My daughter has been seeing her family physician for recurring urinary tract infections. She gets a urinary tract infection, then takes antibiotics and it goes away. About 7-10 days after being off antibiotics the urinary tract infection is back. This has been going on for about 6 months. In the beginning I did take her to the ER because of severe vomiting. They originally diagnosed her first urinary tract infection and said that she had white blood cells in her urine. they said it was in the 50's and it should be 4. While at the doctors this last time he stated that he believes she has a dead kidney. She is going to get an ultrasound and going to a specialist. I have to wait for these appointments and am driving myself crazy. Could this be the only explanation? Can anything else cause this to happen? I would have originally said her only symptom is vomiting and occasional complaints of back pain, but never enough pain to make her cry. She has only said it maybe 2 or 3 times. After looking at some information I realized there are a few more. She is and always has been extremely pale. She is not a eater. Food has never been important to her, most of the time I have to force her to eat, unless of course its chocolate. I can honestly say she has never said "I'm hungry" in her whole life. I see that loss of appetite is a symptom. Someone please share any information relating to symptoms or other possible outcomes as I am so concerned. I feel helpless because she will not be seeing a specialist until the end of the month. Is this a "dead kidney" or is it possible there could be a different issue?
Hi,
Didnt want to read n run but im classed as having a dead kidney (functioning at 11%) and apparently my consultant thinks i was born like this.
Over the past few months i have had several infections then an ultrasound scan which showed my kidney was very small and scarred. Then i was sent for a CT scan and finally a renal DMSA scan. The result is that having a dead kidney will probably mean subsequent infections/pain so my consultant advice was removal of the kidney.
Of course you can function perfectly well on one kidney.
I dont find that it has effected my appetite, however i find im having to empty my bladder more frequently.
I wish your daughter well and hope you get some answers soon.
Best wishes
Sam xx
Thanks for your reply. We did get the ultrasound and her kidneys are fine. They said there could be some small amount of scarring but nothing serious, thankfully. We went to her first urologist appointment friday and they are continuing a daily dosage of macrodantin 25 mg, 4 ounces of polyethylene glycol (lax) daily and she is wearing a WobL watch to empty her bladder every two hours. She is also on amoxicillan prescribed from her pediatrician. She is going in for a voiding cystourethrogram the end of next month. She had another urine test at the urologist which showed she still had an infection, even after being on macrodantin 3 times a day for over a month and amoxicillan 3 times a day. They said they were growing the bacteria to see what it was. They called today and said it was positive for E. Coli and are now putting her on bactrim. After the bactrim they want her to return to the macrodantin, once a day. I am concerned about all of these antibiotics. For the most part she has been on antibiotics for 6 months. There was a few times she came off them just to get the infection again a couple days later, which results in severe vomiting. The doctor assures me that having her on all of these antibiotics overrides the risk of her not being on them. I know we have got to get rid of this infection but how dangerous is it for her to continue antibiotics for such long periods of time? My other question is about the E. Coli. The nurse is the one that called about the results and did not have many answers. How could she have gotten this infection? When you hear E. Coli you think of bad/undercooked food. Is this something that was caused by eating or is it an infection that could have occurred by wiping wrong or just something not working right in her body? Any information anyone can give would help.Thanks
Has your daughter been tested for Vesicoureteral Reflux? This is done by having a Voiding Cystourethrogram done. How old is your daughter? This is very standard practice with reoccuring uti's in children. If she has not been tested, you should ask your Pediatrician. She may need to be on daily antibiotics to prevent further scarring to her Kidneys. Anyhow, this is not an easy road to be on so good luck!!
She is going in for a voiding cystourethrogram the end of April. She is on a daily antibiotic (Macrodantin). Before today it was once daily. She went to the doctors today and she again tested positive for an infection. Now they want her on Macrodantin twice daily. I am very worried that this infection is just not going away. She has been on SEVERAL antibiotics, sometimes 2 at a time and every test she gets is still positive. Her bladder is ALWAYS empty as I make sure she empties it at least every other hour and she has been on the laxatives. Her first urologist said that it would be better for her to go to a children's hospital for the voiding cystourethrogram because they have experience in pediatrics with doing the catheter and it would not be as traumatic as taking her to a regular hospital. This means we had to wait a month and a half to get her in. I am so worried that this infection is doing damage to her little body.
