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Original poster

child urine infection - hospital referral - any experience?

26 replies

daisy1999 · 22/07/2004 09:51

My 5yr old girl is recovering from her first confirmed urine infection and it is routine at our GPs to refer to hospital for tests to check plumbing is in order. Has anybody any experience of this?

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Fennel · 22/07/2004 09:55

Yes we are going through this with my 4yo dd1. she's had repeated urine infections, eventually we got her into the system for checking but then it got better in the last 6 months so we opted out of the system as the tests sound a bit unpleasant and invasive. then lately she had another infection so we are waiting now to have the tests. Not looking forward to it they sound a bit painful. Have they told you which tests exactly you'll be having? Kidney scans and x-rays while she wees?

it is very common in little girls, but I'm a bit worried because it's been recurrent with her and it took us ages to work out what it was. have you had a long history of infections too? for ages we thought it was just behavioural regression from potty training so it went untreated and now I feel bad for not realising earlier.

Original poster
daisy1999 · 22/07/2004 09:59

No Fennel this is her first infection. I asked why they refer after only one infection and they said the guidelines for referal were after one infection in boys and 2 in girls but had recently changed to 1 in girls. Just seems a bit soon.

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Original poster
daisy1999 · 22/07/2004 10:01

Fennel - Symptoms we had were high temp, back pain and waking in the night for a wee when she hadn't previously.

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Original poster
daisy1999 · 22/07/2004 10:11

Just found this

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Fennel · 22/07/2004 10:19

daisy you are lucky it got picked up quickly, they take it seriously because even though it's unlikely to be serious, if it is it can be very serious. I worry about dialysis machines as a worst case scenario, but at least if they pick it up soon it just means regular antibiotics til age 6 or so.

Original poster
daisy1999 · 22/07/2004 10:27

Fennel - thanks. We don't yet know what tests will be done exactly we are seeing the consultant a week on Monday.

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bundle · 22/07/2004 10:28

i know a little girl who's on long-term ab's after a uti. she seems v well now

Original poster
daisy1999 · 22/07/2004 10:30

I really didn't know a urine infection was such a big deal.

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noddy5 · 22/07/2004 10:33

Get the treatment I have had 2 kidney transplants and if this had been treated when I was a child it would never have got that far.I don't mean to scare anyone but it is not worth the risk.There was a little girl on long term ABs in ds's class and she is 100% better now.

Original poster
daisy1999 · 22/07/2004 10:37

noddy sorry to hear about your problem are you OK now? Was that caused just by urine infections?

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bundle · 22/07/2004 10:37

daisy, i think as noddy says, it can rumble along silently and have serious consequences later on by moving from the bladder up into the kidneys. another little girl I know (not on long term abs) was just unwell for a few months before it was diagnosed.

luckymum · 22/07/2004 10:47

Hi daisy - dd was referred for her repeated UTI's although she was quite a bit younger than yours. We had kidney ultrasound and an X-ray taken whilst she wee'd. She had daily anti-bs too for about a year. I think in older children they do another type of test too but I can't remember what its called. Sorry.

Original poster
daisy1999 · 22/07/2004 10:54

Thanks everyone. Will let you know what happens.

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noddy5 · 22/07/2004 11:05

In my case as it was first detected when iwas 18 no one could give us a 100% reason.I had a transplant in 1985 which failed in about 1999 due to effects of medications I have since had another and so life is better than ever although dialysis has left me with a damaged heart for which I am still trying to get treatment!But medicine has moved on and current treatments are effective.My consultant says that if I was diagnosed now a combination of ab's and steroids would have 'cured'it

Original poster
daisy1999 · 22/07/2004 11:08

Good luck with everything noddy and thanks for the advice.

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dinosaur · 23/07/2004 10:15

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Galaxy · 23/07/2004 10:26

message withdrawn

foxinsocks · 23/07/2004 10:32

daisy, I think the referral after only so few infections (with us at the time it was 2)is because the kidneys in such young children can be damaged incredibly easily and because all the bits in their bladder etc. are so short it means the infection can travel very quickly up to the kidneys and they can be scarred easily (they check for this in the scan).

They also check for any congenital abnormalities that may make your child more likely to suffer from urine infections (which are normally not very serious and sometimes are just treated with a years course of mild antibiotics so that urine infections don't set in e.g. dd's friend had a short tube somewhere that meant the bacteria could travel quicker to the kidneys so was given antib's - now she is 5 and everything is in proportion!).

It's just one of those areas where, as noddy has said, a little preventative medicine can go a long way to alleviate problems later on in life.

Hope it all goes well. Dd found it all quite exciting (the tests), though I was secretly terrified!

Fennel · 27/07/2004 20:26

Daisy, let us know how it goes with the consultant. we saw one in Dec, but put it all on hold as dd1 seemed better, and are now due to see him again in 2 weeks time. I think we'll probably be offered the same sorts of tests as you.

ChicPea · 27/07/2004 23:29

Read this with interest as a friend's niece had two infections and after a lot of worry, hospital tests, etc, the family got down to the bottom of things.

The reason the niece got two infections was because she hated the school loos. So, she would pee before going to school and wait until she got home before she peed again. Simple. Maybe that's why girls are more affected than boys, simply because the loos are smelly, with wet seats (?) and they avoid using them? Food for thought...

ChicPea · 30/07/2004 22:19

Bump

Original poster
daisy1999 · 02/08/2004 11:26

well just got back from the consultant. Quick feel of her tummy lots of questions. We have given another sample as apparantly the bugs can reappear after the initial infection and are due for ultra sound and xray next week. Will let you know how we get on.
While we were there he noticed a hernia (tummy button one. I feel awful I thought it was OK to have an "outy" tummy button if it went in when pushed. Apparently it's ok if not causing a problem but we have to keep an eye on it.

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Original poster
daisy1999 · 02/08/2004 13:38

fennel let us know how you get on

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Original poster
daisy1999 · 11/08/2004 19:28

Went for ultra sound and xray today. DD was a star and stayed still despite having a full bladder - not easy when you're only 5. Get the results on Monday but seemed OK.

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Fennel · 17/08/2004 13:18

hi Daisy, were your results OK?

We went for our consultation today and are going back for ultrasound scan in a couple of months and a weeing x-ray in December and another appointment in March. nothing serious to worry about yet but they are noting her height and weight in case she's not growing very fast.
I do feel a bit worried, but at least we are going through the system now so if there's a problem it'll get picked up.