Child Bladder Infections

Does she eat a lot of sugar? Sugar promotes all sorts of infections and weakens the immune system.

Also, drinking plain, unsweetened cranberry juice can help heal and avoid bladder infections. It is very tart, though, so might be challenging to get a young child to drink it. You could try watering it down substantially, or mixing it with another (unsweetened) juice.

Dear M.,
Your poor little girl....
Fortunately, my children never had problems with UTI's, but I surely have.
Your daughter may have a fear of restrooms, etc, but my guess is that she is also afraid to pee because it's very painful when you have an infection. I mean, it HURTS. The only thing that hurts worse is when the infection goes into the kidneys as well.
Somehow, you have to help her understand that our bodies filter out things that aren't good for us and it comes out in our pee, so it's really important not to hold it.
Be sure she is getting enough water and try to get her to drink cranberry juice every day. Maybe get her a little plastic 3-minute egg timer, the type that looks like an hour glass, and have her be sure to sit on the potty until the sand runs out. It will give her something to hold and look at and might distract her enough to relax and get her bladder emptied. That's something she can keep in her pocket and use even at school. It might help her get into the habit of not rushing through going pee.
Another thing I suggest is to have her start taking showers instead of baths. Since she is so prone to UTI's, sitting in bath water is most likely not good for her. Make sure she wears good cotton panties. Wipe from front to back. And again, get her to sit still long enough and often enough to keep her bladder empty. Those are all just habits she might as well get into now.
I hope the ultrasound on her kidneys doesn't show anything to worry about there.
Best of wishes.

I read through all the advice you have been given and it's great. Sometimes you have to try a lot of different things before you figure out what's causing the problem. I just had a couple of things to add. My daughter was getting a lot of infections also and it turned out that she was allergic to dairy and eggs. We took her off those and she's been doing great since then. Also, it really helps to take probiotics. Natren is a good brand that you can buy at Whole Foods or online and Complete Probiotics from mercola.com have worked well for us....and GI-Pro from Mannatech. I hope you get it figured out.

My friends child had mulitple infections and it turned out that it was because she was going #1 but not going all the way. She was going just enough to not feel uncomfortable so she could get back to playing. they are also testing her to see if she has some bladder complications, but nothing so far. The dr.'s have put her on a strick "training" routine, where she has to go every 2 hours I think it is and she has to empty her bladder twice everytime.

Your child may not have to go thru all of that, but just wanted to let you know that it might be an easy fix like that. She might be scared to use the larger bathrooms at school so she's doing what she can to get "comfortable" and than rushes back.

Good luck
K.

Hi M.,

Is your child getting enough water? Yes you can get urinary infections from holding it to long. You can get some concentrated cranberry juice from the health food store and mix in water and have her drink lots of it to help flush the infection.

I would play a game with her and tell her when she has to go to the bathroom and she asks the teacher to go you will do something special for her. Talk to the teacher and let her know what you are doing and maybe you can give the teacher some stars and everytime she goes put a star on her book and when she gets so many stars in a week take her somewhere special. Then it will become a part of her routine.

It is a thought.

Wishing you wellness and a Happy and safe New Year.

N. Marie

Hello M.,
As a kid, I had the same problem. My mom was always taking me to the doc for track infections. Anyways, alot of people do not know this, but bubble baths, and or soap in the bath water even ones made for kids, can and WILL give little girls infections "down there" Although holding it doesn't help, it will make for stronger bladder muscles, and less bed wetting. I hope it all works out. I know how uncomfortable it can be. good luck. A. Z.

my kids never got them form not going potty but from me giving them baths and letting them sit in soapy water.

Hi M.,

Holding it can be partly responsible. I have 5 children, ages 34-17...4 girls. When my 18 yr. old was little, she
had several UTI's. We found out they were caused by her taking bubble baths. The dr. explained in detail what happens, sorry I don't remember exactly what she said, but when we stopped letting her have the bubble baths, the infections stopped. Hope this helps.

R.

Have her ped do an ultra sound. My neices little girl was born with 3 kidneys which we have found is not uncommon and does not present any problems UNLESS one of the kidney's isn't functioning properly and then you will get a lot of urinary tract infections. Also, holding it can be a cause. I don't know how you can convince her not to hold it but if the teacher is sending her to the restroom every couple of hours, that should take care of that problem as long as you're sure she's trying to go when sent. You need to make sure she's not just standing in the hallway or in the bathroom, but actually sitting on the toilet trying to go.

I myself suffered from many years of repetitive bladder infections from ages 3-11. Holding urine did not cause the problem, but contributed to it. For some reason I didn't like to pee and I still don't really know why. No fear then or now of toilets, public restrooms etc. Eventually I guess I outgrew the holding it issue. Anyway, as is turned out my right ureter (tube connecting kidney to bladder)was not connected to the bladder normally. It was often a condition that children grew out of, but I didn't and had surgery at age 11 to correct it. Not a single problem since and it's been 27 yrs. Please get the ultrasound to be sure there isn't some anatomical cause for the development of recurrent infections. As for the holding it issue...I wish I knew. I still to this day don't know why I held it back then. I guess I would recommend some sort of behavior therapy directed at this problem. Being sure she wipes from front to back is improtant as well. Also, no scented soaps or bubble bath. No synthetic panties - only cotton. Have her drink plenty of water to keep hydrated. Limit or eliminate caffeine as it is dehydrating. Good luck to you.

I will tell you that when my son was 2 and went to a private pre school, I had an awfully hard time getting the teachers and aides to remind him to go to the bathroom frequently (which is what all newly potty trained children need). I was so frustrated! It seemed that when I finally got (sorry, but bitchy) with them, they finally were better about reminding him to go...Seems that sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I hated being like that, but it was my child, what else was I going to do? I would ask to speak to the Director of the school, and ask that your child's teacher keep a record book of sorts that you can look at every day when you pick your child up to see how many times she has gone (either by being reminded, or by asking) that day. Hope that helps. M

My son was miserable with a urinary tract infection when he started potty training...ours was a different story, but the same pain. Urine contains the toxins your body in trying to flush out, if held in you can contract infections. Dehydration can also be a factor. Today children don't drink enough water, as they generally are sipping on milk, juice, soda, and other sugary beverages...water is lacking in our children's diets. The darker the urine the more dehydrated you are and the more toxins are in your pee. Make sure she is drinking a 1/2 oz of pure WATER per pound she weighs, so if she weighs 40 lbs she should be drinking 20 oz. of filtered water. You also might want to consider the way she is wiping when she is going to the bathroom. Wiping back to front can pass feces bacteria to the urinary tract, causing an infection. Try demonstrating (on a few different occasions) how to properly wipe front to back, just in case that's one of the issues. Good luck with everything.

Maybe along with reminders to go to the bathroom she can be given reminders to drink. Keeping her hydrated is super important. It flushes out the bacteria but it also gives her the urge to go more often. Cranberry juice is a miracle worker to the bladder. Just make sure it's real juice and not cocktail (which is usually only 10% real juice).
Also, and most importantly, have you observed how she wipes herself? No real way to say this super polite or technical, she needs to be wiping front to back. Sometimes small kids reach down and wipe up, which just carries the bacteria straight into her urinary tract. Poor, inappropriate wiping is a common cause of bladder infections in girls.
Hope you get it figured out soon!

You might want to go over wiping with your daughter. It's very important that she wipe front to back, especially after a BM. That's one of the major causes of UTIs and kidney infections. Good luck,
C.