Parents of girls..help!

transcriber87 · January 2013

Hello ladies! I post here occasionally and it has been awhile. My DD will be 4 in March and if I remember right, she is on her 4th or 5th UTI. She was complaining it burned when she peed over the weekend so I took her to Urgent Care, they got a urine sample and it came back positive for another UTI. Her temp was 99.3 but she was otherwise acting fine. I am wondering if this is something I should maybe investigate further, like taking her to a specialist? My Mom said when I was little, we had to stop using Mr. Bubble because it irritated me. The only thing she really uses in the tub is bath paints. She drinks water but I do let her have a cup of Dt. Mt. Dew for dinner. Anyone have suggestions? I worry these yearly UTI's could damage her kidnesy somehow down the line. TIA!

KathrynMD · January 2013

SIDEBAR - please don't give your child mountain dew or any other soda on a regular basis (diet or not) but especially not mountain dew. If you have to do it, make it a splash w/ water. There is so much sugar and caffeine in it - it will literally rot her teeth.

Re UTIs - I would make sure she's wiping correctly and give her some firm rules on how she should wipe and demonstrate if needed. I would skip baths w/ bubble bath for awhile and even then, just do them as a special thing.

transcriber87 · January 2013

Yes, she has been potty trained for a while now..I am not sure how she wipes herself at daycare though but I taught her how to wipe..never thought of the wiping thing. I admit, the pop at dinner is probably not a good idea and I forgot to say I do 1/2 water and 1/2 dt. dew because I am not a pop drinker, but DH is. We had a huge argument last year because he would bring home a big gulp cup from the gas station and let her drink some of it, coke or pepsi. Kidney problems run in my family and have a friend that his daughter went through hell in the hospital due to some sort of congenital abnormality and was having constant UTI's which wound up in doing surgery Sad

jlw2505 · January 2013

My opinion only but a 4 year old does not need any soda at all. Also, anything in the tub is not good for girls. My older DD has had issues, mainly related to her exzema, and the Pedi gyn that she saw told us to not even wash her in the tub but to let her play and then stand her up to shower so nothing gets down there and to not wash her private areas with anything that has dyes or anything in it. We just wipe her privates with baby wipes (or did when she was little, she is fine now and can handle the soap that we use for her body). You can also let her drink some cranberry juice which might help some. Also make sure she is wiping correctly and not going backwards and wiping the bacteria from her butt forward.

74dragonfly · January 2013

I would try the things the others suggest and then if still an issue see a specialist.
My pedi said only water, milk, and limited juice to the keep urine healthy.

Jen748 · January 2013

KathrynMD:

SIDEBAR - please don't give your child mountain dew or any other soda on a regular basis (diet or not) but especially not mountain dew. If you have to do it, make it a splash w/ water. There is so much sugar and caffeine in it - it will literally rot her teeth.

Re UTIs - I would make sure she's wiping correctly and give her some firm rules on how she should wipe and demonstrate if needed. I would skip baths w/ bubble bath for awhile and even then, just do them as a special thing.

All of this. And, I'm surprised her Pedi hasn't suggested further testing after that many UTI's. DD had two UTIs as a small infant and we spent the next year doing testing, repeat testing, and antibiotics. Luckily, DD's issues went away, but I'm still surprised your Dr hasn't sent her for some sort of testing.

aglenn · January 2013

Is she constipated? Constipation can be a root cause of recurrent UTIs, especially in girls. If you think there is a chance of this (and they can be constipated and still poop every day), check out the book called "It's No Accident."

sucredee · January 2013

Ditto the soda, Soda is just a bad habit to get into and kids should not have diet anything.

were her UTIs confirmed by urine cultures? If she was diagnosed with a UTI solely based on a dip and no confirmation by urine culture I would not really trust that she had actual UTIs.

If a girl has had 2-3 UTIs confirmed by urine culture they need to get worked up for reflux (in the ureters/kidneys) with a VCUG. If that is negative then it is likely a hygiene issues (that is not wiping correctly or stuff in the tub).

seaportoct12 · January 2013

Your daughter most likely has kidney reflux. she needs a VCUG to be tested ASAP. My daughter is 7 and was diagnosed with it when she was 10 months. If you don't get it under control, it could cause serious kidney damage.

transcriber87 · January 2013

Yes she is constipated ALOT!! WOW! I never knew of any correlation between the two! She eats a good amount of fiber rich foods and oatmeal every morning. But she does have a hard time with her BM's often. I WILL check out the book..Thanks!

transcriber87 · January 2013

Only one sample ever was a 48 hour culture. The rest have been the dipstick test. I took her to Childrens Hospital because she was screaming in pain 2 years ago saying it burned and they had to take it by catheter, she was less than 2. They told me to cut down on juice, for some reason it is a real irritant to her. But they did do a 48 hr culture at the hospital & it came back negative. So this is going back 2 years that this has been happening. The visit the other day was to the Urgent Care so I haven't the doctor yet, which isn't a pediatrician, she is our family doctor. The reflux is exactly what my friends little girl had, I couldn't remember the name when I posted but that poor thing went years also with it. I am def. going to talk to the doc about further testing. Im nervous! Sad

ppants · January 2013

seaportoct12:
Your daughter most likely has kidney reflux. she needs a VCUG to be tested ASAP. My daughter is 7 and was diagnosed with it when she was 10 months. If you don't get it under control, it could cause serious kidney damage.

