UTI Avoidance Tactics :)

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Tons of kids (boys and girls) with spina bifida deal with UTI's all the time because of intermittent catheterization and the introduction of foreign things into the body multiple times every day. It makes it even harder to tell when they don't have feeling/function of their bladder and the only way you know there is an infection is by what you see/smell coming out of the catheter or fever/throwing up, etc. when it becomes a full blown kidney infection. One of the things that many of us do is give our kids LOTS of cranberry. Giving kids (or adults, for that matter) plain cranberry juice or cranberry in juices is often a very effective way to help head off UTI's. When was younger, I'd buy cranberry concentrate stuff from health food stores and put several drops in each of her juice cups. (She didn't like plain cranberry juice). You just need to make sure the juice is really cranberry - not cranberry flavored The other thing is eating yogurt with live cultures. When kids are on antibiotics all the time, it frequently kills off the good bacteria, too, not just the monsters. Eating yogurt w/ live cultures replenishes the good bacteria and helps urinary health as well. HOpe that helps. We've been trying to avoid UTI's for 8 yrs! We've finally gotten pretty good at it Mattheiss, Executive DirectorLifeLine, Inc.Reaching Families of Those with Special Needs With Support, Education, and Respite-- Carol in IL <ps1272000@...> wrote:

has had two UTI's in the past 2 years- one was the direct result of horrible diarrhea and the most recent one we assume was incorrect wiping. First one I caught right away after she sat on my head wearing a very wet and stinky Goodnite- second one we missed, much like the strep issue and by the time it was dx she was vomiting and really complaining of side pain which had us thinking appendix. They did a specimen and it was positive, put her on an antibiotic, but she became even sicker in the next 24 hours, had to go back to the Dr and get two ( at the same time) VERY painful antibiotic injections of a broad spectrum antibiotic. Cultures came back stating the bacteria was resistant to the oral one they had used and we switched to the one the culture pinpointed ( an older one ) and all was right with the world again. The ped had said we could have given her the shots at our first visit, but I wanted to avoid the pain for her and see if the oral did the trick, I guessed wrong..... poor kid. I would prolly bet on the oral again though. ;-) The shots are downright nasty.

Both times she has had them, she too avoided going potty as much as possible!!! Though she never complained the first time around at all. The second one she only complained after it had gone on for DAYS and only complained of her lower right side hurting and she ran a low grade temp.I used to get them a lot as a kid and young adult. Bath soaps, toilet paper. stress and when older . sex, would set them off. They became less and less the older I got and now I haven't one in over 10 years. My older dd , has followed my same path and has tried lot of the natural remedies, which do sometimes work if you use them before symptoms really get started. That would be hard to do with our little ones as they don't tell us when symptoms have already started!! Would need to be doing it all the time I guess and then I would think it might lose effectiveness? We need to get the wiping issues down so she is not infecting herself with stool ,the number one cause of UTI's in little girls. Let us know what you find out at the Drs.

Carol in IL

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RE: UTI ??

Intrestingly, she does not urinate anymore frequently, actually probably less frequent b/c I do not think she wants to urinate at all....rather be as far away from the potty as possible!Thanks Kathy for this link!Caroline---- Kathy Ratkiewicz <Kathy_Rcomcast (DOT) net> wrote: > It sure sounds like a UTI. Her legs might be 'jumping' because it burns> when she urinates. > > What are the Symptoms of Urinary Tract Infections? > > Symptoms of UTI or bladder infection are not easy to miss and include a> strong urge to urinate that cannot be> <http://womenshealth .about.com/ msub6.htm> delayed which is followed by a> sharp pain or burning sensation in the urethra when the urine is released.> Most often very little urine is released and the urine that is released may> be tinged with blood. The urge to urinate recurs quickly and soreness may> occur in the lower abdomen, back, or sides. > > This cycle may repeat itself frequently during the day or night--most people> urinate about six times a day, when the need to urinate occurs more often a> bladder infection should be suspected. > > W

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