What is Chronic Kidney Disease in Children?
It is the failure of the kidney to perform its functions adequately as a result of damage to the kidney due to severe and long-lasting, poorly treated or recurrent congenital or acquired kidney and urinary tract diseases in childhood.
What are the Causes of Chronic Kidney Disease in Children?
- Congenital diseases (failure to develop in both kidneys, polycystic kidney, strictures and enlargements in urinary tract, hereditary diseases, etc.),
- The leakage of urine from the urinary bladder to the kidney,
- Childhood non-microbial kidney diseases “nephritis”,
- Recurrent febrile urinary tract infections,
- Kidney and urinary tract stones,
- Diseases that disrupt the filling and emptying of the urinary bladder.
What are the Symptoms of Chronic Kidney Disease in Children?
- Flank (flank) pain,
- Nausea, vomiting, weakness and loss of appetite,
- Abdominal pain, burning while urinating,
- Frequent fever,
- Urinating frequently or at very long intervals,
- Red-brown urine due to bleeding,
- Swelling in the eyelids, face and legs,
- High blood pressure headache,
- Urinary incontinence, inability to reach the toilet,
- Pinch your legs to keep urine,
- Intermittent urination,
- Pain and bleeding as a result of falling kidney stones,
- Paleness,
- Growth retardation, stunted growth,
- In the rapidly progressing kidney failure in children, the amount of urine decreases rapidly at the beginning.
In prolonged and insidious renal failure, the amount of urine is abundant in the first years and decreases in the following period. - Several of the different symptoms may coexist depending on the underlying diseases.
How is the Treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease in Children?
Complaints should be taken seriously in the early period and treatment should be initiated early in order to prevent or at least reduce kidney damage.
- Adequate and balanced nutrition,
- Treatments for maintenance of growth and development
- Supportive treatments with medications
- Dialysis,
- Kidney transplant is performed.
What are the Methods of Preventing Kidney Disease in Children?
In children with frequent urinary tract infections;
- Paying attention to hygiene rules,
- To adopt a healthy diet and the habit of consuming enough water,
- Considering treatment recommendations for underlying diseases,
- Unnecessary drug use should be avoided.
