Calcium Supplement for Children with Nephrotic Syndrome

One typical character of childhood nephrotic syndrome is the leakage of large amount of protein in urine. The protein in urine is mainly albumin and at the same time the calcium in the blood will be excreted. On the other hand, the children are in the vigorous development stage and require more calcium supply. Therefore the loss of protein will cause short of calcium and if there is not adequate calcium in the diets, there will be low blood calcium and the diseased children will suffer from convulsion and tetany.

In addition, nephrotic syndrome patients need to have large dosage of adrenal cortical hormone. It has been proved by pharmological study that hormone will affect the absorption of vitamin D and calcium by the intestinal wall. This will aggravate lack of calcium in the children and they are susceptible to have osteoporosis and fracture

Therefore in the treatments for childhood nephrotic syndrome, adequate vitamin D and calcium should be supplied to prevent convulsion, tetany, osteoporosis or fracture. Proper diets plus proper medicines and treatments can help alleviate or even avoid low calcium and its complications.

Besides the supply of adequate calcium, patients should have enough vitamins. Patients should have more fresh green-leaf vegetables and fruits which can help promote appetite and supply enough vitamins and fibers. Vitamin a, vitamin b, vitamin c, folic acid and iron are all conducive for improving kidney functions and preventing anemia.

The last but not the least is the supply of protein which is very important for children with nephrotic syndrome and it is also very difficult to know what the proper amount is. In principle, patients should have low-protein diets to reduce kidneys’ burdens and on the other hand they need more protein to make up the protein loss and meet the needs of life activities. One solution is low-protein diets but the quality should be high such as egg, milk, lean meat and fish, etc.