Possible Uti in a 3 Year Old

Hi D.,

It can happen and is apparently more common than you might think. I second the nomination for Dr Pugach with Cook Children's. He is thorough, conservative, and all-around great.

Peace,
M.
www.yogapotential.com

Almost all health food stores and most regular groceries have chewable cranberry tabs. Go get a bottle and let her take one or two today to help with the pain.

My daughter had several UTI's at about that age. She was treated with a course of antibiotics, but because she was so young her Dr. had us go to Cook's for a procedure to check out her urinary tract and make sure all was ok. The procedure was a little invasive as they had to insert a catheter, but she handled it like a trooper. They used a catheter to fill her bladder with a liquid that could be seen by x-ray. They then took a series of x-rays as the liquid was coming out to check the inner workings. Everything was fine, but the concern was she was so young to have UTI's. I was also told not to use any scented stuff in her bath water.

Dear D. S,

The bad news is, yes, it is entirely possible your daughter has a UTI. My granddaughter did when she was three. The good news is that young children generally "bounce back" quickly. A good dose of antibiotics (although we try not to give them too many antibiotics, of course!) will probably make her "good as new"!

Deb D

Yes I have heard of it, glad you are going to Dr. I also heard bubble baths in girls sometimes effects them that way, and kids love them ,but if you have been giving her any, this could ad to the problem.

I had my first UTI when I was 6 months old. My mom became a pro at managing it for today until you see the doctor tomorrow get her to drink a lot of water. Cranberry juice helps. I always thought it was a treat to get to eat frozen blueberries by the handful, but they will help. Now as an adult I buy fresh cranberries and boil them , I strain the juice to drink throughout the week, this doesn't have the sugar that commercial brand have. Then I take the spent cranberries, frozen blueberries and yogurt and make a smoothie. I hope it goes well, I know how miserable a UTI can be.

My daughter had one this summer. She is 3 and had a low grade fever. The doctor had do some tests (a dye test to watch her bladder empty and renal ultrasound, nothing to the tests, just having her sit still while they took pictures on ultrasound and xray) to make sure it wasn't anything major due to her being so young. The doc was concerned her ureter tubes might not be allowing the bladder to fully empty but everything turned out to be normal. They did see that she was constipated and we learned that if she is constipated, it would cause problems. It can happen but isn't common. Is she wanting to drink anything? My daughter wasn't interested in drinking much (and she usually drinks whatever is in front of her whenever given a chance). I hope all turns out well for you.

Hi there! Let her bathe in vinegar water! Add 3-4 cups of apple cider vinegar to a bath. Don't add any soap to water. Let her soak for atleast 30 minutes. Try this atleast twice a day until symptoms are gone. Have her eat yogurt and cranberry juice. I had a horrible time with uti's as a child and this always worked. Please don't let the doctors office do a cathater, its so traumatizing at that age. I have a 2.5 year old and when I think she may have a uti coming on the vinegar baths always work! She may smell like vinegar for a couple of days but its better than unnecessary antibiotics and the ordeal at the doctor's office!!! I hope this helps! Good luck!

Definitely sounds like a uti. My daughter used to get them all the time at that age until someone told me not to put bubbles (or anything soapy) in her bath. We didnt really do bubble baths for her, just used to use some of those J & J products (night time bath, etc). As soon as we stopped using that stuff in her bath, we never had another one. She has very sensitive skin, like me, so it seems like it was just the stuff we were adding to the bath water was irritating her. With just plain water, she was fine.
I hope your daughter feels better.

Yes. My neighbor has 3 girls under 6. At some ponit or another, all 3 have been to the 24 hr dr or er. Watch for blood in urine and pain as she urinates.

My 14 yr old has never had an issue because she has primarily been raised in the shower. As for me, if I sit in the tub at all I will get a uti.

No bubble bath, etc. Push cranberry juice.

I hope uti is not the issue. My little neighr hates to go to the dr because she's afraid she'll get the straw (catheter).

Sounds lime your planned dr visit is needed. Best wishes.

Take her to the E.R.

It does sound like a UTI. Unfortunately, my 8 year old daughter has had many of them starting at age 2. I would definitely take her first thing Monday. Our pediatric urologist says try not to give her any chocolate, caffeine, carbonated drinks or citris. Also, she should go to the bathroom every 2 hours and sit there for 2 minutes to be sure her bladder is completely empty. It will probably help to read to her or something. Two minutes seem really long to kids. Plenty of water.

I was reading the other responses and noticed info on the catheter, reflux, etc. My daughter did have to have the VCUG where they insert a catheter to put water into her bladder to take pictures. This was to check for the reflux condition. However, that morning she said it burned when she urinated. So, I told the tech and she said to go to the pediatrician and be tested for uti first so the bacteria was not spread to her kidneys with the catheter. We did, they said negative. Went back, had the procedure. The test was negative for reflux, thank goodness. However, a few days later, the doctor's office called and said her urinalysis was actually positive and gave her antibiotics. She has now had recurring MRSA staph infections. We don't know where it came from, but wanted to let you know. If she needs the test and has ANY symptoms of UTI that day, don't let her have the test no matter what they say. Best to wait than be sorry.

I hope she feels better soon.

