Nov 14, 2008 7:15 pm US/Eastern
HealthWatch: Kidney Stones More Common In Children
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
They're painful and often debilitating, and now doctors around the country are seeing more and more children who have them.
Yet despite all of their symptoms, kidney stones can be tough to diagnose.
When Alex Sandosky was 12 years old, she started having stomach trouble.
"I just started throwing up periodically, like every two weeks," Alex said.
What seemed like a simple virus at first turned out to be more. An ultrasound revealed that Alex had kidney stones.
"Most people are very surprised that their child has a kidney stone," Dr. Alice Neu, of Johns Hopkins Children's Center, said. "Most people think of kidney stones as an adult disease."
The illness is on the rise in children, and is even being seen in infants and toddlers.
"We receive calls from new patients with kidney stones almost every day," Neu said.
Kidney stones are collections of minerals in urine that crystallize and bind together. They're commonly composed of calcium or uric acid.
Symptoms include vomiting, backaches, abdominal pain, and dark or bloody urine.
If left untreated, stones can lead to kidney damage.
When Alex was diagnosed, her stone was 8 millimeters.
"If you were to stack 8 quarters, that is about the width of it," Alex's mother, Julie Sandosky, said.
While genetics plays a role in the likelihood of stone formation, the leading culprit is a diet high in salt.
"A lot of children and teenagers have increase salt intakes in their diets because of all the fast food that they eat that are laden with salt, particularly French fries, as well as many processed foods," Dr. Franklin C. Lowe, of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, said.
Another factor is that many kids aren't drinking enough water.
"They run from school to one or two afternoon activities – weekends they're usually doing two or three sports events – and frequently, they're just not drinking enough fluids," Lowe said.
Most stones will pass on their own with the aid of pain medication, and if not can be removed.
Alex underwent three surgeries to clear her kidneys. Now, at 14 years old, she remains in prevention mode.
"She's more conscious, I think, of the salt intake," Julie said.
"I usually just drink a lot of water," Alex said.
Even though many kidney stones are composed of calcium, kids should not shy away from having plenty of that mineral in their diets – it's crucial for building strong bones and teeth.
It's important that they instead focus on drinking enough water.
Studies have suggested a link between obesity and kidney stones in adults, but no studies on such a link in children have been completed yet.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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