Recently, the Department of Nephrology and Urology, Children's Hospital 2 HCMC, admitted a 12-year-old boy to the hospital in a state of abdominal cramps in the left hip area, accompanied by vomiting, cloudy urine and mild fever.
Through examination and necessary tests, doctors discovered that the baby had a stone stuck in 1/3 of the lower left urethra, causing urinary tract obstruction, leading to urinary tract infection and left kidney water stagnation.
After being treated to stabilize the infection, the child was operated on to remove the stones using minimally invasive endoscopic method, helping to reduce pain and shorten recovery time.
According to statistics at Children's Hospital 2, in the past 3 years, about 30 children with urinary tract stones have been treated each year, of which nearly 20 cases require surgical intervention. Worryingly, many children are taken to the hospital when serious complications such as prolonged renal water stagnation, severe urinary tract infection, and even kidney dysfunction have appeared.
In children, stones can form in the kidneys, ureters, bladder or urethra. However, many parents are still subjective, thinking that children only have normal abdominal pain or mild urinary tract infections, so they arbitrarily buy medication for treatment at home. Delaying examination causes stones to grow larger and larger, causing urinary blockage, kidney damage and long-term consequences.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Ngoc Thach - Deputy Director of Children's Hospital 2, urinary tract stones in children tend to increase due to a salty diet, low water intake, abuse of fast food, carbonated soft drinks and recurrence of urinary tract infections. If not detected early, stones can cause kidney water stagnation, kidney infection, kidney rupture, hypertension and chronic kidney failure, seriously affecting the physical development and quality of life of children later in life.
Experts also note that some common mistakes of parents are self-diagnosis, self-use pain relievers, antibiotics; ignoring symptoms such as back pain in episodes, abnormal urination; or not paying attention to giving children enough water and urinating regularly.
From the reality of treatment, doctors recommend that parents take their children to the doctor early when there are suspicious signs such as abdominal pain, back pain, frequent urination, cloudy urine, bloody urine or fever of unknown cause. In addition, the prevention of urinary stones needs to start from daily living habits: give children enough water, eat balanced meals, limit salty foods and carbonated soft drinks, and periodically monitor health to protect kidney function for children for a long time.
