Constant UTIs - any tips?

[Brandnewnotepad]

Hi, my daughter (age 7) is having back to back UTIs, with pain urinating as the main symptom. She’s had 3 since Christmas to give some perspective. It’s been going on for a good few years on and off. She’s had an ultra sound and blood test - all clear. Urine tests show an infection which is always treated with antibiotics.
I have checked how she wipes and it seems ok.

Does anyone have any experience if this, or tips on anything we can try? I feel so sorry for her with the pain urinating, and am a bit worried about all the antibiotics..

Thank you!

Has the uti actually cleared up after antibiotics? inews.co.uk/news/chronic-uti-children-denied-treatment-losing-childhood-urinary-tract-infection-1540249

Didn't want to read and run so I've written some thoughts but appreciate that the doctors probably know what they're doing and I shouldn't presume to suggest anything more.
Did the ultrasound also check for urine refluxing?
My son has a kidney condition and I had read something about cranberry extract (so just basic capsules) being preventative against UTIs (cranberry juice is tart but also full of sugar) although I've not tried it as it seems difficult to get him to take them.
Have they checked that her bladder fully empties after each wee? Might be harder to be sure of during an active infection. I guess but could be a cause?
It sounds horrible, poor thing.

Thank you so much for replying.

@Eastereggglutton that article is great. I will explore chronic UTI with the gp and think it is time to ask for a referral to a specialist.

@LazyYogi. I had not heard of refluxing but will ask the gp if they looked at that. He did say that the ultra sound showed a small amount of urine left in the bladder (about 10ml) but that the specialist had told him that was nothing to be concerned about. I’ll look into the cranberry extract - thank you

We had this with my DD when aged around 6-7. In her case she didnt't like the school toilets so was barely drinking or using the toilets at school leading to the problem. After a few back to back UTIs and a kidney infection I contacted the school nurse team and they gave lots of helpful advice, they had a chat with her and also with the TA in her class and made her have a cup of water at certain times in the day for a few weeks. She then decided she'd rather drink water independently and regularly use the toilet and we've not had any infections for a year now. It can be common for girls to avoid using school toilets; in our case I noticed a link as she was fine during covid lockdown or holidays but UTIs started up again in term time.

@lovepigeon thank you. That is really interesting to read. I suspect she could be drinking more fluid.

My youngest was diagnosed with Vesicourethral reflux at a few months old and was in daily antibiotics for several years. Her kidneys look more like potatoes now from constant UTIs. I think they had to inject her with a radioactive dye and scan her whilst she was weeing to see if the urine returned up to her kidneys which it was doing. I would definitely ask for referral to a specialist to look into this.

Things to reduce frequency/likelihood of UTIs:

Aggressively treat any degree of constipation
Push drinking enough fluids
Avoid any acidic fluids like fizzy drinks or fresh orange
Ban bubble bath
If washing hair in the bath, wash hair last, so not sitting in water with shampoo in it
Cotton knickers and no tights/leggings
Careful wiping

Previous poster covered a lot of good points to help the problem.

One thing I would put to you, is it absolutely impossible that she’s on the receiving end of sexual abuse by someone? Just recurrent UTIs in a little girl could be a sign of something like that going on.