Dr. Caleb Nelson, a urologist and co-director of the pediatric kidney stone clinic at Children's Hospital in Boston, said he also thinks the number of children with kidney stones is growing -- though he said the reasons for this are not entirely known.
"It's not simply that we're finding more of them because imaging is picking them up," he said. "We're seeing more kids come in with stone-related symptoms."
Physicians believe, however, that the two main contributors appear to be poor fluid intake and too much dietary salt -- mainly from processed, canned, boxed and junk foods.
The most common symptom of a kidney stone in a child is blood in the urine, said Dr. Bruce Slaughenhoupt, co-director of pediatric urology and the pediatric kidney stone clinic at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. "This is a more common complaint than pain, perhaps because younger kids might have difficulty expressing their pain."
A younger child is also more apt to say they have a tummy ache, likely with nausea and vomiting, while older children can verbalize if their pain is in the lower back or on their side.
Surprisingly, the size of a kidney stone makes no difference to pain levels, explained Slaughenhoupt. "The pain occurs when the stone gets stuck and blocks the ureters. This blockage creates pressure, and pressure is what causes pain."
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