Bladder Infections at 12 Months Old...

My oldest who is 10 now. When she was between the ages of 2 and 3. Had 2 back to back believed to be bladder infections at the time. I was told no bubble baths, and to give her cranberry of prune juice and lots of water.
Cleared up and she never had another one. If it is not a more serious medical condition see if that helps.

My daughter had the same problem when she was about 6-8 months old. She had two bladder infections soon after each other and I was really worried aswell. She had a fever of 106.7 and I know how scary it can be. I was concerned just like you are that they would keep coming back but nothing ever happened again and now she is almost 3. I wouldnt worry too much about it, there isnt a lot that you can do to prevent it from happening. I like you switched diapers but I kept giving her baths and she is fine.

Hi M.,
My name is J. and I know what you are going through, my daughter at that age went through the same thing. I really think that you need to read up on more of a natural approach. Push more water!! Try deluted herbal teas, cranberry juice with no sugar. Go to Whole Foods and look through their teas. We as women are prone to yeast and bladder infection and we just can't always medicate it with antibotices, as simple as it may sound, my suggestion is to push as much water as possible. Good luck.
J. Middleton

Dear M.,
Your fiance's family is right, she does need to see a pediatric urologist. You just need to make sure she doesn't have reflux. It is NOT normal for babies to get bladder infections. It would just be nice reassurance to be told nothing is wrong.
L.

M.-
It is common to have a uti, but to have two is very concerning, you probably should ask your doctor about doing an ultrasound and vcug to make sure there are no structural problems with your daughters kidneys...if there is an abnormality, this needs to be followed closely as it does increase her chances of having a uti. If your doctor declines, insist to see a urologist.

I would take her to see a specialist- absoulutely. She may have a short urethra which could lead to the infections. Sometimes they grow out of them and sometimes they need to be fixed. What does going to a specialist hurt? At least it would eliminate some additional questions.
Good luck.

I had recurrent bladder and kidney problems as a baby and child, and they finally figured out that I had a structural abnormality - my left kidney is divided in half, so I basically have three functioning kidneys and the tubing to the bladder was messed up. I think the valve that closes between the kidney and bladder wasn't closing, so urine was going back up into the kidneys and causing infections, or something like that. Anyway, they had me on medication for a little while before doing a pretty simple surgery when I was seven, and now (over 20 years later) I rarely have problems (the surgery was putting "bilateral ureteral reimplants" in). The thing is, the abnormality is not that uncommon (my best friend's baby has it as well), so it's worth taking your daughter to a specialist just to get it checked out if you're worried. It may not be the problem, but I wanted to let you know about it; back then, it took the doctors a long time to figure out the problem and my parents were really worried. Good luck!

Hi M.,

I never had any problems with my children having bladder infections at such a young age, but as a little Girl, from ages 7 years to 11 years, I was plagued with painful, simply horrible bladder infections. The Doctor, at the time, told my Mom that it was probably caused by riding my bike too much, believe it or not (I grew up in a small community in Northern NM and there was just a small clinic there and this was in the early 70's). Well when I was in my 20's I started getting them again and my Gynecologist's aide told me it was because I was not drinking enough water. She stressed the importance of drinking water and sure enough, I haven't had a bladder infection in years. If your baby doesn't really take water, they sell purified flavored water at grocery stores, in the baby isle. Also and I am not sure if she is too young to drink Asodophilus milk. That is supposed to be very good in treating bladder infections. I guess it neutralizes all the acid/bacteria in the urine. I also wonder if it doesn't have anything to do with teething, as babies/toddlers seemed to get a lot of acid in their saliva, which in turn comes out their urine. I hope this helps M.. Good Luck with your Baby Girl. Poor little thing, I hope they go away for good. L. Olona

My daughter has recently had 2 infections in the past 3 months. She is going to be 3 in Nov.
After the first one she had in August, her doctor treated it with antibiotics and exactly a month later she got another one. Her doctor took action right away as soon as she got the second one. She sent her in for a VCUG and what that is, is a procedure where they put a catheter (not fun) and inject dye into her bladder to make sure it gets to her kidneys and they are looking at the whole process on a screen... They also do an ultrasound to make sure they don't see anything wrong with her kidneys. I would definetly get a second opinion. Usually after the first they usually do the procedure but since my daughter is potty trained, they just thought that maybe she didn't wipe correctly!
My daughter never had any symptoms with the first infection, but the second she had a fever of 103.2.....
Good luck and you should not let this go until they do the procedure! You need to know why she is getting them so young and if it can affect her later on!!!

I'd get a second opinion. If your doctor's right and it's nothing to worry about, then you'll get that same answer. I don't think I would just let it go if she gets that sick. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Hello,

My daughter got a UTI under the age of 2 and her pediatrican was concerned. They say its a rare thing and usually suggest special testing to check for permananent liver damager. If you are concerned you should definately ask about it... or get a 2nd opinion of your current doctor doesn't agree. Maybe a pediatric urologist would know best. Check with Children's Hospital in your area. You might need a referral from your pediatrician... just ask.

I know that when adults get bladder infections frequently that drinking cranberry juice helps- have you asked a doctor about diluting cranberry juice and giving this to her? And making sure that she is getting plenty of fluids... I would also google 'preventing bladder infections' or cause of bladder infections' see what results you get and ask a doctor if it is safe to try these options on a young child.

Hi M.:

First off, sorry you've had to go through this while your daugther is so young. If it were me, I would try giving her cranberry juice (I drink the cran-grape, it tastes much better to me). I've always been prone to bladder infections, so I make sure I drink at least one glass of cran-grape each day. Cranberry juice helps to flush out bacteria in the urine (I've also heard it helps maintain the pH balance). And make sure she's drinking a lot too. As they get away from the formula, the amount of liquid they take in goes down, so you just want to make sure you supplement with plenty of other fluids.

