ORLANDO, Fla. – Kidney stones are a hard calcium mass formed in the kidneys.
Sometimes they stay in the kidney and cause no issues. But if the stones try to pass out of the kidney and get stuck, they can cause extreme pain.
Each year, more than 500,000 Americans go to the emergency room for kidney stones. Most of the those patients suffering from severe pain, bloody urine and vomiting are children.
“The rate is increasing at about 5% per year. So, it’s a dramatic increase,” said Dr. Gregory Tasian, attending urologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Those who have stones have a 50% risk of developing another kidney stone within five to seven years.
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Risk factors for kids include being overweight, dehydrated and being prescribed unnecessary antibiotics.
“Right now, we know that there’s these five antibiotics that are associated with kidney stones, mainly cephalosporins as you said, broad spectrum penicillins, which is something like Augmentin,” Tasian said.
Risk also increases during temperature extremes, so make sure your child drinks extra fluids in the heat of the summer and cold of winter.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute suggests putting your child on the dash diet to decrease the risk of developing stones.
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Small kidney stones may pass at home with extra fluids.
For others, you may need medication or shock wave therapy to break up the stone or a ureteroscopy.
But you should not wait longer than six weeks if trying to pass it on your own.
To know more about the dash diet, click here.