Could She Have a UTI?

It sounds like a possible UTI, however, cranberry juice has to be unsweetened b/c the bacteria feeds off of the sugar and unsweetened cranberry juice (UCJ) is not good. You can find unsweetened at Trader Joe's and dilute the juice. You can make a 30oz of water with 2oz of UCJ and give it to her all day until it is cleared.

I would also recommend a probiotic to help boost the good bacteria in her digestive track so she can fight it off naturally. If you do get prescribed antibiotics, then it will be a must and yogurt is not good enough, again to much sugar and artifical sugars.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

J. W. MPH
Wellness Educator/Lifestyle and Wellness Consultant

Hi J.,

I saw your question and I'm not sure if your daughter has a UTI, but I wanted to let you know that my daughter (age 3) just got one last week. She woke up Monday night out of a dead sleep crying and said she had to go potty, she said that it hurt. I had to put her in the bath and pour cool water on her so she could go to the bathroom, I felt terrible for her. I paged her doctor and he told me just to give her a little tylenol to get her through the night for discomfort and said to bring her in the next morning. I took her to the doctor he put her on some medication and said that he would need a urine sample from her prior to her starting her medication so he could get a positive reading. Anyways, it turned out that her results came back positive and he wants to send her in for an ultrasound to make sure it didn't infect the kidneys.
The point to all this is this happened just out of nowhere and now he wants to see if the kidneys are infected. I would get her in as soon as possible, and as far as the Cranberry Juice my doctor told me to give her this as well (just make sure it's 100% juice "not cocktail").

Good Luck!!

I hope your daughter is doing better.

DO call her doctor as soon as possible, or take her to an Urgent Care/Prompt Care outpatient facility. Do not attempt to treat it yourself - you can't. Symptoms may subside but the infection will not. Contrary to popular belief, cranberry juice is NOT a cure for a UTI. Its effective ingredient makes the bladder an inhospitable place for bacteria to grow - so it PREVENTS UTIs and helps keep current ones from getting worse but unfortunately it won't cure them. (Drink only 100% juice - not juice cocktail - and blueberry juice and cranberry pills work as well!) Untreated UTIs can travel to the kidneys, and the pain in her side makes me think she may possibly be developing a kidney infection.

Several years ago I was having chronic UTI issues. While getting to the root of the problem they did an ultrasound on my kidneys, and found that one was heavily scarred and slightly misshapen. The urologist told me that was most likely the result of an untreated kidney infection from my childhood. He told that children can often have UTIs for a while with few symptoms and little pain, and that kidney infections in children often have no symptoms at all. Thinking back, I remembered that I occasionally complained to my mom of it hurting "down there." She just put powder in my pants, thinking I must be chafed. It wasn't very often and I don't recall having any other problems, like an urgent need to urinate. I was just too young to express that it burned when I peed, and it had never occurred to her it may be a UTI (she never had experienced them herself). My scarred kidney still works, but it isn't strong enough to work on its own.

Long story short - never put off seeking medical treatment for a suspected UTI!

I experienced something similar with my daughter, then 9. I thought she had all the symptoms of a UT infection, and I took her to the doctor. It turns out she was not having regular enough bowel movements, which was putting pressure on her bladder, resulting in the symptoms. The doctor prescibed a gentle stool softener and the symptoms went away in a few days. Definitely take your daughter to the doctor.

Does sound like UTI. Get her to the Dr to be on the safe side. This may be the teaching tool she needs to learn not to "hold it" and to be sure to empty her bladder all the way. I played a game w/ my girls to teach them to stop and start (kegals), and to empty. (blow the nose at the end!) Only one UTI for one daughter who is now almost 20! :) I still practice all these methods and very very rarely have issues.

Hi J.,

Speaking as a urology nurse, the cranberry juice basically treats symptoms, so if there is an organism causing an infection, she would need antibiotics. It is not difficult to check a urine specimen for infection. If you give your doc a call, he (she)might just order the lab test, at least for the weekend, then would have the results by the beginning of the week. It's better to err on the side of safety.
Our daughter had a urinary birth defect that showed up when she was 3, and had never had any problems prior to that. Surprisingly, she was very easy to potty train and never wet the bed, unlike one of our other two children, who never had any physical abnormalities. Go figure!
Anyway, whatever you decide to do, good luck and good health to all of you.

I would definitely call the doc...could be a kidney infection.

L.

Yes, it sounds like it or maybe a bladder infection. Get her into the doctor right away and get it cleared up quickly. My one daughter had her first about that time...it's hard to get a good sample at that age, too. In the meantime get her some cranberry juice and/or yogurt to help.

It could be a UTI. My 4 year old daughter just had one. The doctor said to give her cranberry juice and if it still hurt the next day, to bring her in for a urine sample. We didn't have to go, seems the juice cleared it up. If her side hurts, though, you might just want to go to the doctor. They can develop sometimes into a full-blown bladder infection. That happened to me a few years ago.

They did just say something on the news about cranberry juice acting (or is?) an antiobiotic. But bring her to the doctor of course if it it doesn't subside. The cranberry juice shouldn't be mixed with anything. It's most effective by itself. Also think what things could be different that could affect her. You might already know all of this. Such as bubble baths or colored toilet paper, new laundry soaps, etc. Sometimes too you are right, holding it in a long time has affected me. I didn't have a bladder infection for instance until I was in my thirties because I worked in daycares and couldn't leave the little children when I had to go to the bathroom. Not a complaint really because the little people were safe. Enjoy your babies! S.

I have been through this a little short of a million times, and kids only run fevers with UTI's if they become kidney infections. If it is a bladder infection, it might hurt, but usually there is no fever. I would take her in to be checked, just in case, to make sure.

I noticed you sell Usbourne books, did I ask you if you wanted to join my Mom's shopping day, there are a few of us from Mamasource having it on the 15th of Nov. in Thornton. If you are interested let me know.
M.