URINARY TRACT INFECTION IN CHILDREN

Urinary Tract Infection In Children

Germs and bacteria that come in contact with sensitive parts of the body cause Urinary Tract
Infection, or UTI. The UTI, is a painful sickness, especially for children. Pain can be experienced
in the lower parts of the body. It is most intense when urinating. Infected children find urinating a
traumatic necessity. It is as if the bathroom has become a torturous place for them. The
infection also brings out a foul odor in urine.

Several body organs comprise the urinary tract. They include the bladder, two kidneys, the
urethra and two ureters. The kidneys purify the blood by flushing out wastes like toxins and
excess liquid from it. This waste drains into the bladder and becomes urine. When filled, the
bladder looks like an inflated balloon. It can contain up to two liters of urine. As the bladder
expands with urine, it alerts the brain to let us know that it is time to seek the bathroom. When
we are set to pee, the muscles at the end of the bladder loosen up, allowing urine to drain from
it; urine rushes through the urethra, and squirts out of the body through the genitals.

Parents may come to notice the signs of UTI affliction in their children, such as when they
urinate more often than usual, or when they frequently get up at night to seek the bathroom. But
because no one except the patients themselves can feel and keep track of the UTI when it
attacks, children experiencing its symptoms should bring the matter up with their parents or
guardians. Symptoms of UTI include throbbing sensation around the bladder, urethra and
kidney areas. Pain in the lower rib sections indicates kidney infection. A child may also contract
fever and experience chilling. In any case urine smells foul and more repulsive than usual; its
color looks murky. In more serious cases, urine is mixed with traces of blood. At the sign of
infection, or when the symptoms of the infection begin to make themselves manifest, taking the
child to the doctor should be a priority course of action.

Doctors examine the infection by testing urine samples. The child, with help of parents, must put
the urine sample in a clean or sterilized plastic cup to ensure that germs not associated with the
urine will not show up during examination. Germs found in the sample, unlike the millions more
of germs that are known to habitat the outer parts of the body, indicate infection. Doctors
determine infection by dipping a specially-treated paper stick into the sample. This stick affirms
infection when its color changes. Laboratory examination of the sample can also be conducted
to further establish or validate the initial findings.

Doctors will be guided by these examination results when they prescribe medicines, including
drugs intended to put down bacteria in case of bladder infection. Kidney infection will require
hospitalization for a number of days, and for which medical treatment may include administering
drugs through intravenous injection.

The infected child is expected to fully recover from the disease a few days after taking
medication. But as a precautionary step, taking in solid or liquid food that contains caffeine must
be avoided as this substance can aggravate bladder irritation. It can make the child feel
uncomfortable.

Orienting the child with proper hygiene procedures is important to prevent recurrence of UTI.
The basic steps include maintaining cleanliness, increasing fluid intake, and proper clothing.
Cleanliness requires taking a bath everyday and washing of private parts, using wipes after
urinating, and avoiding physical contact with contaminated urine. However, bubble baths can
irritate the child's urethra and should be shunned. Cranberry juice and water are useful fluids.
Water flushes out bacteria from the body while cranberry juice wards off recurrence of bacterial
infection. Choose clothing that absorbs sweat and body moisture well, such as cotton, for they
help stunt bacterial growth. Children need to change their underwear daily.