Children and Urinary Tract Infections

Written by Barbara Green

It’s estimated that three percent of children in the US get Urinary Tract Infections every year.

More girls than boys end up with UTI’s, but both do get them. It’s very difficult for a parent to tell if a child has a UTI and the younger the child the harder it is to determine.

Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms in Children

The symptoms are sometimes slight, a little burning when urinating perhaps. Not enough to cause a child real pain so the child says nothing. Some of the early signs may just be irritability, a slight fever or simply acting like they don’t feel well. There could, however, be nausea, vomiting, and/or pain in the abdomen area.

One thing to watch for is a strong or bad odor to their urine. In infants, even a wet diaper would smell bad. The color of the urine is usually darker with an UTI, or it might look cloudy or pinkish-red. The child may also need to urinate more often than usual and complain of burning or itching.

Causes of Urinary Tract Infections in Children

UTI’s can be caused by an abnormality in the urinary tract system. If the child gets UTI’s often the doctor will probably want a cat scan or other tests to determine why. My youngest daughter was found to have two ureters on one side instead of just one. The ureters are tubes that push urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder.

Having two of them made it difficult for her urine amount to clear out both tubes while she was very young, so one or the other of the ureters would end up with an infection. This problem was something she eventually grew out of, but until she was 8 or 9 years old it was a real problem. I would know it was coming on when she would just go lay on the couch instead of playing as usual.

However, UTI’s are bacterial infections and just as some children are prone to ear infections, some are prone to urinary tract infections.

How will the doctors determine if your child has a urinary tract infection?

The same way they tell for adults. The doctor will ask you to catch a small sample of the child’s urine for analysis. But this will only be gathered while in the doctor’s office, don’t try to bring the sample from home.

Once it is determined that the child has a Urinary Tract Infection, the UTI will be treated with antibiotics. Several different ones are available for treating UTI’s, and the doctor will choose the one they think will work best depending on how severe the infection is.

There are also some pain killers specific for UTI’s. If the doctor prescribes one for your child, be sure to ask if it colors the urine in any way as some do and you and the child need to be prepared for the outcome. In adults these pain killers will often turn the urine bright blue or orange.

Urinary Tract Infection Complications

While UTI’s are quite common and are not usually considered a ‘serious’ problem, they do require immediate care. If they are not caught in the early stages of the infection, or are neglected, UTI’s can turn serious.

The kidneys can be affected either directly or indirectly by a UTI. A severe infection could cause irreversible damage to the kidneys with life-long consequences. The doctor may want to do an ultrasound to determine if kidney damage has occurred. There are, of course, other possible problems within the urinary tract, such as the bladder, but the doctor will know what tests, if any, are needed.

The only time a doctor would want to explore these other organs is after the child has had several UTI’s in a short period of time. Don’t be too alarmed by these possibilities for they are not too prevalent. But you do need to keep UTI’s in mind as a possible illness when your child is listless and irritable. If it does happen to be the problem you wouldn’t want it or any other infection to go too long without treatment.

Summary

Children do get Urinary Tract Infections. It is important to watch for any problem when they urinate, any sign of pain or burning. Other symptoms to watch for include cloudy or strong-smelling urine.

Once a UTI is diagnosed, they are easily treated with antibiotics. The more UTI’s a child has, the more prone they become to getting more. UTI’s have several complications that can include severe kidney or bladder damage so make sure you follow up with your doctor if you think your child has an infection.