Hi, i am truly sorry to hear about your daughters situation. I dont know how much help i can be but i will try. I am a 31 year old man and was diagnosed with kidney disease when i was 20. i had to have a kidney transplant almost 8 years ago after being on dialysis for over 3 years. so i understand kidney problems. i am on antibiotics all the time because i have no immune system. Keeping in mind i am much older than your daughter, the antibiotics do not affect me n a bad way. though given your daughters age it maybe a different case. i had many of the same symptoms when i first got sick. not to alarm u but it was awful. ask anything u like and i will try to help. best of wishes to you and your daughter..
Thanks for the reply. Thanks for the information, it is all helpful. We are still waiting to get into the 2nd specialist at U of M and to get the voiding cystourethrogram. Only nine more days! Its just hard watching her fight this infection and not have any answers. April 1, she went to the doctors and for the first time in months had a negative urinalysis. Then, last night she started vomiting and is still today. Took her back to the doctors and had another urinalysis done today. He said her WBC count was not as high as usual (which is good) but she had blood in her urine, which is a first for her. Usually she has a high WBC count and no blood in the urine. She is currently taking Macrodantin 25 MG, 3 times a day and now they are putting her back on the bactrim twice a day. I do not understand why this infection is continuously coming back. They said that the Macrodantin was sensitive to the infection so why does it never go away and stay gone, she has been on a daily antibiotic regimen. I feel completely helpless because she can't get into the specialist until the 20th and the only thing her family doctor does is add more antibiotics. These infections have to be doing damage I would think. I wish I could do something more than sit back and wait for an appointment with the specialist.
Hi with the white blood cell count of the urine that high I would not allow chocolate or any other sweets because this would only encourage infection in the bladder if present.
There are some foods which might be helpful for kidney failure according to some. Of course if it is completely gone it might not do much.
Thanks! I didn't know that and the last thing I want to do is encourage the infection. Not that she has chocolate very often but she loves M&M's and I am guilty of spoiling her with a pack about once a week. Now that she has been on the bactrim a few days she has quit vomiting but still waiting for the culture results from the urinalysis. Keeping my fingers crossed, hoping that this was just the flu and not the infection but the fact that their was blood in her urine makes me think that it is still the infection. Only 7 more days till the next specialist!
I am looking for some advice. My 3 year old daughter has recurring UTI's (see previous posts). We have tried everything. She has had a VCUG and renal ultrasounds, both normal. She is currently going to a pediatric urologist. They have her on Macrodantin and Laxatives daily. Even while on the antibitoics, which are sensitive to the Macrodantin) she is still getting infections. She usually has an infection every 4 - 6 weeks. Her doctor puts her on bactrim for 10 days during infections. She does not take baths, she wears lose underwear and I always wipe for her, since these infections started. There are no hygene issues. Her symptoms for the infections has always been severe vomiting, at times low grade fevers and complaints of back pain. I am lost and don't know where to turn next. The urologist said at the last appointment that we are keeping her on the antibiotics for 6 months and see if she grows out of them. Well, she is not growing out of them and it has been 4 months. Her pediatrician is keeping records of how many positive in infections we have in 6 months. We are at 5 now. She has had at the very least 15 infections in the last year. I am tired of waiting, I want answers and more tests. What tests should I demand? What should I ask? Help please, I can not watch her go through this anymore. PLEASE HELP!
Last edited by smilen2894; 07-04-2011 at 05:10 PM.
The following user gives a hug of support to smilen2894: sjb (07-07-2011)
Hi with antibiotics that could run her into problems with Candida later with a possibility of endometriosis at puberty, skin and other problems. Does the doctor know she has been vomiting? This could run the child into severe problems with dehydration and nutrition. Even 24 hours can be hard on a child Has she ever tried the brat diet? Bananas, rice apples and toast? Asparagus is supposed to be good for the kidneys. The amount of protein is supposed to be lessened with kidney problems according to some. How much raw food does she use? Are citrus fruits included? For a body to be completely healthy it needs live food. When she is wiped in the anal area and she is leaning over the toilet seat of course the wipe should likely be away from the urine/vaginal area with the dry tissue. One could request a candida antibody titre.
