Experiences of UTI in a toddler?

[Acacia]

I am starting to suspect DD has a UTI. I'm planning on taking her to see a GP tomorrow (it's 11pm here now).

On Monday night she vomited twice and came up with a high fever first thing in the morning. I suspected a gastro type thing, but since then her fever went down but has not gone completely - she just has a niggly low grade fever for days on end now, which occasionally pops up and then pops back down again. She only vomited as I picked her up and held her against me on that first night, not being sick in the cot on her own - it seemed to be when I put pressure on her tummy as I held her against me, and not at all after she woke up for the day. She did the same thing this morning when I got her up, so I wonder whether it was actually a gastro thing, ITMS?

She's very irritable and tired and has been since Monday night - completely gone off solids and will only have BF, very small amounts of solid food, and drinking lots and lots of water - much more than normal, and has been for days.

Then today when I was cleaning her when changing her nappy (she's gone back to poosplosions because of only really having BM and water) and I had to clean her vagina she was really distressed and seemed in a lot of pain as I tried to wipe there. It also looked fairly red to me, but I don't know for sure. My DH had the same problem earlier on today when changing her.

I was also suspecting teeth as she's got her premolars sitting there ready to go, but something tells me this is more than that, especially with the pain she's in changing her nappy and a change in her urine that I thought was just because she wasn't eating or drinking much at first on Tuesday.

Excuse the ramble - it's kind of good just to get all her symptoms down on paper too. Can anyone tell me what it's been like if your toddler has experienced a UTI? Any experiences or advice much appreciated...

[nickle730]

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!

[Acacia]

Thanks very much, Nickle for sharing all your knowledge and experience with me Sorry it's taken a while to get back in and post.

I think you were spot on - my DD's symptoms were very non-specific - I was just trying to think of all the options as to why she was behaving like she was. I was trying to get organised to "catch" a sample so I could bring it to the doctors with me, but it wasn't happening very easily! She didn't want me faffing about, given how grumpy she was anyway. I think you were also right about the pain she was experiencing vaginally - it was most likely from her poosplosion irritating her, as the next day she seemed far less irritated there. It's amazing though, isn't it? She had her nappy on for only a few minutes between poosplosions and being changed and that's the kind of irritation it can cause - poor bubbas!

Things have improved now a lot now - she is pretty much well aside from the teething - but I think whatever she had I've now caught as I'm in my pyjamas having a quiet day at home with DH WAH to help out after a high fever and nausea yesterday and last night and bad malaise, aching body and slight temp still hanging around today... now I understand why my DD was feeling so rotten for many days on end!

Thanks again for all your supportive advice - I really appreciate it, and it sounds to me like your DS has a wonderfully attentive, educated and brilliant mummy when it comes to his health problems