4 Year Old with Urinary probs...need Answers!!

Hi V.,

She's been on two rounds of antibiotics so this could simply be yeast. Unless she was on a probiotic while she was taking the antibiotics, it's almost a guarantee. Yogurt is not strong enough to get rid of yeast, it can only be used as prevention. Go to the health store and ask them the best product they have for your daughter. If it's not yeast, the probiotic is not going to hurt anything. It actually something most kids should be on these days. Yeast does thrive and grow (sugar feeds it as well) so being left alone it will only get worse. It can be simple to get rid of but if not taken care of there are other more serious side effects.

God bless!

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

Have you had her tested for diabetes? I know it sounds scary. But I have a friend who's daughter was having the same issue, along with a couple other symptoms and it turned out that she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Maybe just to be on the safe side you can talk to your pedi about doing a simple test, for peace of mind.
Good luck.

My daughter gets urinary tract infections every year (she test positive). One time, it took 3 rounds of antibiotics to get it cleared up. Her urologist also put her on a high fiber diet. After 3 years, she continued to get UTI's - the high fiber diet didn't seem to do any good.

What works the best with my daughter is cranberries. She likes to eat the dried cranberries (look like raisins). I also give her cranberry juice (the plain cranberry juice not the crangrape or cranapple - the more cranberries the better).

Good luck! It's hard to see our little ones in pain.

This could be a food allergy like dairy or something. Make sure she is drinking plenty of water so that her bladder gets completely full. Dehydration makes people pee a little at a time. Put her in a pull up of some sort if that might make her feel better. Definitely see a urologist ... could be something pressing on her bladder that is giving her the urge to go.

My doctor told me to avoid bubble baths or any soap in that area - my daughter had problems, too and complained that her bottom hurt. She just takes plain baths, wash her hair last and rinse her body well. Also make sure she is drinking enough water, and try avoiding juice drinks. The acid in juice drinks would irritate my daughter. The doctor said water is best, milk ok if she tolerates it. I can't remember what the doctor called this condition, but basically the whole area is irritated and pink/red whenever she is exposed to soap or drinks acidic drinks. And she tells me she doesn't feel like she got all the pee out.

Well I am not sure if your daughter has the same issue but my son had a Urinary Tract Defect that needed surgical correction.

When he was six weeks old he got a bad fever. Being a new mom, I was scared so we went to the ER at 3am. They sent us home after a few hours when his fever went down right away after being given tylenol. They didn't do any tests. The next night we were back...I couldn't get his fever to go down at all by that point, and it had even started to climb.
Well, after a battery of tests including blood, urine, spinal tap, and a few other physical exams..he had a bad UTI. We were referred to a Urologist by his pcp. 4 weeks later his UTI was back.

We found out he had a duplicated urinary system on each side. He had double sets of ureters, unlike most people who only have one on each side. One side was ok, it functioned normally. The other causes a blockage of urine because the second ureter drained into the bottom on the bladder, and was blocked by natural tissue formation. Anyways, he had surgery at 10 months (now 17 months). It was a bit scary, but i knew I was lucky because his defect was correctable.
My point is that if he hadn't had that surgery, he would suffer from kidney damage and need part of his left kidney removed. I am not sure if your little girl has that problem, but I think you should do all you can to find the underlying issue here, because no doubt there is one whether it be physical or psychologica.

Hello! My daughter is 3.5 yrs old and she had constant bladder infections. She was always on meds and I finally decided to see a more natural doctor that had a different approach and let me say I am soooo glad I did! My daughter is on natural supplements, we changed her diet, and she had not had 1 bladder infection in a year! It is amazing! I love this doctor! He is not on most insurance plans, but let me just say it is totally worth every penny not to see your child in pain. His name is Dr. Kostanis out of Grapevine. I highly recommend him. Also, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my pediatrician who is also wonderful and might be able to help. Her name is Dr. Lisa Nash out of Cooks Childrens in Hurst.

I hate this for your daughter and totally understand what you are going through! Good luck!