I do know that wiping is not the issue. I almost always wipe for her, always for bowel movements. Since these problems have started I have made sure that she is always wiped correctly. She also has a stool to place her feet on while using the bathroom as well as a two minute timer. The urologist said that her body needs to relax to get her bladder completely empty, which is what the stool is for. Also, we set the timer for we are sure that it is always emptied. She has a Wobl watch to make sure she uses the restroom at least every two hours. I am now even waking her up every two hours to use the restroom at night. I leave nothing for this infection to feed on. As far as the vomiting the doctors are aware. With all the antibiotics they keep putting her on the vomiting usually lasts about 24 hours and sometimes goes two days. Only getting sick about every 2-3 weeks. Which is better than what it was. There were weeks she was getting sick more days than not. With her diet she is an extremely picky eater. She does not eat much protein. She is not a meat eater. She is on a high fiber diet and is a big fruit eater. On days that she vomits the only thing she will eat is toast. I always try to keep her hydrated usually with flavored water, she prefers it over anything else. They just changed her preventative antibiotics from Macrodantin to bacrtim, starting tomorrow. The antibiotic therapy is scary to me but the doctors assure me that the benefits outweigh the risks. I have never heard of trhe candida antibody titre. I would like to hear more about it. Is this something that would benefit a 3 year old? Thanks in advance for any information. I sincerely appreciate it.
There are a few things I would change for the purposes of health. I would not rush her at the toilet leaving only 2 minutes. Toileting during the day might be good every 2 hours as said. Water drinking should be early in the morning and throughout the day in the opinion of some. I would not give much in late evening so that she does not have to go to the bathroom in the night, unless she simply did not get much throughout the day or was vomiting so there was too much loss. I would place a rubber sheeting or chux on the bed if needed. For the health of all concerned I personally think it is better to sleep through the night instead of getting up every two hours. Everyone needs sleep. Instead of flavored water I might choose to juice a real apple with a juicer and have her drink that, it might be healthier than whatever is used to flavor the water. It might honestly be difficult to get a pediatrician to get a titre. It can take several doctor changes as an adult to get one since many seem uncooperative.
I guess I should of explained my reasoning for some of the things I am doing.
The two minute timer is for when she urinates. She urinates and then has to wait on the toilet for two minutes to assure her bladder is completely empty. This is a recommendation by the urologist. The reason she is woke up at night is not because of wetting but because holding any urine in the bladder gives the bacteria something to feed on, making her infections worse. I would rather her be woke up at night to use the potty, helping to minimize the infections, rather than, urine being in her bladder and the infection getting worse. I do understand she needs her sleep. Her being 3, she is able to sleep when ever needed. Her emptying her bladder every two hours is not as much as a bother as when she has an infection and is constantly vomiting. As for me and sleep, I as well would much rather wake up during the night if it is helping fight the infections. It is hard to watch her go through these.
As far as the flavored water. She is a very picky eater. When she is sick I try to get her to stay hydrated. Giving her lots of fluids. She is happy with the water and I am happy that it is something that she will drink. So far, we have been able to keep her hydrated and get through the infections. She has only been hospitalized once and that was at the beginning of the infections. I think the man reason that she will not eat/drink anything except flavored water and toast is because she is so nauseas. It is hard to get her to try anything because she knows that it will not stay down. I will have to try the juicer and see if she can tolerate it.
Hi you are welcome. I would not use a whole lot of juice since it also is sweet, but some apple juice might be better than water with added sugar or additives which is another name for chemicals. Bacteria loves sweets I would feed more of the unsweet things as much as possible. In addition the white blood cells do not eat the bacteria so easily. I know she is only 3 but perhaps regular distilled water would be best. Does the flavored water have sugar in it? Perhaps now is a good time to try ordinary water without any flavor. I can see the rational for wanting the bladder empty as often as possible. I know it is said the more the bladder is emptied when an infection is present the better. I still think I would try most of the emptying in the day hours but of course this is always the parent/child decision.