It is very possible, I was born with UTI's, had my first surgery on my bladder at the age of 2 the second at the age of five, and chronic bladder/UTI infections most of my life. Glad you are going to the doctor, good luck, it is painful, I remember still!

Absolutely your 3 year old can have an uti. I know from experience. As a child I had many and had two surgeries before age 9. Be prepared, they may ask her questions to see if she has been sexually abused. I continued to have UTIs until I hat 40 and have had only one in the last 6 years. Good luck

Hi D.,
I have a 2.5 year old and she recently had 2 UTIs. I strongly question unnecessary tests and procedures and after much discussion with 2 doctors as well as my father-in-law who is a doctor, we are taking our little one to a urinary specialist Friday to be tested for urinary reflux which she will be sedated for (if you end up going this route, our doctor recommended a pediatric urology clinic which offers sedation).

Our doctor recommended this procedure after only 1 UTI and I said, "absolutely not". Seems UTIs before the age of 5 are very rare, even with "curious" little girls who may not use the best cleaning methods and take BB baths. So, it could be 2 things, bad luck and we have to take antibiotics to get rid of it each time or urinary reflux which could be much more serious if not treated as it leads to kidney scaring and disfunction.

If it is urinary reflux there are 5 levels of severity. Levels 1 & 2, treatable with a nightly dose of antibiotic until she outgrows it, usually by the age of 5. Level 3 is gray area for treatment (surgical vs nightly antibiotic) and levels 4 & 5 which normally require surgery to prevent irreversible kidney damage.

Since we need our kidneys the rest of our lives, it is critical to determine type of UTI you have. Again, I only agreed to it after having 2 back to back UTIs. This certainly may not be the case with yours, just wanted to share my experience. Please let me know if you have any questions. By the way, when they tested her urine in the office the first time, they immediately said, "no UTI" but since she had a low-grade temp, they sent it off site for culture test, they called me 2 days later and said it in fact was a UTI. The second time we went in, she had a temp and like yours, my little one said her tummy hurt, yet she also did not like to go to the potty nor to be wiped, she preferred to pee in her pull up.

Happy to help if you have any further questions.

Good luck!!

My daughter had renal reflux at birth and was prone to them. If you need a urologist I recommend Dr. Pugach in Ft. Worth (Cooks Children's network).

It can happen and really hurts. Offer lots of water, cranberry juice... when I am concerned her ped will often give me the container to get a urine sample at home and then I take it to the lab- avoiding a copay. Her urine will smell very strong usually when my daughter gets an infection and she pees frequently.

Please do visit the doctor, no matter what home remedies you try. In our case, our first UTI was also the start of a diagnosis for urinary reflux. It's a condition where the sphincter that closes the urethra from the kidney doesn't close and urine can track back into the kidneys. It can cause kidney failure if not treated. For us, we take a prophylactic antibiotic daily to keep any infections from occuring; there's a surgery that's another option. The thing is, we would have never known to pursue this unless a cousin had also been diagnosed, so do ask your doctor if this could fit your situation.

Our first UTI was at 20 months or so: she would cry every time she needed to wet her diaper. She did have a fever, too.

Hello,

My great neice (now 7) started having issues at age 2. It was periodic urinary tract infections. (She had a dye test and renal ultrasound early on to make sure she was eliminating properly). They determined everything was functioning properly. This problem contined periodically. Most of the time when she had a urinalysis, it was clear. This last time, it persisted and became very painful. The pediatrician couldn't find anything wrong...urinalysis, culture, exam, and eventually a sonogram. The pediatrician started her on an antibiotic anyway, but the pain persisted. Our family has a fabulous, well-established gynecologist and my neice decided to let her take a look. She is extremely thorough, and she did not find anything either (did most of the same tests the pediatrician had done). My great neice was referred to a pediatric urologist, Dr. Strand, in Plano. (My grandson sees him as well. He is truly amazing and compassionate). He did a sonogram and took one look at it and immediately knew what it was. It was Dysfunctional Elimination Syndrome. (Don't know why someone else did not pick it up on the sonogram). She is not having bowel movements as frequently as she should. That puts pressure on the bladder, and that pressure causes urine to squirt into the vagina causing stinging, burning, irritation and pain. He says this condition puts pressure on "everything down below". They are keeping a chart of her bowel movements and have made some diet changes to help with fiber. She takes Benefiber each day and is eating whole grain cereal, prunes, plums, apricots, etc. She needed to reduce white carbohydrates, i.e. French fries, rice, noodles,... She was put on a different medication than the one she originally had (just an antibiotic that was short lived). If you are in the Dallas area, I highly recommend Dr. Strand! Sometimes it takes a while to get in, but you must be persistent on behalf of your precious one who is in pain.

I will pray that you are led to the right person.

I have a three yr old that has had quiet a few UTI's. It started when she was about two. Her tummy hurts and she says she hurts when she pees. She also has trouble having a BM when she is like this and strains really hard. She runs a low grade fever sometimes with it. Yesterday she sat on her little potty crying for over an hour...i could not stand to see her in soo much pain so i called the EMS to come take us to the ER and sure enough it was another UTI. She doesn't like me to check her "down there" I don't know why, other than her not wiping good, that she has so many UTI infections....i hope your little one got better.