Advice for Utis

I don't have much uti knowledge, but I do remember a friend saying her daughter would get them from the bubbles in the tub. or from too much soap down there. I hope this helps.

Some are just suseptible to UTI's. Girls get them more than boys because of the size of the urethra I believe it is. I got them a lot as a child. Water and cranberry juice were a staple in the house at that time. You don't have to do straight cranberry juice either. I can't stand straight cranberry juice so usually my mom would have the cran apple or cran grape juice for me. Cleanliness is important and staying away from caffeine is too. However, they just might be girls who get bladder infections. For a while there one daughter was always getting ear infections and the other was always getting strep throat. The doctor once told me that sometimes that's the way it goes when a kid gets an infection in some if will go straight to the ears and others will go straight to the throat and I suppose it's possible that in others it could cause a UTI. If you have questions ask the doctor though that's what they are there for. If you don't feel comfortable communicating with the doctor or that the doctor can communicate effectively with you then maybe you need to find a new doctor. But until then get them drinking that cranberry juice to help wash this out.

First of all, ask your doctor whatever questions you have. Ask for an interpreter if language is an issue. This is very important, to be able to communicate with your child's doctor. And yes, both not consuming enough fluids and holding pee in when you need to go can contribute to UTI's. Some kids are more succeptible than others as well. One of the causes that our doctor shared with us is taking long baths, particularly with bubble bath. Bacteria in the water, in the tub and on the body can get into areas it doesn't belong when you are soaking in the tub.
Cranberry juice is a good natural support for the urinary system. If you can't get them to drink it, mix it with other things and they do make cranberry based chewable supplements that may also help. And keep pushing the water, although you should probably stick to bottled water or have your tap water tested just to be sure.

Hi:

Drinking fluids is key, but another culprit is baths and bubble bath. My daughter had frequent UTIs and we had to stop baths. It helped. Good luck.

Hi A.- I'm not a medically trained person, just a mom who's had UTI's and one of my daughters (now 9) has had them twice. Here's what I've been told about them: they're caused by bacteria entering the urethra. The bacteria usually comes from improper wiping, or incomplete wiping after a bowel movement. It can also occur if the bladder is not emptied completely when they pee, so there's some old pee that stays in the bladder and can grow bacteria. Also, when taking a bath, the soap in the water-especially if they use bubble bath- can irritate the urethra, or the bacteria that's in the water from washing their body can enter their bladder that way, too. There is a condition that some children get that often leads to UTI's, and is aggravated by withholding their urine. Some kids are on anti-biotics for years to address it. An xray can show if your daughter has it. I'm sorry I don't remember what it's called, but it's usually diagnosed in younger kids, like yours. Drinking a lot of water or cranberry juice is helpful. Our urine should be the color of lemonade if we're drinking enough, and not the color of orange juice. Best of luck.

Hi there,

Your girls definitely need to drink more water, and it would be helpful to cut out the juice completely. Juice has a lot of sugar, even natural "no sugar added" juice, has lots of natural sugar. The sugar can actually make the UTIs worse.

Also, "the holding it" can really cause problems as well. Who helps to wipe the girls at school? Perhaps the issue is that. Could you send them to school with fragrance free wipes that they could use and instruct them on how to wipe? Or instruct their teachers on how to wipe. You might be surprised by how little consideration some providers place on the difference between cleaning little girl parts versus little boy parts!

Also, do you bathe them with soap that has fragrance? Even Johnson's has perfume in it and that can irritate an existing infection.

In the meantime, try to put them to bed without any tight clothes, that includes underwear. That helps the vagina to regulate PH levels and bacteria. I would also try only using cotton fabric, no character or shiny Disney undies that have synthetic fabric in them.

Hi there,
The most common reasons for children this age to get UTI's are from wiping from back to front and taking baths. Holding urine can cause problems as well as not taking in enough fluids but the first 2 are much more common. I would no be to concerned with the bacteria in the urine. This most likey says that the urine itself is contaminated. You want to know if it has leukocytes in it, that indicates infection. What he is wait on though is a culture to see if anything grows. In the meantime lots of fluids is a great idea, cranberry juice helps with the burning. Caffine is a bit no no as well.

