Pediatric urological and renal conditions constantly present parents with challenges, not only because the symptoms of these conditions are mostly hidden, but also because parents don’t realize how common some of these conditions can be.

Pediatric urological and renal conditions are issues involving a child’s urinary tract and reproductive organs, which include kidneys, bladder and urethra.

There are an abundance of different urological and renal conditions out there but some of the more common conditions in kids are renal tubular acidosis, polycystic kidney disease and urinary tract infections.

Renal tubular acidosis (RTA) is a condition that involves an accumulation of acid in your child’s blood due to a failure of the kidneys to remove excess acid from your child’s blood into their urine. Some of the most common symptoms of RTA are pain in the back or side that spreads to the lower abdomen, pain while urinating, poor weight gain and decreased urination. If this condition is not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner this condition may lead to kidney failure. Some of the factors that can cause RTA are too much acid in your child’s body, high blood calcium or the use of certain prescription drugs.

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is an inherited disorder in which many fluid-filled cysts develop in your child’s kidneys. PKD is a genetic disorder that affects more than 500,000 people in the U.S. If one parent has this disorder, the chance of passing it down to your child is 50 percent. Other health issues that could develop if your child has PKD are high blood pressure, back pain and headaches.

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