My daughter has had three UTIs since Easter. She had never had one previously. She does not take baths. She does swim often in the city pool, but did not with her first one.
I hate the thought of her being on antibiotics so often, and am afraid if I miss her symptoms (which are not always obvious or the same), it will get serious. She did have an ultrasound after her last one and there is nothing structurallywrong.
Does anyone have anything we can do to PREVENT them? She drinks a lot of water, some juice, very little soda. She eats a well balanced diet.
Thanks for the help!!
Thank you all! She is 4, and I am going to be more consistent on watching her wipe...because I'm thinking she is doing it wrong. I will get her started on cranberry juice...or get it in her some way. She loves cherries and eats those now too! I always thought baths were no-nos...but that way may just work. No changes in detergent or anything. She got the Ultrasound done for any abnormalities, but not the reflux thing. We always went in for repeat culture and all came up clear after antibiotics. We see another dr today, so I am curious to what she will say. I have never had one in my entire life, so this is all so new to me (and my first girl). And I may just try the chiropractor,....I love getting adjustments from mine!
The DR suggested the next test, when this culture comes back positive (which I am sure it will). She put her on augmentin this time...not the traditional UTI antibiotic...which sucks because that kills her little belly and she gets diarrhea. I will be doing everything to hopefully prevent the next time.
You can also find cranberry concentrated into pills/capsules--might even be able to open the capsules and put the cranberry concentrate into smoothies, juice, etc. (I don't know if she can swallow pills). Also do an Internet search on pH balance in the body and acid/alkaline balance. For some people, when that balance is off, they have issues with UTIs.
How old is she?
Does she wipe herself after she uses the toilet? If so, how is she doing that?
Wiping through the crotch (from back to front) can drag bacteria up to the urethra, and help cause UTI's..... even if she is wiping that way after she urinates, it still can bring up bacteria.
Teach her to wipe from FRONT to BACK, reaching from the butt area. It is harder, but very important to learn that skill.
Hopefully that will help.
You don't say how old your daughter is, but make sure she knows she needs to wipe front to back.
One year my daughter had 6 in a row. Could be a coincidence but I took her to the chiropractor a few times and she hasn't had one since (and that was 5 years ago.)
Cranberries, cheries and blueberries all have an enzyme that prevents the bacteria from attaching to the lining of the urinary system. She can drink the juice or add the frozen fruit to hot oatmeal or any cold cereal, or eat dried fruit, or consume it any way she chooses.
She could be having a reaction to her bath/shower soap or gel or your laundry detergent or fabric softner. Back in the day when you could still buy colored toilet tissue I would get a minor UTI if I used colored toilet tissue. So the causes can be endless. You can try using a different laundry detergent maybe try Ivory or Dreft just for her clothes.
I would also try chamomile tea, it flushes the system.
She also needs to drink a lot of water.
I'm going through this too. Three infections since June! Has she had a VCUG test done? Urinary reflux is fairly common in girls that have recurrent UTI's (I had this as a child too). Also, are they basing on symptoms or are they doing cultures and testing the antibiotic on the bacteria?
I agree with the cranberry juice. My mom had frequent UTI's when she was young. The doctor told her to drink a small glass of cranberry juice every day. Voila! No more UTI's. Also, I have a friend at work who also experienced frequent UTI's. She doesn't like the taste of the juice, so she takes cranberry in a pill form. It works just as well for her.
Maybe she should be taking more bathes.
Try adding 1 cup of plain yogurt to her bath water.
The skin loves it and the yogurt helps to fight off UTI's.
She could try eating more yogurt, too.
Drinking lot's of water is good.
You can also try her on cranberry juice and see if she'll take a cranberry extract supplement every day.
cranberry juice..actually the crangrape is best..or the azo pill same thing..but just pill form-ive only had 3 of these in my 53 yrs of life-the last one i had was 14 yrs ago..i drink one bottle of crangrape 3 x,s a month.best medicine in the world.good luck
What are you doing to strengthen her immune system? I've worked with tons of families who have turned around any kind of chronic condition (UTIs, colds, flu, asthma, bronchitis, constipation) by using principles of food science. Our diets are ineffective even if we "eat right" and the AMA weighed in on this over 10 years ago. Prevention is the key - so if you aren't doing that, it's pretty simple to rectify it. Let me know if you want some suggestions.
How old is she? Have you had her urine tested each time to make sure the infection is completely gone? Has the doctor recommended testing for urinary reflux? My younger daughter had that when she was younger and (very thankfully) grew out of it as the ureters grew.
In addition to the good advice below....and while I have a son...from my experience and my friend's daughter's...some thoughts.
-- drink loads of water...and check color of pp..I can tell if my son is 'cooking' something (virus etc...)...if his pp is dark yellow. In the summer, I keep water near him constantly
-- cranberry juice is great. i was told not to buy sweetened cranberries..
-- my friend tells me it is hard for her 5 year old daughter to wipe herself properly...so while she teaches, she always checks.
good luck. you are an awesome mom.
Have her drink cranberry juice. The straight stuff. Not the "cocktail" or mixture. Just straight cranberry juice. She probably won't like it at first - it's quite tart.... but she'll develop a taste for it, eventually.
