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Keeping your child healthy is a big job! Read all about common childhood aches, pains, and illnesses, plus how to take care of your child's body from teeth to toes.

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Kidneys and Urinary Tract

Our bodies produce several kinds of wastes, including sweat, carbon dioxide gas, feces (also known as stool), and urine. These wastes exit the body in different ways. Sweat is released through pores (tiny holes) in the skin. Water vapor and carbon dioxide are exhaled (breathed out) from the lungs. And undigested food materials are formed into feces in the intestines and excreted from the body as solid waste in bowel movements.

Urine, which is produced by the kidneys, contains the by-products of our body's metabolism - salts, toxins, and water - that end up in our blood. The kidneys and urinary tract (which includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra) filter and eliminate these waste substances from our blood. Without the kidneys, waste products and toxins would soon build up in the blood to dangerous levels.

In addition to eliminating wastes, the kidneys and urinary tract also regulate many important body functions. For example, the kidneys monitor and maintain the body's balance of water, ensuring that our tissues receive enough water to function properly and be healthy.

When you're asked to give a diabetes.

What Do the Kidneys and Urinary Tract Do?

Although the two kidneys work together to perform many vital functions, people can live a normal, healthy life with just one kidney. In fact, some people are born with just one of these bean-shaped organs. If one kidney is removed, the remaining one will enlarge within a few months to take over the role of filtering blood on its own.

Every minute, more than 1 quart (about 1 liter) of blood goes to the kidneys. About one fifth of the blood pumped from the heart goes to the kidneys at any one time.

In addition to filtering penis; the female urethra ends just above the strep throat. Most children with this type of nephritis recover fully, but a few can have permanent kidney damage that eventually requires dialysis or a kidney transplant.

poisoning, or drug overdose. Treatment includes correcting the problem that led to the failure and sometimes requires surgery or dialysis (pronounced: die-ah-luh-sis). Dialysis involves using a machine or other artificial device to remove the excess salts and water and other wastes from the body when the kidneys are unable to perform this function.

Chronic kidney failure involves a deterioration of kidney function over time. In children, it can result from acute kidney failure that fails to improve, birth defects of the kidney, lupus), or it may be idiopathic (which means the exact cause may not be known or understood). Nephritis is generally detected by protein and blood in the urine.

Nephrotic Syndrome is a type of kidney disease which leads to loss of protein in the urine and swelling of the face (often the eyes) or body (often around the genitals). It is most common in children younger than 6 years old and is more prevalent in boys. Nephrotic syndrome is often treated with steroids.  

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is infection in the urinary tract, usually caused by bacteria. UTIs are most commonly caused by intestinal bacteria, such as E. coli, which are normally found in feces. These bacteria can cause infections anywhere in the urinary tract, including the kidneys. Most UTIs occur in the lower urinary tract, in the bladder and urethra. UTIs occur in both boys and girls. However, kidney damage and kidney failure later in life.

Wilms' tumor is the most common kidney cancer occurring in children. It is diagnosed most commonly between 2 and 5 years of age and affects males and females equally.

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Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.

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