet Beast En español →
Renal tubular acidosis (RTA): when the kidneys do not remove acid, the three types, the tests, and the treatment
For anyone told their blood is too acidic, or their potassium too low or too high, because of their kidneys; for anyone told they have renal tubular acidosis; for the parents of a child who has it; and for the people who love them. 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 and who gets it, the signs and the complications, the causes type by type, the tests, and the treatment, prevention and food. It builds the words to say, and prints a card for your notes. Nothing is saved.
Right now
- Someone faints, has chest pain, or suddenly is so weak they cannot move? Call 911 (ours).
- A heartbeat that feels irregular, very slow or very fast, or new muscle weakness that is getting worse? Seek care right away (ours). NIDDK says very low or very high potassium can cause paralysis, heart problems and death.
- Thoughts of suicide? Call or text 988, any hour, free (ours).
More help
- On this site: How your kidneys work · Kidney disease · Kidney stones · Kidneys, bladder and urine: find the right page.
- Alongside it: Lupus · Sickle cell disease · Kidney disease and your bones · Kidney disease in children · Symptom diary · My medicines.
- When it is hard to pay: When you need a doctor and can’t pay. 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 Renal Tubular Acidosis (last reviewed November 2020). The numbers (one in five people with a rejected kidney transplant or on immunosuppressive medicines develop type 4; at least three genes for inherited type 1) are NIDDK’s, and we add none. The treatments named (sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, potassium citrate, potassium and vitamin D supplements) are the ones NIDDK names; for the medicines that can cause RTA, NIDDK names only kinds of medicine, and so do we. Ours: 911 for fainting, chest pain, or sudden weakness so great someone cannot move; seeking care right away for a heartbeat that feels irregular, very slow or very fast, or muscle weakness that is getting worse; and 988 (NIDDK’s page names none of these; the dangers of very low and very high potassium are NIDDK’s); never stopping a prescribed medicine on your own; not starting or stopping potassium on your own; the lines to say; the card; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: NIDDK’s section on clinical trials, its references, its picture and its outside links; we name no medicine brands and no doses. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.