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What is a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) in Children?
Background: To establish mortality rates, causes of death, and determinants of mortality in children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), we performed a national long-term follow up study.
A UTI is when bacteria gets into your urine and travels up to your bladder. As many as 8 in 100 of girls and 2 in 100 of boys will get UTIs. Young children have a greater risk of kidney damage linked to UTI than older children or adults.
How Does the Urinary Tract Work?
The “urinary tract” is the organs in your body that make, store, and get rid of urine, one of the waste products of your body. Urine is made in the kidneys and travels down to the bladder through the ureters (the tubes that join them). The kidneys make about 1½ to 2 quarts of urine a day in an adult, and less in children, depending on their age. In children, the bladder can hold 1 to 1½ ounces of urine for each year of age. For example, a 4-year-old child’s bladder can hold 4 to 6 ounces—a little less than a cup.
The bladder stores the urine until it is emptied through the urethra, a tube that links the bladder to the skin, when you urinate. The urethra opens at the end of the penis in boys and in front of the vagina in girls.
The kidneys also balance the levels of many chemicals in the body (sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorous and others) and check the blood’s acidity. Certain hormones are also made in the kidneys. These hormones help control blood pressure, boost red blood cell production and help make strong bones.
Normal urine has no bacteria in it, and the one-way flow helps prevent infections. Still, bacteria may get into the urine through the urethra and travel up into the bladderHow can you care for your child at home?
• Give your child antibiotics as directed. Do not stop using them just because your child feels better. Your child needs to take the full course of antibiotics.
• Have your child drink plenty of water each day. This helps your child urinate often, which clears bacteria from the system. If your child has a condition that makes you have to limit fluids, talk with your child’s doctor.
• Have your child urinate often. Your child should try to empty his or her bladder each time.
• To relieve pain, have your child take a hot bath, or lay a hot water bottle over your child’s lower belly. Keep a cloth between the hot water bottle and your child’s skin.
• Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
o If the doctor gave your child a prescription medicine for pain, give it as prescribed.
o If your child is not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask the doctor if your child can take an over-the-counter medicine, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) for fever or pain. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
o Do not give your child two or more pain or fever medicines at the same time unless the doctor told you to. Many pain or fever medicines have acetaminophen, which is Tylenol. Too much acetaminophen (Tylenol) can be harmful.
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