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At birth he had a kidney removed...

Hi Leanne,
I have a nine month old son, whom at birth, had a kidney removed. He is a great little eater, no probs there, but recently people have been telling me that he should not be eating certain foods, especially tomato and banana. Does this sound correct to you? Most of his favourite meals are tomato based and he would usually eat a banana every second day.

I have also been told by a doctor not to administer him Nurofen and to only give him Panadol. Do you know the reason behind this? There was so much going on at the time of his birth, with the operation and all, that I forgot to ask about the difference between the two.

Any information you can give me on whether or not he requires a special diet would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers Katrina :)

Leann...
Answer: Hi Katrina, I can imagine you must feel like your feet have barely touched ground! I can tell you that babies kidney`s don`t reach full functioning until after the first year. That is why you cant give them food with too much sodium as their kidneys cant cope, also when the start solids they need more water to help process the food. To my knowledge the only foods you would need to be mindful of would be those high in oxalic acid (leeks and spinach) and those high in salt. I cant see why tomato and banana (within limits) would pose a problem, but I would fully recommend that you seek the assistance of a dietitian. Dietitians are by far the most specific professional for diets when there has been medical intervention. This is the hot line for them 1800 812 942. I believe it may be the active constituent of Nurofen (Ibuprofen which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) that is a possibly the issue. Ibuprofen can effect the kidneys (as well as others). Panadol has paracetamol which acts on different pathways within the body (via brain chemicals to block pain), it doesn`t have an anti-inflammatory effect and seem to cause less issue with the kidneys. Below are two links, the first is Australian and fab, it has a whole section on nutrition so I recommend having a good read, there are a few issues that crop up when kidneys are involved, including vitamin D: http://www.kidney.org.au/ http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/childkidneydiseases/overview/ So I hope that gets things rolling for you. All the best, Leanne
Tags: discount, inducting, induction, infant, maternity, diaper, diet, eating, food, medical, families, family, goods, epidural, c-section, caesarean, fetus, health, authoritative, constipation, crying, breastfeeding, colic, growth, hypnobirthing, midwife, miscarriage
Answered: 08 Jun 2009