Kidney/UTI issues

[ethandley]

Hi,
Our son is 8 months old and was recently treated for a urinary tract infection, which is rare for males. We were only able to tell because my wife noticed a mucous like spot of blood in his diaper one morning. They diagnosed it as a UTI and then gave him Keflex to treat it for 10 days. His follow up UA was normal but we just got a call from the urologist saying his calcium and creatinine levels were high. That combined with the one incidence of blood in the urine prompted them to refer us to a nephrologist (kidney specialist) for further examination. Back in July he had an ultrasound done for non-CF related issues and they identified a "widening of the kidney pelvis" that we were later told was a mild grade, but that we should keep it in the back of our minds in case something related came about…lucky us.
Enough of my rambling…I'm curious if anyone on here has had any similar encounters or has any advice.
Thank you very much, Eric

 

[patern1990]

Normally, urine contains chemicals, which prevent crystals from forming. Some people seem to be more prone to kidney stones than others. Factors such as recurrent urinary tract infections, drinking less fluids and blockage of the urinary tract lead to stone formation. Consuming too much calcium oxalate or uric acid in the diet, excess vitamin C or D, certain medications and metabolic diseases may also lead to development of kidney stones.

the most important thing is to drink plenty of water every day so that the volume of urine passed per day is between 2 to 4 litres. An adequate intake of water must be maintained throughout the day especially along with meals and after exercise.

A low-calcium diet is usually recommended to prevent recurrent kidney stones in patients. Recently, the need for a low-calcium diet has been questioned as the efficacy of such a diet is lacking and greater importance has been placed on reducing the intake of animal protein and salt.

Kidney stones can form anywhere in the urinary system. They develop when certain chemicals in the urine form crystals that sticks together. The crystals grow into a stone, which can range in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball. Small stones can pass through the urinary system without causing too much problems. However, larger stones can block the flow of urine or irritate the lining of the urinary tract. Most stones (70 to 80 percent) contain calcium oxalate crystals.

A five-year study was carried out at the University of Parma, Italy by comparing the effect of two diets in 120 men with recurrent kidney stones. Sixty men were assigned to a diet containing a normal amount of calcium (30 mmol per day) but reduced amounts of animal protein (52 g per day) and salt (50 mmol of sodium chloride per day); the other 60 men were assigned to the traditional low-calcium diet, which contained 10 mmol of calcium per day. 12 of the 60 men on the normal-calcium, low-animal-protein, low-salt diet and 23 of the 60 men on the low-calcium diet had relapses or recurrences.