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As parents, you want to do your best to keep your little one healthy. However, keeping your kid's kidneys healthy doesn't feature in your priority list when it comes to caring for your child. You are probably more worried about nutrition and developmental milestones which are extremely crucial for sure. But kidney problems are not uncommon in children. Moreover, unlike heart, lung and liver diseases, kidney problems do not cause symptoms until nearly 80% of the function is lost. Hence, the diagnosis is often made late. So, you, as a parent, need to be more cautious this aspect of your child's health. There could be multiple triggers behind kidney diseases in kids. Some of them include birth defects, hereditary diseases, infection, urine blockage or reflux.
It is very important for parents to make note of the early signs of the disease to avoid complications. Dr Varsha Phadke, Professor and Head Incharge, Pediatric Nephrolgy division, Department of Pediatrics & Neonatology, K. J. Somaiya Medical College & Research Centre sheds more light on kidney diseases in children to spread awareness among parents:
Symptoms
Types of kidney diseases
Diagnosis
For diagnosis and assessing the severity of kidney diseases, some investigations should be done.
Read: 8 tests for checking kidney problems in adults.
Treatment
Treatment of kidney diseases depends on the individual disease. Antibiotics are given for 10 14 days in urinary tract infections. Prednisolone (steroid) is used in nephrotic syndrome. Some malformations may require surgical correction.
In adults, when the kidney fails, dialysis is done and sometimes kidney transplantation is the only cure. Similar treatments are also available for children. Dialysis is of 2 types: Peritoneal dialysis (preferred in children) and hemodialysis. Due to kidney failure, harmful substances such as urea, creatinine, potassium, phosphorus and excess water accumulate in the body. These are removed by dialysis. Dialysis does not cure the underlying kidney disease. Here s everything you need to know about kidney dialysis.
Kidney transplantation for children is available in India for End Stage Renal Disease. In kidney transplantation, normal kidney of a donor is fitted in place of the diseased kidney of the patient surgically. The donor can be alive or brain dead. For transplantation, appropriate permissions need to be taken and legal procedures to be followed. (Read: Kidney dialysis in India)
Prevention
The treatment of kidney failure is very difficult, painful as well as expensive. Hence we should take utmost. Here are 5 foods that can help prevent kidney diseases. You can also check these tips to prevent kidney problems and diseases.
Whom to consult
Kidney doctors for kids are called paediatric nephrologists who can be consulted for urinary complaints or kidney diseases. If kidney problem persists for more than 3 months, blood creatinine level is high or kidneys are abnormal on sonography, then a paediatric nephrologist should be consulted.
There are some associations working for children with kidney diseases. Kidney foundation for children is one such organization with a mission to facilitate the delivery of kidney care so that every child with kidney disease should get the right care at the right time and in the right manner.
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