Bright's disease refers to kidney disease caused by proteins in the urine. It was named by Richard Bright, a pioneer in liver disease research who first published his findings in 1827, but became known as 'nephritis'. Recognized as the cause of the death of poet Emily Dickinson, by author H. P. Lovecraft, former United States President Chester A. Arthur and actor Sydney Greenstreet, as well as many others, Bright's disease is now known to those who research their genealogy and understand that a collection of information about it can help manage a possible family history characterized by liver disorders.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Diagnosing Bright's Disease
Step 1.
Step 2. Look for swelling in the tissues
One of the characteristic symptoms of Bright's disease, or nephritis, is a sudden swelling of the ankle, just above the shoes. The toes may also be swollen, as can the part of the feet near the toes. The area under the eyes may also be swollen, and sometimes the whole body may swell and turn pale.
Swelling can come and go over the course of the disease, and the patient sleeping on their side may wake up with the side of their face facing the puffy pillow
Step 3. Notice any physical discomfort
Those with Bright's disease experience back pain and nausea. More serious symptoms include headaches, particularly in combination with difficult urine passage, fever, vomiting, convulsions and the possibility of entering a coma.
Step 4. Notice any difficult passage of urine
Those with Bright's disease may have difficulty urinating, due to the kidneys' inability to remove waste from the blood. Patients may have calcified kidney stones that block urine flow causing blood pressure to rise.
Step 5. Examine your urine for blood
The protein found in the urine of those with Bright's disease is albumin, a protein found in the blood. Therefore, sufferers are likely to have blood in their urine, which takes on a subsequent brown, gray, dark red or, in children, bright red color. (Anemia is therefore a further and widespread consequence of the disease.)
Step 6. Look for any physical changes in the kidneys
As determined by autopsies of those who have died of this disease, the kidneys of nephritis sufferers take on a chocolate brown color, with white dots on the surface. Additionally, the liver organs can be softer and larger.
Method 2 of 2: How Bright's Disease Was Treated
Step 1.
Step 2. Immerse the body in a warm bath
Children diagnosed with Bright's disease were given hot baths every 3 hours during the first few days, then were given 3 hot baths a day and finally only 1 hot bath daily before going to sleep.
Step 3. Put the patient to bed
As a rule, the feet should be kept warm by artificial means and wrapped in blankets.
Step 4. Fast
Provided there is no constipation present, sufferers should not ingest food during the first 48 hours, but can drink water in the desired quantities. As the patient improves, they will switch to a buttermilk-based diet for a week. Children will eat an orange for breakfast and a grapefruit for dinner, while adults can eat them for all 3 meals and, during the summer months, they can eat melons.
Step 5. Ensuring a bowel movement at least every other day is imperative
If the patient has less frequent bowel movements, he or she will need to have an enema every other day to allow for bowel emptying.
Warnings
- The treatments described in the guide for treating those with Bright's disease are not intended to replace current medical therapies. By analyzing the treatments their ancestors may have undergone, readers will eventually be able to recognize the presence of kidney disease.
- Although the term Bright's disease is now out of use, the symptoms of this kidney disease remain real. If you have experienced any of those described here, consult your doctor.
