Kidney Swelling In Your Child - Causes & Treatments (World Kidney Day)

Did you know that kidney related diseases not only affect the elders but even children and infants? Shocking isn’t it? Thanks to technology, in recent years, better ultrasound machines have allowed the doctors to see a pregnant women’s baby's kidneys more clearly, thus, allowing them to detect different types of problems such as absence of one or both kidneys, abnormal position of a kidney, hydronephrosis (swelling of a kidney), fluid-filled cysts and tumours.

What Is Hydronephrosis?

Kidney Swelling Causes In Child-

Blockage/obstruction-

• Reteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction:

  A blockage at the point where the kidney joins the ureter (the thin tube that carries urine to the bladder). A narrowing at the top of the ureter usually being the cause

• Ureterovesical junction (UVJ) obstruction:

  A blockage at the point where the ureter joins the bladder

• Posterior urethral valves (PUV):

  A congenital condition, found only in boys, in which there are abnormal flaps of tissue in the urethra, causing bladder obstruction

• Ureterocele:

  A bulge in the ureter that can obstruct part of the kidney and sometimes the bladder

• Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR):

  A backwash of urine that happens when the muscles at the junction of the ureter and bladder aren’t working properly and allow urine to flow back up toward the kidney with bladder filling or emptying

Other Causes of Hydronephrosis-

• Ectopic ureter:

  A rare condition wherein a ureter doesn’t connect to the bladder in the normal location
• Unknown: In more than half of the children who are prenatally diagnosed with Hydronephrosis, the condition resolves itself over the time and the cause is never known

Symptoms Of Kidney Disease In Children-

• Pain in the abdomen
• Pain in the side
• Blood in the urine

• Strong urge to visit the bathroom
• Pain while urinating
• Cloudy urine
• Back pain
• Fever
• Vomiting

Kidney Swelling Treatment

1. The doctor will prescribe your child some low dosage antibiotics, which will not have much side effects. The kind of antibiotics will depend up on your child’s age, weight and allergies
2. The antibiotics are used to prevent the Hydronephrosis from causing kidney infections. Once the X-ray is done, the doctor will determine for how long your child will need to continue with the antibiotics
3. If the condition is severe in your child, the need for surgery can be estimated. Usually non-obstructive Hydronephrosis and grade I to III Hydronephrosis don't need surgery and resolve over time. Children with grade IV Hydronephrosis, which is the most severe, are the most likely to need surgery to prevent kidney damage and recurrent infection. The surgery to correct Hydronephrosis is called Pyeloplasty
4. A new born’s kidney failure refers to temporary or permanent damage to the kidneys, resulting in loss of normal kidney function. Symptoms of acute renal failure include fever, rash, severe vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, abdominal pain, pale skin, swelling of tissues, inflammation of the eyes and so on. The treatment for this will depend up on your child’s age, overall health and medical history, the extent of the disease, your child’s tolerance for the medications and so on

So this World Kidney Day, let us join hands and address the various types of kidney related diseases and take the necessary precautions and treatments available.

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