PHOENIX — When you hear about kidney stones, you probably don't think of kids. However, new data says maybe we should.
Over the last couple of decades, more and more children are being diagnosed with kidney stones.
Kidney stones develop when minerals normally found in urine join together to form hard stones in the urinary tract. Studies show a dramatic rise in kids.
A report in the journal Healthcare shows ER visits more than doubling.
In adults, stones are more common in men. But the opposite is true in children. They're more common in teenage girls and may be linked to hormonal changes. Overall, experts say the rise is linked to three factors, not drinking enough water, increased sodium in diets and overprescription of antibiotics.
Increases in kidney stones are well-documented across the deep south causing researchers to link heat.
"It's been called the stone belt. You see a lot more stones go to the hotter climates, and we've seen this all the way up in Michigan now," said Dr. Yegappan Lakshmanan, the chief of pediatric urology at Children's Hospital of Michigan which has opened a pediatric kidney stone clinic in response to the rise in patients.
ABC15 Health Insider Dr. Shad Marvasti says more humid climates are at a greater risk because of the natural way the body sheds sweat with fewer trips to the bathroom. Monsoon weather in Arizona increases the risk slightly for children.
"In monsoon season when we are starting to get more humid and more sweat, I think that becomes more of an issue because if you're losing it in sweat, then its concentrating in your urinary tract." said Dr. Shad.
He says drinking enough water is key to combating the heat and kidney stones in children.
Following a more natural diet with real fruits and vegetables instead of prepackaged, processed foods can also have an impact.
According to the CDC, about 90% of US children ages 6-18 consume too much daily sodium. Most come from packaged food and restaurants.
"We're seeing a lot of these packaged chips or sports drinks being marketed specifically to kids and then if they're not drinking water but they're drinking that, that can set them up for kidney stones." said Dr. Shad.
Oral antibiotics are also associated with increased risk of kidney stones with early and more recent pediatric exposure giving the greatest odds. Dr. Shad says the medications disrupt good bacteria in the gut.
So how can you identify kidney stones? Lakshmanan says to watch for sudden, severe pain in the back or side, nausea and vomiting, groin pain as the stone passes down the urinary tract and blood in the urine.
Though painful, smaller stones can pass on their own. Larger stones may need surgical removal.
Kidney stones also have a hereditary element, so if your parents or grandparents had stones, kids are at a high risk and once you develop stones, chances are you'll develop them again.