This is certainly a possibility. I'm a nuclear medicine tech and perform VCUs. I very shocked she's had so many UTIs without some type of work up. Doesn't make sense to me at all. Everyone else has covered the Dew issue.

mer4 · January 2013

My daughter had the same problem she is now 14 and fine. What caused her uti 's was that one kidney was larger than the other. We did take her to a specilist they did an ultrasound and a dye test. It probably is nothing but seeing a specilist if concerned will help it did with us.

aglenn · January 2013

transcriber87:
Yes she is constipated ALOT!! WOW! I never knew of any correlation between the two! She eats a good amount of fiber rich foods and oatmeal every morning. But she does have a hard time with her BM's often. I WILL check out the book..Thanks!

Here's a link to the book I'm talking about. I found it really interesting!

shellybird101 · January 2013

Honey next time you post on here don't post anything you don't want to get ripped on like the "soda" thing, posters will eat you ALIVE! Anyway about the UTI I would start giving her canberry juice to drink, make sure she is wiping the right way and maybe look to see what the dr says about so many UTI. GL

transcriber87 · January 2013

aglenn:

transcriber87:
Yes she is constipated ALOT!! WOW! I never knew of any correlation between the two! She eats a good amount of fiber rich foods and oatmeal every morning. But she does have a hard time with her BM's often. I WILL check out the book..Thanks!

Here's a link to the book I'm talking about. I found it really interesting!

Thank you SO much! I just clicked the link and read the reviews on it and will order it next week when I get paid. In reading the reviews and people describing about the bedwetting and holding, I myself wet the bed until I was 12, my Mom did until she was almost 13 so I wonder if there is some hereditary factor in all of this? I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance and IBS at the age of 13. I can't wait to get this book..thanks again for your help. Thanks to all who responded! She is feeling much better now, tomorrows her last day on the antibiotic and daycare has been giving her more water during the day Yes

mommatotwo2 · January 2013

Yes, she absolutely needs to be evaluated by a specialist who will likely do a workup starting with a VCUG. She could possibly have kidney reflux and yes, left untreated it can cause severe kidney damage. My dd was diagnosed in utero with this condition and had to take profolactic antibiotics every day for 9 months until it resolved on the left. It never resolved on the right and she had to have her right kidney removed. I am not telling you this to scare you, but so that you see the importance if getting her in to the pediatric urologist.

Everyone else has commented on it, so I should just bite my tongue, but I can't. Stop giving her mountain dew every day. Diet's even worse. The sodium, caffeine and fake sugar in diet mountain dew is awful for her.

soxfan74Wed76248 · January 2013

I would take her to a children's urology specialist. She might have urine reflux that is caused by the development of the tubes. I forget the medical names for it. When there is a problem with it, if it is minor, they say it will develop normally by age 6. If it's bigger, they recommend surgery. Get it checked out. It may be more than a wiping or bathing issue.

Lulobug22 · January 2013

I have always had chronic bladder issues and found when I gave up diet soda while pregnant my issues got much better! Regular sodas do not effect me. I don't like my kids tO have anything diet. I would stick mainly to water, milk and juice. We let ds1 whose 4 have a small sprite or root beer caffeine free like once a week after preschool. When ds1 is sick he is allowed to have sprite or 7 up.

rab2006 · January 2013

My DD had 1 UTI before she was 1 yr old. We went through extensive testing including follow up urine tests, kidney ultrasound, and a voiding radiology test. Luckily, no physical abnormalities. However, in DD's case, we had no clue anything was wrong till she got hit with a 105 fever. I would highly suggest calling her pediatrician and talking to them about it. While I know urgent care centers are convenient and usually less expensive, the staff doesn't typically do long term care/follow up. A pediatrician will let you know what soaps may be safe, etc. For our daughter, we were advised to make sure anyone taking care of her wiped correctly and completely, no bubble bath for a while, and let her play in the tub before soaping her up because even just shampoo or body wash can cause it. Also, when giving her a bath, do not use soap down there. Just wipe her with a wet wash cloth before soaping the rest of her up.

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