Kids Getting Kidney Stones: Is it Really the Salt?
Barbara Lock, MDMarch 30, 2009
Anecdotal evidence points to an increase in the incidence of kidney stones in children, according to published reports.
While kidney stones in children are quite rare, they appear to be associated with an abnormally developed urinary tract, having had previous urinary tract infections, and a history of kidney stones in the parents, according to Dursun et al. While MedPie could not find a systematic review in the electronically published literature that addressed the optimal treatment for kidney stones in children, studies of kidney stones in adults suggest that kidney stones pass more easily when patients are treated with a class of medication called alpha-blockers, which are more commonly used to treat prostate disease, according to Singh et al. Calcium channel blockers were also found to be helpful.
Kidney stones are very painful. In adults, the combination of the opiate analgesic morphine and the anti-inflammatory medication ketorolac worked better to control kidney stone pain better than either medication alone, according to a randomized controlled trial by Safdar et al.
While experts have recommended that children eat less sodium, or salt, in their diet to reduce the risk of kidney stones, a systematic review of diet, fluids and supplements to prevent kidney stones by Fink et al showed no definitive evidence that salt reduction works. Drinking plenty of water, and cutting out soda, however, does seem to work.
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