Tests After UTI

Hi N., some kids seem to sail through this with no problem while others need to be sedated. A catheter is no fun, but for a boy it is pretty easy to do, and it will be over quickly. You can ask about sedation if you would like to, but usually they just do it without.

Good luck with everything, you are right that it is rare for boys to get UTIs. It is common practice for the doctor to order this set of tests when a little one has a uti, especially a boy.

It was very hard, my little girl wasn't even a month old yet though. And I think from that perspective it was easier. The good news for us was that we got to be there to hold and touch her the whole time. Good luck.

Hi N.. I jsut was reading through some of the responses. I noticed that someone said not to do this, they just want money. Honestly, that is terribkle advice. My son was born with the reflux condition, and had to have a VCUG at 2 days old, then had surgery to help the condition (they rate the reflux on a 1 to 5 scale, 5 being the worst, and my son is a 5, anf then had another VCUG at 2 weeks old to check the surgery, and then just this month at 15 months old. It is scary, but they get past it. The worst is when they do the catheter (sp??). The thing is, if he happens to have the condition and it goes undetected, it can destroy the kidneys, completely. My peditrician said that 20-30 years ago they didn't know about this condition like they do now, and they were always treating it as an UTI infection. Now she said they are a lot of 20-30 year olds on the kidney donor list because of it. Some things are worth getting the testing done. I also see Dr. Kass with Beaumont and he is wonderful. Many kids go through this, so they know how to handle it very well. I wish you the best of luck, and hope that he is going to be just fine!

Hi N.. My daughter (who will be 3 in a couple months), just went through this in July. As with your son, this was her first UTI but she had a very high fever with it. So her doctor ordered the ultrasound and VCUG. I was very apprehensive about putting her through all of this but once they explained that there could be permanent damage to her kidneys I decided to do it. I got the test done at Royal Oak Beaumont and she was put under general anesthesia for it. Because of her age I didn't want to traumatize her and it sounded like it is generally pretty routine to medicate young toddlers during this test. I would definitely ask for the anesthesia when you schedule the test. They gave her just enough to fall asleep while they inserted the catheter and fill her bladder. Then they woke her up and had her urinate and it was all over. A pretty quick procedure and she doesn't remember any of it b/c of the anesthesia. The test was done around 9 in the morning and by lunch time she was completely back to normal. Good thing we got the test b/c it showed that she DOES have kindey reflux and the ultrasound showed an abnormal kidney. So now we are in the hands of a urologist and dealing with all of this. But I would get the test and request anesthesia. Hope this helps!

N. DO NOT DO IT UNLESS HE HAS HAD A CONSTANT PROBLEM!!!! My duaghter was diagnosed with a uretroceel in utero they said it could be something or not turn into anything. We lived in CO and went to very good highly sought after peds and hospitals. But I'll tell you what gthey just want the money, they put my little girl through hell with that test for no reason!!! After the test then she had UTI's NEVER BEFORE!! Start putting organic expeller pressed coconut oil in his food, and rubbing it on him at bed time all over his body it will soak in and it's naturally antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral google it it will cure almost everything!! E-mail me back with questions J.

Get the test done. You will be glad when you KNOW if there is a problem. I had surgery when I was little to fix that problem, so did my sister and now my 2nd son did too (he had 2 surgeries before he turned 1), we also tested my 1st son once we found out #2 had a problem at 15 weeks of my pregnancy (just an ultrasound).

The VCUG is uncomfortable since they do fill his bladder with fluid and he has to pee it out while they take pictures BUT it is just x-rays and a small tube to get the fluids in. It will make peeing hurt for maybe 2 times after that (the tube hurts in there) but that is it. It is a small price to pay to find out why he has a UTI -- like other people said he should NOT have even ONE of those and you need to find out why he is having them. Like someone else said take an adult with you for your other children so you can be with your son. Stay as calm as you can and just hold on to them, it doesn't take long.