When my middle started first grade at a new school where she didn't know anyone, I thought she would adjust wonderfully. She didn't. About 6 weeks into the school year her teacher mentioned she was going to the bathroom constantly. I didn't notice it at home, but the teacher was concerned so I took her to the doctor. Nothing the matter. The doc suggested it was possibly a habit- try ignoring it, or he gave me some other suggestions that I don't remember, but nothing worked. Finally the teacher called asking for a meeting. The bathroom trips were disruptive, she was spending more time in the bathroom than in class, the other kids were angry that she got to go so much.
Another trip to the doctor, still nothing physically wrong. Over the Christmas holidays I finally realized that no one was calling her for parties, no one had invited her over-her old friends from the other schools had moved on, she had not made new friends. It hit me like a ton of bricks. She was lonely. I asked her if she was lonely and she said yes in a tiny sad voice. Broke my heart. I called the teacher, said I needed a friend for my daughter and she gave me some mommy names and kid names. I called one of the moms, set up a play date, got her involved-bathroom trips stopped. She finally told me that she had felt so lonesome after being so popular in kindergarten and then having no friends in first grade that the bathroom was the only place she felt comfortable. She knew she was supposed to be alone there, so she didn't feel lonely.
So, maybe it isn't physical. Maybe there has been a change? Something has happened? The bathroom has become like a lovey. A safe place. Maybe there is something that has made her feel insecure and that is the one place that she feels on control. I know it doesn't really make sense to us adults, but in a kids mind, it could. Maybe look at it not as just a physical issue, but look at it overall. Just a suggestion because it sounds somewhat like our experience.
Good luck.

I can't help with your main problem, but I just wanted you to always be sure that you always always always reassure her that there will be bathrooms wherever you take her. And be sure that there are. I had a bathroom problem when I was a little girl and I always worried that there wouldn't be a bathroom where we went. I think I must have a small bladder or something, lol. I remember a couple of times when my parents seemed to get so annoyed that they had to find a bathroom for me. That always made me feel awful.

And please don't tell her not to talk about it and it will go away. No, it won't go away just by not talking about it. Sometimes I would only have a drop or two, but I felt better afterward.

You say she has been on 2 rounds of antibiotics? But no UTI? Then why is she being put in antibiotics? That's the worst thing to do.

This sounds more psychological than physical by what you're saying here. Do you remember anything at all, no matter how insignificant you may think it is that happened when this first started up?

I struggled with recurring UTI's in college and eventually went to a urologist who put me on low dose antibiotics for 6 weeks to finally knock it out. I was an adult so for me it was related to sexual activity which not likely to be the case in a small child. Another friend had a daughter with frequent UTI's as a toddler and it turned out she was diabetic. Once the diabeties was under control no more UTI's. I'd follow up with the doctor and see a urologist if the regular doctor can't help. In the meantime perhaps cranberry juice and cotton panties will help her be a bit more comfortable.

Has she been tested for Type 1 Diabetes?

Good luck,
DH

Just my 2 cents but it doesn't sound like a bladder infection but that she is having a problem fully emptying her bladder and possibly has an overactive bladder. I would find another Pediatric Urologist that will take your concerns seriously sine this is affecting your quality of life. If it is overactive bladder there are medications out there for children. I used to babysit a girl with overactive bladder and she took medication and eventually grew out of it. Or it could be something else like the others moms suggested.

If the cultures come back negative, take her off the antibiotics. Increasing her fiber and fluid intake can't hurt but it sounds like something else is going on.

Hope you find the answer!

2 things come to mind...

1. Has she been tested for diabetes?

2. Did the urologist do an ultrasound to see if she is emptying her bladder all the way when she goes? There could be some sort of potential blockage issue.

HTH!

is she just worried she might accidently have an accident?perhaps another kid had an accident and kids teased the person? is she really needing to pee? if she has no uti then is she just peeing for attention? if not i would definatly find a new doctor.

The exact thing happened to my daughter when she was around that age (she is 12 now). She was peeing, what seemed like, every few minutes all day and all night with only small amounts. We took her to our GP and he ran all the tests and they came back negative. She went on antibiotics and still it kept happening. He feared something was wrong with her kidneys, so he ordered an ultrasound. Everything was normal. He was baffled. I finally took her to a pediatrician and he immediately said he had seen this before from several children. There was nothing wrong with her. She was kind of a nervous child, kinda neurotic and anxious about some things, too. He said that was what was making her go so often. I can't remember how long it lasted (maybe 2-3 months??) but it seemed like an eternity. It completely went away one day all by itself. I don't know if your daughter has that same kind of personality (nervous, anxious), but hope this helps. Sometimes sitting in a tub of warm water with nothing in it (or a little baking soda sprinkled in) helped my daughter--it helped relax her too. Good luck!

I've had this myself, urge to pee but no bladder infection. It can be caused by excessive mucus or catarrh in the bladder, if she eats a lot of dairy products-milk and cheese etc. There is a miracle product for this that clears it up instantly. It's called D-Mannose. The brand I have is called "Clear Tract" and I bought it on vitacost.com. It is sweet so kids love the taste and it clears it up in no time. I also forgot to mention that I used it for my 3 year old as well and it cleared up her issue as well. It's a naturally occuring sugar that is 10 times stronger than cranberry so it's completely safe. Best of luck.