My daughters have both had problems with UTIs. Here are some possible things for you to work on. First and foremost - absolutely positively no bubble baths. If you can be extreme about it, you are supposed to have them stand up when shampooing their hair, etc., and not let them sit back down in the soapy water. My youngest got a SEVERE UTI that led to probably kidney infection - all due to a bubble bath. Truthfully, I've found that if I just let her play in the tub until she's happy - then wash her and get her out fast, we're okay. Also, do NOT let your daughter "hold it". She absolutely, religiously needs to go a minimum of every 3 hours. The old urine being held can cause irritation and an infection. If she won't go - you can usually motivate her by putting her in a warm tub - that usually creates the urge. Also - if they get constipated it can cause a UTI. My understanding is that the stool causes some urine to be blocked, and it gots old, can irritate and turn into an infection. My other daughter had repeated UTIs. Saw a pedi urologist in Boston. Ran millions of tests. Couldn't figure out what the problem was. Then her regular pedi realized her constant constipation caused it - put her on Miralax, and she has never had another UTI since.
Also - cranberry juice is excellent at preventing and curing UTIs- if you can get her to drink it. My girls love it, but not all do. Maybe you could make popsicles otherwise. Also, I know there are cranberry capsules that you can buy.
Also, the wiping front to back thing is true - but also make her stand up when she wipes. For some children, when they stand up, another small drop or 2 of urine comes it. You don't want that to be in her underpants.
Good luck!

I get frequent UTI's due to not urinating often enough (I can go 10-12 hours before I realize I haven't used the BR all day). Also, I don't drink enough water. I have found that cranberry extract pills have helped ward them off quite well since I started taking them- but I don't know if they are safe/practical for children. You might try to get your girls to drink cranberry juice. My doc. also recommended yogurt with probiotics.
I would definitely speak with your doc. about prevention if it continues. It sounds like you're doing everything right in the hygiene dept., so I would inquire more. (Chances are you catch it early enough to prevent fever. I just got over a bout last month of full fever, aches and pains, nausia- it was terrible- because I tried to make it through the weekend).

Goodluck!!

First, I doubt that you are causing the UTIs thru anything you are doing, such as wiping. Secondly, there are many ways to get liquid into a child by using foods that are very moist (yogurt, applesauce, cucumbers, many fruits, etc.). Cranberry juice is a standard item for UTIs - have you tried making popsicles with some cranberry and some apple, or some other juice? A lot of kids will eat a popsicle who won't drink. Third, have you considered emailing your doctor or writing a letter, if you are concerned about language skills for any reason? Language issues can come up for anyone because it's hard to talk with the kids in the room distracting you, you may feel the doctor is rushed, you may need time to consider your questions before finding the words, and so on? Just some thoughts.

Finally, it would seem there is something in the diet that is causing an imbalance in their chemistry - could be an allergy even. I would try Reliv children's nutritional supplement - it's delicious, easy to use, highly tested, and has absolutely no warning labels like all other children's vitamins and medicines. I'd love to give you more info! You can go to the website, www.reliv.com, but there is a ton of info on there! If you want to spend 15 minutes, I'll guide you thru the website to help you zero in on the areas of concern to you, I'd be glad to - we'll set up a time that's good for both of us, and we can each sit at our computers in our bunny slippers and go thru it. I don't know which country you are in, but I have a colleague who uses Skype to connect with folks overseas and I could do it that way and it would not be expensive at all for me. Reliv is sold in many countries and is approved by many countries with much more strict regulations that the US even, so it's easy to get shipped to you. Let me know!

Hi A.,
Cranberries! My daughte used to have problems also and we would buy cranberry capsules at whole foods, open them and sprinkle the in applesauce every day to help prevent. The Dr. also said she may be having problems because she was small and sink down and back when sitting on the toilet and some urine was "staying in". Making her sit on a toddler toilet seat (even though she thought she was too big!) helped alot....