The Symptoms of Kidney Disease in Children

The kidneys are reddish, bean shaped organs that filter your child's blood as it circulates through his body. They also play a large part in building strong bones, producing red blood cells and maintaining proper blood pressure. When your child's kidneys are diseased or damaged, it can be very serious because kidney function can affect the other organs in the body. It is important to catch the symptoms of kidney disease in your children early to avoid permanent kidney damage or total kidney failure.

  1. Lethargy

    • Although lethargy is a very subjective symptom, it is an early sign of kidney disease in children. For particularly young children, it may be the first sign that anything is wrong. He may seem very tired and sleep more often than normal. He may not be interested in food or refuse to eat at all. You may even notice that your child does not want to play or move around as much as he normally does.

    High Blood Pressure

    • High blood pressure, or hypertension, is another sign of kidney disease. Kidneys depend on normal blood pressure to complete their blood filtering activities; hormones are released from the kidneys to help maintain appropriate blood pressure. When kidneys are diseased, high blood pressure often follows. In children, high blood pressure is not a common occurrence so a hypertension diagnosis will often lead health care providers to run further tests on vital organs, including the kidneys.

    Edema

    • Edema is the abnormal swelling of body parts like the hands, feet or around the eyes. Edema can be cause by a heavy loss of protein. When the kidneys are damaged, their filtering abilities can stop functioning correctly. Damaged kidneys may not remove the waste from the blood stream. On the other hand, they may remove the waste, but also take the protein and other nutrients that should remain in circulation. When protein is lost because the kidneys aren't functioning properly, edema can occur.

    Anemia

    • Anemia can be another sign of kidney disease in children. The kidneys release hormones that promote the production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen through the blood stream to the various parts of the body. Your child can have a low red blood cell count because of kidney disease. This reduces the amount of oxygen in her blood that is available to the cells. It can cause unexplained weakness or fatigue in your child. Severe anemia can lead to heart palpitations and even heart failure.

    Uremia

    • Your child's kidneys are a part of his urinary system, the main function of which is to remove waste like urea and excess water from the blood for urine production. Diseased kidneys do not remove enough or any urea from the blood, causing uremia. Uremia is a very serious condition. It can lead to reduced brain, heart and muscle function if it is undetected.

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