I would reccommend trying to get into Dr. Evan Kass -- I think he is the best Pediatric urologist in the state -- if you need him.

Don't worry once you know what is going on you will feel better and so will your son!!

Hi N.. Sorry to hear your little guy has a UTI. My daughter had one around 2&1/2. We did the U/S and the VCUG. I'll be honest, this procedure is very traumatic, I had to try sooo hard not to cry. It's a catheter, so not super painful, but for a young child it is traumatic. But like anything, they forget about it pretty quickly, just have a nice reward for him afterwards for being so brave. My daughter only had 1 UTI and my doctor said we should get these tests, she turned out to be OK. It is your decision on whether to get the test or not, you can say no. I think because your child is a boy and got a UTI, it is grounds for further investigation, so IMO, you should go through with the tests. I think you'd rather know for sure if there is a problem than constantly worrying about it.

My daughter went through a VCUG a few days shy of her second birthday. It is somewhat painful/traumatic for both you and your child, but it is something that can help prevent future kidney problems. My daughter was diagnosed with 1 UTI, then they did the ultrasound and then scheduled the VCUG. We found out that she has kidney reflux and has to be on an antibiotic for a year and then she will have to go back to have another VCUG done to see if the kidney reflux is gone. (Apparently it is something they outgrow). The test itself was hard to watch and the rest of the day was really hard my daughter was clingy and upset, but the next day was back to herself. I am dreading having to put her through it again in a few months, but hoping the reflux has cleared up, and know that it is something that has to be done.

I highly recommend you have someone (spouse, grandparent, your sibling etc) go with you to help. I was 4 months pregnant at the time and could not be in the immediate area when they did the x-ray, so my dad was there with me (hubby was out of town) and held my daughter's hand during the x-ray. Having another adult there was very helpful. Don't know if the dr's told you or not, but if it is kidney reflux that it is a hereditary disease and your other children have a 40% chance of having it as well. They informed us we should have the test done on our newborn also.

Good luck!

My twin daughters were both diagnosed with urinary reflux at 16 mos. after one had an UTI. My understanding is that an UTI in a child is very different than in an adult. If a child has an UTI, something isn't working right.

We go for yearly VCUG's to see if they have outgrown the urinary reflux. Your child will be put in a gown. They have the child lay on the table and parent at the head (you will have to wear an xray apron). They will fill the childs bladder and then wait for the child to urinate, capturing it on film. The scanner is big, probably almost same size as your child and it is very close to the body. The test will last as long as it takes your child to urinate. Typically 5-10 mins.

If you would like more info or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact.

Well first let me say that the doc 'doing it for money' is ridiculous. The ordering doc doesn't get compensated for a test he/she orders. The radiology department does. Seriously folks, think about something before you type it!

As for the test itself, Im sure your ped has the best interest of your son in mind. I doubt he/she went into pediatric medicine to torture children. It is rare for males to get UTI's but it's not impossible. I don't know if I would do the test based on one UTI. But I also don't know why your doc would order it after one UTI...so maybe there is more to the story?

The condition you are testing for is serious, that's for sure, and it does need to be diagnosed, but I just don't know if one UTI justifies the test. I can't say for sure, and nobody on here can really give you medical advice...but further research is definitely appropriate.

Good luck...I hope you find the right answers!

I am not sure wht a VCUG is, but I can share my experience about UTIs and toddlers. First it is very odd for a two year old to have one..it is even odder that it is a boy. One of our daughters had chronic bladder/kidney infections for 3 years. It started when she was about 4. To make a VERY long story short, after MANY rounds of antibiotics, kidney and bladder x-rays, a cystoscopy...she was only 4 going through all this. The urologist said she was probably one of those girls that would just have bladder issues all her life...how helpful! I finally took her to an Osteopathic doctor who figured it ALL out for us. It was something in our water that her little system couldn't handle and get rid of. Sometimes it can be something so simple you don't even think of it. We gave her bottled water and she NEVER had another one. Good luck and I would love to hear what happens. Feel free to send a message.

