Source: texomashomepage.com
(HEALTHCAST)— Children and even infants can get kidney stones.
They may not be very common in kids, but doctors said they’re finding kidney stones increasingly more common.
“It feels like somebody stabbed you and stabs you and stabs you,” a patient, Katie Elkins said.
Katie Elkins was in fifth grade when she was crying, vomiting in pain and her parents called an ambulance.
“She just couldn’t sit still, she was moving and trying to get comfortable and couldn’t. It was the worst feeling ever. It was devastating because you see your baby she’s crying hysterically, and there’s nothing you can do for her,” Katie’s mom, Lanai Turnbough said.
While in the hospital at Texas Children’s Hospital, doctors informed her she has several kidney stones. Pediatric Urologist, Dr. Paul Austin, said the number of kids getting them is already up 40% just this year!
“I think it’s fluid hydration, i think it’s diet, those of the two biggest culprits. I think kids are eating too much processed foods with high sodium and they don’t drink enough,” Austin said.
The best advice for dealing with stones is to try to avoid them in the first place. But Dr. Austin said our warm climate and schools are adding to the problem.
“Restrictions of water bottles in the classroom, it may also be the amount of time or lack there of that they have between classes if they could go to the water fountain,” Austin said
Katie has an appointment at the TCH Stone Clinic where doctors will determine the best way to treat the stones she hasn’t passed.
And give diet instructions that might help her avoid stones in the future.
But her mom said with as common as they’ve become, she wishes more clinics could be available to help kids.
Diet modifications such as increased water is usually the biggest treatment suggestion.
There is also some people who would need surgical intervention or shock waves to break the stones so that then they can pass.