Hi M.,

I was under a year of age and treated with numerous antibiotics b/c of bladder infections and UTIs. What came of the matter is a getting a ultrasound done and some sort of scan done on me to discover 2 ureter tubes that one did not connect to my bladder. It was being filled with the yucky stuff cleaned from the kidneys and draining into a incomplete tube. If I was you, I would be persistent with your doctor to get a scan done to give you peace of mind that your daughter's plumbing is intact and good. It seems odd that infections would be common when her diet is a common thing of children her age. Good luck!

As a child I had several bladder infections as well as when I became an adult. No bubble baths or perfumed products. Baths are okay but I would wash her bottom and butt before putting her in. As previously stated wipe front to back. Make sure she is drinking plenty of fluids. Cranberry may be a little harsh for her, try blueberry. It has the same properties that cranberries have for bladders but with a lot less acid. Even just eating blueberries. Don't give her anything would food coloring. I realized as an adult that they caused most of my bladder irritations and often led to infections, especially red dye. Currently I take a daily cranberry supplement and haven't had one since I began. They make capsules you can open and dump the powder into other foods like applesauce. I would try the specialist too just in case there is a blockage or something that needs to be fixed.

Hi M.,

When your cleaning her during diaper changes, wipe front to back, just like we are suppose to do. You might want to also try diaper wipes without fragerance. Also, like yeast infections I think cranberry juice is good for bladder infection (I think they go together alot of times). I know straight cranberry might be strong for a little one, but try the cran-grape, or cran-apple and water it down about a third. Yougurt is another thing to try, the good bacteria helps rid the body of the bad bacteria. Try talking the to doctor about foods that are more likely to cause or avoid the problem.

Here's my experience. My daughter, who will be 3 in December was diagnosed with urinary reflux while I was pregnant with her. My dr. found that her ureters were dialated when I had my first ultrasound at 17 weeks. They monitored it extensively after 25 weeks to see if it got worse, then after she was born. She had lots of fevers and we took her to a urologist at 4 months. She had to go through ultrasounds, VCUGs, and one test where she had radioactive fluid injected for x-rays. Turns out she has two ureters on EACH side (most people only have 1 on each side) and the top third of her kidneys are essentially non functional. Two of the ureters were attached to a low spot on her bladder, causing reflux. They also told us that urine was collecting in her vaginal vault, so she was constantly wet whether she peed or not. The urologist put her on maintenance antibiotics for infections and scheduled surgery at 14 months to reattach the ureters to a different place on her bladder to correct the reflux. When she was 10 months old, she got a severe infection, while on the antibiotics, that had her hospitalized for 5 days. The medicine had her resistant to anything to treat that particular infection except an IV treatment. When we left the hospital, we had to give her the meds through a pic line for 2 weeks. Then she was back on maintenance ABs. She had the surgery and had to continue ABs for 6 more months. A year later, had a follow up ultrasound and VCUG which showed that the surgery worked and she should not have any more problems. So far so good.

Very hard for us to go through, but pretty amazing they found the problem while I was pregnant, so we didn't have to go through wondering what was wrong and getting second opinions. We knew what the problem was, but she had to be a year before they'd do surgery.

Go get her checked out and I hope it turns out better for you.

Depending on what kind of insurance you have I would suggest taking her to a uroligist ( i spelled that wrong lol) My daughter had her first infection at two and we had a very rough few years, she is 8 now and is still prone to infections but luckily only a few per year. I would get her to a different Dr for a second opinion.

M., no medical procedures please. It may affect her when she gets older. If you use bubble bath, STOP NOW!!! Bubble bath is the worst thing we can use on little girls. Stop the powder too! If you can, try leaving the diaper off of her for a few hours. I know its hard, but maybe right after she wets, take it off and leave it off. Also, make sure you're not using wipes that have any fragrance in them. Try the natural food stores and see what the have to offer for wipes. Give her yogurt and watered down cranberry juice. Good Luck, A. in AZ

I think a second opinion is great. Cranberry juice is a homeopathic remedy. There may also be a cranberry tablet thing that they can chew up. Look and ask at GNC and as always tell the doctor you see. Also ask him if there are any natural things to help be a preventative. I think when medicine can't alsays find the answers you need to mix in the homeopathic stuff to see if it helps. It certainly won't hurt. Good luck.

Hello M.,
I experienced this first hand w/ my youngest.....she started w/ fevers, then vomiting, Dr. just put it off as a cold and gave me antibiotics.....I got fed up with it after 4 visits to Dr. and still same problem, I demanded a blood test and sure enough a mother's intuition is always correct, she had been getting several bladder infections and now her kidneys were scarred, not to mention in tremendous pain, I was furious but took her to a specialist and found out she had "Kidney Reflux Disease"(K.R.D). Common in little girls, nothing that we as parents caused but it could have been less painful for her if the Dr. wasn't an idiot, anyway K.R.D. is when the tube from your bladder to your kidneys is at an angle and urine goes back up the tube (lame terms) and is treatable w/ an antibiotic just for the urinary tract. My daughter was on meds for a year and then they retested her she had grown out of it. A handful of children need surgery but because of the infections in the bladder and kidney she may suffer as an adult. I am not trying to scare you but my faith in doctors these day is 0 to none, I believe in mothers intuition no matter what. I hope this helps and GOOD LUCK! My advice....see a specialist! (Urologist)
K.