How does Kidney Failure Affect Children?

Kidney failure can affect children in various ways, ranging from light degree to life-threatening conditions. Acute kidney failure develops rapidly over a few hours or a few days. Chronic kidney disease does not go away with treatment and tends to get worse over time. CKD eventually leads to kidney failure, described as end-stage kidney disease or ESRD when treated with a kidney transplant or blood-filtering treatments called dialysis.

Children with CKD or kidney failure face many challenges, which can include

· a negative self-image

· relationship problems

· behavior problems

· learning problems

· trouble concentrating

· delayed language skills development

· delayed motor skills development

Children with CKD may grow at a slower rate than their peers, and urinary incontinence—the loss of bladder control, which results in the accidental loss of urine—is common. Children who have got kidney failure may lose confidence in their life. They may give up the treatment for the depressed life, even give up their life. Therefore, parents should pay more attention to children’s mental healthy so as to help them modify symptoms. For example, leading children to think about the positive side of the life, playing games with them to make them feel happy and so on.