Hi Acacia,

My DS was born with renal problems. His anatomy makes him very prone to UTI's and as he only has a single kidney it is terribly important that we spot them early and start antibiotics. Soooo.... that would make me the UTI detective squad!!

Signs and symptoms of a UTI in an infant include:

Grizzling and irritability
Febrile (high temp) - usually a low grade fever early on, but will become high grade as the infection progresses
Vomiting
Malodorous urine (smelly wee)
Increased urinary frequency (very difficult to spot in a nappied bub!)
Pain on urination - is your DD distressed as she passes urine? Often there will be a burning sensation in her urethra as she wees, you might be able to spot it. If your DD is still awake you could give her some nappy free time and see if she becomes distressed when passing urine.

Your DD's symptoms sound fairly non-specific and not necessarily a UTI, although it is possible she has been festering a mild infection since Monday. The redness around her vagina could be caused by the increased acidity of her urine if she does have a UTI, or by her poosplosions? I know the 'experts' say teething doesn't cause diarrhea (sp????) and increased acidity in bubs poo, but I reckon that was hogwash with both of mine! They both had red bums when they were teething, so perhaps your daughter is teething as you say and acidity of her poo is the reason for her sore fanny. Doesn't really explain the temperature and the vomiting though, does it?

Increased thirst is not in itself a symptom of a UTI, but an infant with a temperature will often drink more to replace the increase in lost fluids. I am not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if infants instinctively drink more to dilute their acidic urine when they are suffering a UTI??? Just guessing, the human body is an amazing thing!!

UTI's are far more common in female infants due to their shorter urethra and the fact that their urethra is much close to their anus than in boys. Make sure you always wipe her in a downwards direction, from fanny to bottom to avoid wiping faeces into her vagina. (I'm sure already do this )

The only way to know for sure whether your daughter has a UTI is to test her urine. To do so, you need to get a 'clean catch' urine sample. This is when you somehow get her to wee directly into a sterile container so that the sample is not contaminated. Errr... good luck with achieving that with an infant, particularly a girl! Alternatively, the doctor can stick a sterile plastic pouch over her vagina which will capture the urine when she passes it. A catheter is also used occasionally in hospital to obtain a sterile sample, but don't panic, I don't think your daughter is looking down the barrel of a catheter!

Soooo, long post, sorry! Keep up your daughter's fluids, if you have a sterile container try to get a 'clean catch' urine sample to take to the doctor with you, wipe from front to back and use a barrier cream on her sore tush. Does she have a UTI? Sorry, no way to know without testing her urine. Take her to the dr tomorrow, and good luck!