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BOO-BOOS, GERMS & PAP SMEARS:
Health Tips for Your Family
Kids and Kidney Stones
If you thought kidney stones were
just for adults, read on…
by Kathy Sena
Kidney stones? In kids? Isn't that something that happens to middle-aged people? Not anymore, doctors say.
Children today are getting kidney stones more than ever before. Chalk it up to our modern-day lifestyle and diet,
says Gary Faerber, M.D., a urologist at the University of Michigan Health System.
Typically, kidney stones are found in adults between ages 35 and 60. A family history of kidney stones is also a significant risk factor.
But many children today live a lifestyle that puts them at higher risk for developing kidney stones.
They consume sugar-filled drinks and a fast-food diet that is high in sodium, a known risk factor in the
formation of kidney stones, says Faerber.
"The sedentary lifestyle we're starting to see in the pediatric group is also a risk factor because we know that obesity increases the risk of forming kidney stones," he adds.
The most common type of kidney stones in the U.S. are calcium-oxalate stones. The more dehydrated one becomes, the more concentrated the urine becomes. This can lead to the formation of crystals, which can then form kidney stones. This is why it's important for kidney-stone patients to make sure they keep their urine very diluted.
The most common symptoms in children with kidney stones are back and abdominal pain. Parents may often mistake their child's symptoms for appendicitis or gastritis.
According to Faerber, doctors recommend that children between ages 5 and 10 who have kidney stones drink six glasses of water a day. Kids over age 10 who have kidney stones should drink 10 glasses of water daily.
Treatment options:
- If stones are small, doctors recommend that children attempt to pass them on their own.
- If the stone needs to be treated, shockwave lithotripsy is used. The procedure occurs under an anesthetic. Sound waves are used to break up the stone into small pieces, which the child can then pass.
- Sometimes doctors perform a ureteroscopy. The doctor passes a very small miniaturized instrument through the urinary tract and treats the stone with a laser.
- In cases where the stone is very large, access to the kidney is made through a small incision in the back. Using a small scope, the urinary system is entered and the stone is broken up. The pieces are then retrieved.
Of course, prevention is always best. In addition to helping kids stay active and avoid a fast-food diet, the goal should be to "get your child to stay away from sugar-filled drinks, sodas and colas and go to something natural like plain old water," says Faerber.
Kathy Sena is an award-winning health and parenting writer and the mother of a 12-year-old son.
Visit her website at KathySena.com
and check out her blog, Parent Talk Today, at
ParentTalkToday.com.
*The opinions stated aren't necessarily those of MommaSaid or its principals. Seek professional advice before beginning any health program.
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