Baby has urinary tract infection

How to identify a urinary tract infection in a toddler? How is it treated? We answer all your questions about urinary tract infection.

How do I know if my baby has a urinary tract infection?

Your baby sulks his favorite foods and has isolated flare-ups (that is, they have no other symptoms and can last for several days, with peaks at 39 ° C momentarily calmed by paracetamol)? It may be a urinary tract infection. But not easy to confirm this diagnosis, especially with an infant, who does not know how much he has pain in the lower abdomen when he pees!

Some clues to know how to recognize a urinary tract infection

In newborns: symptoms are rarely suggestive … But if your baby is not doing well, loses his appetite, vomits, if his weight is stagnant, if he cries often or is constantly drowsy, all accompanied by fever, it is necessary to consult your pediatrician without delay.

And how to detect it in children

In the older child who begins to express himself, it is easier: if you notice thathe has trouble urinating (need to push), if he complains while shouting “It burns” or “it stings” showing the lower abdomen, and constantly goes to the toilet to pee three drops, if he can not hold back and accidents occur when cleanliness was perfectly acquired, a urinary tract infection is to be suspected.

Urinary tract infection in babies: diagnosis by ECBU

The diagnosis of a urinary tract infection is made using the ECBU: this medical examination consists of a urine analysis. It is the ECBU which will confirm, or not, the presence of germs responsible for a urinary tract infection, or cystitis.

THECyto Bacteriological Urine Examination (ECBU) involves looking in the urine for cells (white blood cells that testify to inflammation of the urinary tract) and bacteria responsible for the urinary tract infection.

All the difficulty of this examination lies in its delicate implementation for a baby or toddler. Since urine is an excellent culture medium for microbes, those from the skin or the surrounding air easily mix with the urine collection, grow in it, and sometimes mistakenly believe a urinary tract infection. Hence the interest oftake the sample as cleanly as possible. Not easy with a restless little one!

How to collect the urine of your infant during a urinary tract infection?

If your child is used to peeing in his potty or on the toilet, you can still request a sterile vial in a medical lab, and “aim right” to position it under your child’s urine stream. Easier with a little boy than with a little girl!

If this turns out to be too complicated, you can go directly to the lab with your child so that we put a sterile bag on it, who will collect his urine. These will then be analyzed in the laboratory. Rest assured: boy or girl, the nurse is used to it and proceeds with sure gestures. She will take good care to disinfect the skin surrounding the opening to eliminate all microbes: the child will be able to pee without being “forced” to do so and you will only have to bring the bag back for the analyzes. You will most often have the results during the day.

How to relieve and treat a urinary tract infection in babies and young children?

In a 2-3 year old boy or girl, the first UTI will usually betreated with antibiotics for a week or so. On the other hand, it is more complicated for the infant, because the urinary tract infection affects the pelvis (a funnel-shaped organ opening into the kidney: it is he who “collects” the urine…). To treat urinary tract infection, antibiotics will be prescribed, as well as new ECBUs, which will check that the infection is over.

Is urinary tract infection in babies serious?

In babies or young children, the infection can sometimes go unnoticed: the child has not complained of pain, the fever, moderate, has gone unnoticed … But the infection and bacteria are present, and may go up to the kidneys. This complication is called the pyelonephritis. In this case, the fever becomes high, the child feels severe pain in the back and has chills. He is very weak. Pyelonephritis is an emergency, which makeshospitalization required for the administration of antibiotic treatment under medical supervision.

How can my baby get a urinary tract infection?

Women suffer from urinary tract infections more frequently than men. It’s a bit the same with little girls, since the labia minora can sometimes stick together and prevent urine from flowing freely. Little girls are also more likely to refrain from peeing, which promotes cystitis. Urinary tract infections can also appear when the bladder is immaturity, and are favored by constipation. Between 0 and 3 years old, many boys are also affected by urinary tract infections. and similarly need antibiotic treatment.

How to avoid a urinary tract infection in our child?

The priority, in prevention, is to make our child drink often so that he urinates, but also to teach him to wipe himself back and forth so that the stool – as well as the bacteria – does not interfere in the urinary tract, and to wash the penis and buttocks thoroughly at bath time.