Urinary tract infection makes urinating painful. The
infected children thinks twice before going to the
bathroom and they always get a feeling to go to the
bathroom. The urine also smells bad because of the
infection. Bacteria are responsible for infecting the
urinary track.
The urinary track consists of certain parts such as two
kidneys, bladder, two ureters and a urethra. The kidney
does the major job of cleaning waste from the blood. The
waste material is urine which is passed to the bladder
through the ureters. The shape of the bladder is very
similar to a deflated balloon. When the bladder gets
filled two hundred and thirty seven milliliters of
urine, the brain sends signals to go to the bathroom.
When the person gets ready to pass, the muscles located
at the end of the bladder relax which lets the urine
rush through the urethra, from the bladder, and out of
the body.
When children face any of the symptoms of urinary track
information, they should talk about it to their parents
as the symptoms are visible to the patient more than to
others. Parents can observe the urinating frequency of
the children. The child feels terrible pain while
peeing. He/she is able to pass only small quantity at a
time. He/she also gets up several times during the night
to go to the bathroom. There is a strange sensation in
the lower part of the belly. Blood can also pass along
with the urine. Also the urine isn’t a clear solution
and is cloudy. The urine smells badly after passing.
These are all the symptoms of bladder infection. The
child can also feel feverish along with chills. Pain can
be experienced in the back or the belly. When the pain
is right below the ribs, it is a clear sign of kidney
infection. Depending on the severity of the symptoms,
the child should be taken to the doctor.
The doctor will take urine sample for testing. The urine
is taken in a plastic cup, into which the child pees.
Before passing, the child must wipe the area with
special wipes, so that the germs from the body do not
confuse with the germs in the urine. Germs in the urine
are an indication of infection. Although there are
million of germs residing on the exterior of the body,
they are completely harmless. Only a few of them
actually infect the body. A stick is dipped in the urine
sample. The stick is special, that is it is a specially
treated paper which changes color upon determination of
an infection. Otherwise, the urine sample can also be
sent to the laboratory. Incase of a bladder infection,
the doctor will prescribe medicine that kills the
bacteria.
The child will begin to feel good just few days after
starting to consume the medicine. But he/she must stay
away from food and liquid which has caffeine in it as it
can elevate the bladder irritation and the patient will
feel very uncomfortable. After the test, if kidney
infection is detected, the child will be hospitalized
for few days. He/she will be given a germ fighting
medicine which will be administered by a small plastic
tube which will be introduced in a vein.
After the child recovers from a urinary tract infection,
he/she should try best to avoid such incidents in the
future. The most important thing is to maintain
cleanliness. The private parts should be washed
everyday. It is best to take a shower or a bath daily.
The child can use wipes to clean every time after
passing urine. Children should never hold the urine.
When they feel the urge, they should rush to the
bathroom immediately. Fluids intake must be increased.
Best fluids are water and cranberry juice. Water washes
the bacteria out of the body and cranberry juice
prevents another bacterial attack. Bubble baths aren’t
good as it can irritate the urethra. Cotton underwear
will absorb the sweat and body moisture, which will
prevent bacterial growth. Underpants must be changed
everyday.
