From May 2009 issue of Parents Magazine

Kidney stones may seem like an adult condition, but doctors say this painful problem is rapidly on the rise in children, typically striking around age 5.  Experts don’t fully understand what’s behind the increase, but they think kids are eating too many high-sodium foods (think fast food and quick-fix dinners) and not drinking enough water.  Stones form when kids’ urine is too concentrated with salt and other minerals.

If your child has pain in her mid to lower back or belly, and blood in her urine, a fever, or vomiting, go to your doctor or the E.R. right away – she may need surgery.  Once a child has had one stone, she has a 50 percent chance of having another, says Pasquale Casale, M.D., director of minimally invasive urologic surgery at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  He suggests looking at her pee before she flushes.  If it’s golden and the smell is strong, she could be dehydrated.  If it’s almost clear, she’s in the clear too.

Tags: Children, dehydration, kidneystones