I haven't read any other responses to this so I apologize if this is repeated info.

Are you sure you have the right test name? A VCUG is minimally invasive and is not suposed to be painful. My daughter had kidney surgery at 6 weeks old and then a near fatal UTI at 4 months old and she had this test done multiple times. I was with her each time and she usually slept through the test. Here is a link with some more info that will hopefully put your mind at ease. BTW, my daughter is 2 1/2 now and is perfectly fine. :O)

http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=voidcysto

Hi N.,

My thought is that children often get UTIs. Make sure you quit using bubble bath. It's irritating to the urethra and can lead to a UTI. Keeping the soap out of the bath water as much as possible would also help with that. Maybe switch to showers for a week or two, if he's willing. I think your doctor is coming out with the big guns on a fairly common childhood issue. If he were to have 5 or so in one year, I'd say, definitely have the test done. I'm thinking the antibiotic, and check the urine later. I think the ultrasound for the first UTI is again, more than is generally necessary, unless there's a family history, or he's had several in the past etc. You might want to seek a second opinion about all the rest. Hope that helps. S.

I don't know that I will be much help, but am wondering why he is ordering sooo many tests. Does you son have recurring uti's? What is he checking for? Did he say? If you don't have a good reason for doing all of these tests, then I would get a second opinion, or at least make some phone calls to another pediatrician, and ask if this is normal procedure. Seems a little extreme to me unless he thinks that there is a major issue, and in that case, you really need to go for it (but I would make sure that the little guy will have some sort of sedation or valium or something, you don't want him to have a stigma about going to the doctor.

I would not do any invasive testing at all unless the child has had multiple UTI's One UTI does not mean your child has any physical problems. It means that he had one UTI.

I did a quick pubmed search for VCUG usage in children...In one study of 600+ kids only 17% of children tested during their first UTI actually hade urinary reflux issues. In another study of 220 participants 30% of the kids had urinary reflux issues.

Additionally one of the studies stated "VCUG is only indicated when abnormalities are apparent on either ultrasound scanning or DMSA scanning or both"

Another study indicated that it is unnecessary to perform a VCUG in children under 2yrs of age.

You can look at the study abstracts yourself pubmed.com I used the search terms urinary reflux VCUG

One of my grandsons had a couple of these. It wasn't pleasant but too horrible and he did have the reflux they were worried about. He outgrew it though and no more problems every occurred - he's 13 now. I went with my daughter because it was so upsetting for her. My friend's granddaughter had to have surgery at 5 because hers didn't clear up. Best to check it out. It can cause kidney damage if left untreated, and hopefully he doesn't have it or will outgrow it before kindergarten. You need to find out. UTI's aren't that common in boys.

I am not sure if the tests are the same now...but I had one when I was young...filled my bladder with a catheter and took xrays. This was alomost 30 years ago...and I remember it...but mostly because the nurses were so nice. I do remember a little pain when they inserted the catheter but i think i was more scared than anything. As an adult I had to get a Cystoscopy (a bladder scope) and they put on a numbing cream before inserting the catheter. Ask about the test. Details so you can be prepared should you decide to go that route.

My son has this done yearly. Our ped ordered a VCUG because my son had a UTI and yes it is very unusually for a child to get a UTI especially a boy. I am glad we did it. We found out that he had a tethered spinal cord. Thank the Lord for proactive DRs. It is my son's least favorite test that he has to have done yearly but I think children often base how things go by what the parents are doing and how stressed out they are about it. Just relax. I told him as little as possible before because I didn't want him to think about it too much. It is exactly how the other ladies described it. It really is not a big deal unless you make it one. There is some discomfort especially if this is his first time being cathed. My son has cathed himself for 5 years he is now 11. We just said that everyone has issues and have to deal with them and this is yours so you have to learn to deal with it. We had our bumps along the way 6 yr old boys are not always the best with hygene!! It is better to know for sure that to have that in the back of your mind. Hope this helps.