My 3.5 year old has been completely potty trained for several months and had even been dry overnight. yesterday, however, she started having accidents again and they have continued today. She also says that her tummy hurts, and there have been a few times she has tied to go on the potty and couldn't. I thought maybe it's a bladder infection, but she has NO fever. When I asked her about it, she said that she really couldn't stop it and thinks that it's because she has a tummy ache. Does this sound like a UTI or something else? When I looked up the symptoms, the first one was fever.
The urinary frequency and feelings of urgency are both signs of UTI, often UTI's don't have fevers until the infection gets worse. Give her cranberry juice (watered down if she doesn't like the taste), and call her pediatrician or nurse line.
My daughter gets UTI's and never once has she had a fever. I'd take your daughter in just to make sure. However, last time she was exhibiting symptoms of a UTI, I took her in and the test was negative. The doctor ended up doing a physical exam and found that her "down there" area was irritated, possibly from toilet paper that got stuck or not wiping like she's supposed to. Basically, every time her underwear was swiping across the irritation, she mistook that for needing to go potty.
Sounds like it could be, even without fever.
Can you call the doctor and ask? Do you have a nurse info line available?
Until you can get hold of the doctor, give her cranberry juice or orange juice... both help acidify the urine, making it less hospitable to the bacteria.
My daughter is now 5, but when she was about your daughter's age she had her first UTI. She has been potty trained since she was 2 and all of a suden one day at her grandma's house she had a number of accidents. At first we thought she was just having too much fun to stop and go, but there were just too many accidents and she wasn't going "much" each time. We took her home the next day, which was a Sunday and I was starting to wonder if it was a UTI. By that night she was getting up in the middle of the night having to go potty and then crying becuase it hurt. I took her to the doctor the next day and he didn't think it was a UTI because she didn't have a fever, he thought it was just irritated. He sent us to the lab to have her tested anyway. A few hours later we got the results and it was definitely a UTI.
She got another UTI about 6 months later so we took her to a urologist and they did a few tests and everything was working fine. She hasn't had another since.
I talked to someone at work who said his daughter had the same thing at that age and they went through the same tests and the urologist said it was probably just caused by where they were in their growth and it would pass.
Good Luck,
D.
My daughter has had two UTI's and both times, she had very noticeable pain with urination. I would see if your daughter can tell you more specifically where her "tummy" hurts. The other symptoms you describe, though, can indicate a UTI - frequency, urgency. Another possibility is constipation.
sounds like uti to me, they dont usually have fevers. i would get her to the doc asap, give her lots of water to drink meanwhile and nothing sugary. it can get very painful very fast, and can lead to other complications.
My daughter is four and we had a similar experience last week. Sudden accidents when she hadn't had any in two years, complaining of pain, etc. I took her to our doctor who said she was likely constipated. Turned out she was right! Constipation hadn't even occurred to me as our daughter uses the toilet independently and also has a diet that consists of a ton of fruit and veg. The doctor gave us a prescription for a stool softener, though to be honest it hasn't seemed to help. Last night we put her in a tub full of warm water and rubbed her stomach which finally got things moving. You may want to have your doctor run a lab on your daughter's urine just to rule out a UTI. The Dr. Sears website has a lot of information on constipation and things that you can try before a trip to the doctor.
it could be a few things
1. constipation - being constipated can make your tummy hurt and make you feel the urge to urinate when there isn't much there. If this is the case increase her water and fiber and fresh fruits/veggies.
2. UTI or bladder or kidney infection - you don't always get a fever with them, you need to make a doctor appt to determine this (they have to send the urine out for a culture). If she has a history of high fevers without cause then have them check for kidney reflux - this is what my daughter has we found out this summer. Instead of draining to the bladder the pee goes up to the kidneys again, so the bladder doesn't feel "full" until it's FULL (all the way up to the kidneys)
or
3. she is busy and doesn't want to stop and play
or
4. she likes changing clothes and has found that you don't let her do it just because, but if she pees she gets to change. (ah, the tricks of little kids! One class I taught in all the girls discovered this and it was horrid!)
Is she constipated? My son presented with the same problems - said he had to pee but couldn't, had a stomach ache, no fever, etc. I immediately thought it was a UTI and took him to convenient care right away. They sent him over to the ED because they were concerned it was either a kidney issue or appendicitis. After several hours in the ED, blood work and a stomach x-ray, it was determined that he was actually constipated. It did not even dawn on me that this could be the problem because he had pooped twice the day before. However, he hadn't gone for several days before that so even though he had finally gone, he hadn't gone enough and was "backed up." Obviously, I don't know for sure if this is what is wrong with your daughter, but the situation sounds similar.
