"Kidney disease occurs more often than we think, but it is also more treatable than we used to think, especially when caught early," says Barbara Fivush, M.D., director of nephrology at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. "Children and adolescents should be monitored carefully because kidney disease that seems to suddenly strike young adults often has its roots in childhood."
Kidney disease develops silently and all too often manifests its presence only when it's far too late to stop the progressive loss in kidney function that will require dialysis or transplantation. More than one-third of kidney transplant patients in 2001 were between the ages of 20 and 44. Many of them likely developed renal disease in childhood, say doctors from the Children's Center.
March is kidney awareness month. On March 8, World Kidney Day, doctors want to remind parents that timely detection of kidney problems in early childhood and adolescence is the best way to curb kidney damage and even reverse some of it.
These telltale signs of early kidney disease should prompt a visit to the doctor.