foul smelling urine from 18 week old - could it be a UTI?

[arolf]

DS has had really nasty smelling wet nappies since last night - I noticed it just before bed time, but since he was dirty too, didn't worry about it, but this morning, it's definitely his wee.
he doesn't seem unhappy in himself, has been a bit sick, but no more than usual after a feed (he's breastfed).
I'm going to call nhsdirect, but have had previous less than wonderful advice from them so thought i'd ask on here first.
would a doctor be likely to treat him, or just advise feeding more? would it be sensible to wait until monday to see a gp? (if it were me that had funny smelling pee, I would wait, but am not sure about consequences of UTI in such a small child)

thanks.

Phone NHS direct but I think you should take him today to see a doctor eg. walk in centre. They will probably give you a bag to get a urine sample. I wouldn't wait until monday for a tiny baby.

it's very unusual for a boy to have uti and would normally be quite ill could be a number of things needs more water, is he eating solids my sons nappies stank when he weed like old cornflakes i used to call it

if coming down with a cold wee would be stronger i dont think its anything to worry about boys are less likely to get infection than girls gp reassured me when ds was sent off to be checked but that was because he had blood in his wee

Feed him as much as you can and take him to see a doctor

Prob not a UTI because he's a boy. Probably is a touch of thrush - it's very easy for little spots of wee to get trapped inside the foreskin so you need to gently oush it back and make sure it gets clean and dry there as well as elsewhere. It does stink and will get sore if left untreated but clears very quickly (we have 3 boys so well versed in this now...).

no my gp said never to push the foreskin back at all in a baby never in fact as it will come back on its own and you can actually cause damage by pulling it back it can get infected in all hionesty i found as my ds got older his nappies got stinkier as what he was eating etc was making it smell if he is not unwell the n probably nothing to worry about if he gets fever or seems lethargic get him checked it could just be his getting a cold and slightly run down

here

if its a uti then I would expect a temperature.

But he is 18wo so if you are worried about him I woud bypass nhs direct and phone out of hours. They usually triage over the phone and either offer advice or give an appointment. Either way you wont be wasting anyones time if thats what you decide to do.

he's not on solids, and is feeding just as much as before - 8-10 times in 24 hours. nhsdirect have recommended getting him checked by the out of hours service, so we're waiting for a call back. had to get a sample too, that was fun! it's totally clear wee though, just reeks.

thanks anyway, didn't want to be all feeble first time mum about my PFB!

always best to get checked but i did notice ds wee did smell funny the older he got more like cereal than wee lol

my ds's all got foul smelling urine when teething. Ds'2's sometimes even make us think he'd pooed when in fact it was just wee.

Please do take him to the Drs if you think this is more serious though.

Oh and ds 2 had a tooth at 16 weeks and 8 teeth at 8 months so anything's possible!

glad you've got a sample, that will be useful when he is seen by the doctor.

You're all going to laugh, but have you changed nappy brands? What ones are you using? I ask because I find pampers always makes my ds's nappies smell really bad, but I would def get him checked today.

dr was unconcerned, he's fine apparently! we do use pampers, but are half way through a pack, so nothing different from thursday to friday! and we're pretty sure he's teething, so maybe that's it? (he gummed the Dr hard while she was examining him )

thanks for the advice, we're trying not to be too precious, but also not too lax - difficult to get the right balance

Glad to hear Dr was unconcerned, I agree it's a fine line between laid back parent and paranoid stresshead sometimes

If it's any help, I always found DS wee smelt awful when he was teething, quite a while before we saw any signs of teeth. I noticed smelly wee on and off at about 3-4 months and his first teeth appeared at 5-6 months.
He also had ridiculous amounts of dribble and beetroot red cheeks for a couple of months!