Recurring UTI in Pre Schooler

One more thing to add, have her sleep without panties or pajama bottoms. Have her sleep in Night gowns or tshirts

Her body needs to air out.

I know it sounds simple, but are you sure she is wiping correctly after using the bathroom? Front to back, not back to front.

I struggle with them and what helps me is watching what and how much I drink. I try to minimize my sugary drink intake. For instance juices are an utter no go. Overall I try to be mindful about drinking enough water throughout the day. With all the water drinking, though, I have to remind myself not to hold it when I need to go to the bathroom. I know that makes me sound like a toddler but more than once I have caught myself holding it just so I can get one more thing done. Finally the back to front v. front to back wiping is critical. Good luck. Recurrent UTIs are no fun.

P.S. They have done lots of tests on me but so far there is nothing coming up as correctable. I just seem to have a knack of getting them so prevention is my best recourse.

There's a chance that the urology workup will show some kind of minor obstruction or physical difference that's causing her to be more susceptible to infections. I had a lot when I was that age too and had to have a procedure done where they fill the bladder with a contrast liquid and can take images of it as you void to see if there are any obstructions. I had a very small urethra, so that was stretched in some kind of outpatient day procedure. I also had some kind of kidney reflux, where my kidneys weren't emptying completely, but it wasn't to a degree that they did anything about.

Anyway...I was on a low dose of bactrim daily for a few years and was able to go off of it I think when I was 5. I had a few random ones after that and then they became a problem later when I was very stressed out or sexually active.

I'm sure you know this, but make sure she's wiping from front to back, wearing cotton undies that fit correctly (not too tight or too loose), breathe in the crotch area and is changing them daily, and drinks cranberry juice. If she can swallow pills then cranberry tablets are good too because you don't taste them. I grew to hate the juice because I had to drink it daily.

Hopefully you'll have some answers soon. Some of the more detailed tests, if needed, can be unpleasant and undignified but if they have to be done, they have to be done. The u/s should be a pretty easy one to start with though.

try simple things.. more water.. drink cranberry juice... observe her wiping..make sure she is wiping front to back and not getting poo near her urethra..

then she will see an urologist and they will do tests to make sure there is no anatomical problem.. tests are nto fun.. but they need to be done.. better to find a problem sooner than later..

There are indeed medical issues that can cause it. 15 years ago my daughter had a UTI when she was 2 that was diagnosed as the flu. Well, it traveled up into the kidney, and again they misdiagnosed it. Long story short she now has kidney disease. If there is ever a high fever with a UTI that means it has traveled up to the kidney- this becomes dangerous, and ANY delay in treatment is disasterous. (lookup pyelonephritis). Reccurent uti's can manifest. It takes many years for kidney disease to show up. But anyway, certain types of kidney disease (renal tubular acidosis) will cause damage to the areas than manage electrolytes. Also the Kidney generates something like 12 pounds of bicarbonate a day- if it is working right. If it is damaged it can't. That bicarbonate is a base, it keeps us from getting to acidic. High acidity can cause recurring UTI's. Also....if the kidney isn't working correctly, it cannot clear all the toxins out fo the body. It is overload, this person will also get excessive UTI's. Do not do any kind of renal scans with contrast dye if at all possible. They can and will further damage the kidneys. Kidneys are needed for life, and without them, a person is in grave danger. There are ways to become less acidic. Go online and look up foods that are alkaline and that are acidic. Also, taking 1/8 t of baking soda in a glass of water daily can help lower acidity. Wheatgrass is suppose to be very good for detox- They are things you can do to the bottom of the feet that can pull toxins out of the body. you have to detox the child. The bladder, liver, etc, will start getting stressed when the kidneys aren't doing their job so you must detox. Lookup Gerson therapy enema online. That is used for detox. I am going to start with my child. The toxins are now showing up in her blood and she is getting muscle pain,.not good.

It could possibly be VU reflux, where the ureter tubes are not strong enough to close properly and thus you have some urine backflowing and causing infections. My daughter had this and had a surgery to correct it.

I'm so sorry! We are battling recurring UTIs in my 4 year old as well. But, hers are directly related to not drinking enough. I had to buy a water bottle and make sure she drank her 32 oz a day to keep them away. I hope it is something as simple as this!

I feel for both of you. Remember you can give her the Uricalm if she needs it. At least our pharmacist said it was ok, but I can't remember the dose off the top of my head.

A friend's child had problems like this, and she solved them by switching her off typical junk vitamins and onto a comprehensive supplement that's patented. I had many UTIs as well (unrelated to hygiene problems or diet) and I benefited from the adult version. Overall immune system boosting is really important, and there are new developments in nutritional epigenetics that help to improve weak genes in a safe, food-based way.

I agree with the others that you should eliminate wiping problems and hand washing problems (the E. coli is a tip-off), and you can push fluids, but that's hard in a 4 year old. Normal baths shouldn't be a problem although I think you are wise to eliminate possible irritants. Still, I would start with a simpler approach than all the kidney ultrasounds - that level of care can be expensive as well as a big traumatic for a young child.

I had a friend whose daughter had this problem. It was something about a flap that is supposed to close to prevent urine from re-entering the bladder? She had to have minor surgery (I think she was four years old at the time) to have it corrected. Good luck and I hope you get some solid answers from the doctor.

Drinking enough water is always good. I have the kids drink Black Cherry Cranberry juice. It's a Great Value brand blend.

It really helps with sloughing off the dead cells so they don't get to many infections.

Well it may be that the Urology workup will show something. But just be aware that frequent UTI's are common in girls of that age group.

In the meanwhile there are a few things that may help and at least won't hurt:

- teach her to always wipe front to back. This is one of the most common causes of recurrent UTI's in that age group. You may need to help her wipe again if you are not still doing so. This is really hard to little girls to learn, their arms can often not reach well enough and they lack the coordination.
She may need help with properly wiping at preschool if she attends one. I know not all pre-schools will assist with toileting, so talk to yours about it.

- breathable (cotton) undies and sleepwear only. Polyester (which many PJ's are made of) traps moisture and gives bacteria and ideal breeding ground, the more bacteria you have growing on the skin around your private parts, the easier it is to introduce them into the urinary tract.

- have her void her bladder regularly. Many kids hold it as long as possible because they see pottying as a chore that interrupts play.

- make sure she drinks enough

Good luck.