Signs your child has chronic kidney disease!

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Not just adults, but kidney disease can also affect children in various ways, ranging from treatable disorders to life-threatening conditions.

The kidneys acts as the filter removing waste products from the body through urine and returing cleaned blood back to the body. The kidneys work around the clock and a person cannot control what they do. It is said that the two kidneys filter about 120 to 150 quarts of blood every day to produce about 1 to 2 quarts of urine, which is composed of wastes and extra fluid.

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs and each of them is made up of about a million filtering units called nephrons.

Signs and symptoms of kidney problems

You should immediately talk to a doctor if your child develops any of the following symptoms:

• Unexplained fever
• Swelling around the eyes, feet, and ankles
• Painful urination
• Poor appetite
• Slow growth
• Frequent or difficulty urination
• Recurrence of nighttime bedwetting
• Blood in the urine
• Persistent abdominal pain
• High blood pressure

Kidney disease in children can be caused by a number of factors. They are:

• Birth defects
• Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Nephrotic syndrome
• Hereditary diseases
• Reflux disorders

As parents, you are naturally left feeling distressed and bewildered if you have a child with kidney disease. While these feelings are normal for parents and family members as they have many various questions about the child's health, children with the condition face many challenges, which include: problem making friends, learning difficulties, a negative self-image, etc. Children with chronic kidney disease may not grow as well as their peers.

However, it is important for the family to accept once they realise that the child's condition is a reality and help him/her cope with the day-to-day aspects of life.