Any impurities in the urine identified by the parents can be both a sign of illness and a harmless symptom associated with the baby's nutrition. What if your child's urine contains white flakes? Why can they appear in children's urine, as evidenced and is it worth worrying about? Let's figure it out.
Where do the flakes come from?
Changes in the child's urine indicate the work of the kidneys and other organs of the excretory system. Urine is produced in the kidneys when blood is drawn through their filtering system. So it is cleared of toxins, harmful substances and other compounds, but all important elements of the blood (proteins, cells, glucose and others) return back to the blood. If the kidneys are not working properly, they will not be absorbed, but will be lost with urine. This is one of the reasons why flakes appear in the urine.
White flakes of many parents suggest that these are proteins that the child has lost in urine. But such flakes do not always show protein release. In fact, protein molecules are very small and their excretion in the urine is most often seen only during analysis. Visually, proteinuria is determined quite rarely and occurs in serious kidney pathologies.
Most often, white flakes are epithelial cells, leukocytes and bacteria, which can enter the urine both in diseases and if the sample is not collected for analysis. Also, such flakes can turn out to be salts excreted by a child in urine in large quantities.
Causes
White flakes can appear in the urine as a result of illness and under the influence of changes in the child's diet. The presence of inclusions in the urine may indicate problems with the kidneys, bladder, and urethra. Another common cause of flocculation is improper collection of urine for analysis. In this case, microorganisms and leukocytes from the genitals of the child can enter the urine.
At home, parents can determine how dangerous white flakes in urine are. For this, the child is asked to urinate in two transparent jars - first into one and then into the other. If white flakes got into the first portion (first jar), then there is a high probability that the cause of such inclusions is diseases of the bladder or urethra. If white flakes are visible in the second portion, then kidney disease manifests itself in this way, which is a reason to immediately take the child to a doctor.
Possible diseases
White flakes can be one of the signs:
- Glomerulonephritis;
- Pyelonephritis;
- Amyloidosis of the kidneys;
- Thrush;
- Cystitis;
- Acute urethritis;
- Balanoposthitis;
- Urolithiasis;
- Pelvic trauma;
- Abnormalities of the kidneys and ureters.
Nutrition
White sediment in the urine can appear with a vegetarian diet, when phosphates begin to be excreted in the urine in greater quantities.
In addition, frequent consumption of dairy products, fresh vegetable and fruit juices leads to the appearance of a white sediment. It should also be noted that an increased concentration of salts may be due to insufficient fluid intake, therefore it is important to monitor not only the balance of the baby's nutrition, but also the optimal drinking regime.