Homemade oatmeal crackers might be kept down real well. These can be made by heating the oat flour a bit in a dry pan while stirring. Water and a small amount of salt can then be added (or left without if the doctor so ordered) and they can be formed into thin round patties and baked in a similar manner to a cookie without baking soda or sweets. These can be used in the morning before getting up like a pregnant woman to see if vomiting can be prevented.
Sometimes if the child vomits the food should be witheld for a short time and even water for a short time. Then when she is hungry or thirsty water should be tried first. Then when this is kept down a clear liquid juice such as apple juice. Then a full liquid can be tried after that is kept down well such as orange juice. Then soft food such as home made mashed potatoes or toast can be tried and as that is tolerated full solid food. Cranberries and blueberries might be added to the oatmeal and used as a baked oatmeal without sweets and if she can eat nut a few nuts might be added to this for added interest. On occasion the blueberries might be switched for the apples. It is good to keep just a few simple items in any one meal so that the meal itself is not too complex. In general a wide variety of various foods is good for health.
Rest may be needed after episodes of vomiting. Each day a walk outside in the sunshine and fresh air may also be useful in a pretty park. No one such as friends or family of any age should be allowed to smoke near her or drink alcohol etc. in her presence to be a good example for her future health habits and for an edge on lung health.
Have you found anything out about your daughter? Not sure if you even still use this site, but I have a daughter that is 4 1/2 and we having been going through alot of the same things you have.
No, we still have not found out anything. I am sorry to hear that your child is going through the same thing. They have continued her on antibiotic therapy. We recently just switched to bactrim as the macrodantin was no longer sensitive to it. Antibiotic resistance is said to be present when an organism which previously responded to an antibiotic (such as the macrodantin) would become immune to the drug and no longer responds to it as it did earlier. We do everything we can to prevent infections. The whole process is very frustrating.
Not having any answers and the doctors plan of action is not something I am happy with. I drive two hours to the urologist because they are suppose to be the best (U of M) but they still seem to have no answers, just medicine. Even on the medicine she still keeps getting infections but they do not know what is causing it and keep saying "hopefully she grows out of it." They plan to get her infection free for 6 months and then take her off the antibiotics. Although she has not ever made it 8 weeks alone 6 months. I hope that you do find answers because it is horrible watching your child go through any kind of illness. Here are a few things I wish I would have known from the beginning:
1. When your child shows signs of infection, rather it be painful urination, fever or vomiting, get a urinalysis. Even if the results of the urinalysis are negative have the doctor/lab send it for culture. Even with a negative urinalysis there can be bacteria growing. With my daughter I know when she has an infection, there was many times we went to the family doctor and it came back negative, where I would sit back and scratch my head. I later found out from one of the urologist that because she is on antibiotic therapy that it can have an impact on the results. Now, she has had several negative urinalysis that were sent for culture and ended up growing bacteria.
2. Keep logs of everything. I have logs that I write down every urination, bowel movement, infection, changes in medication, etc. It might sound like alot of work but it is worth it. I have it hanging on our bathroom wall so everytime she goes to the bathroom I can write it down. I
3. I know it is hard to not give a toddler sugar, especially chocolate but it really seems to keep infections down.
4. You have to make sure that they have loose stools (pudding like). You do not want any stool staying in the body where bacteria can grow. In addition a high fiber diet.
5. Keep the bladder empty. Kids are in a hurry when they use the bathroom they have better things to do. When sitting on the toilet make sure they have a stool to put their feet on. They need to relax every muscle in the body to completely empty their bladder. Make sure they sit long enough to completely empty it.
I will be praying for you and hope that you have answers soon.
I just want to give an update on my daughters condition. We have been very successful on the bactrim antibiotic treatment. After Christmas her specialist would like to work on taking her off the bactrim and see what happens. We are going to start by taking medication every other day. I am praying that what has caused these infections in the past is no longer happening but am scared that as soon as we begin wheening her off the antibiotic therapy that the infections will come back. I am asking for prayers from everyone, I do not want her to ever have to suffer with another infection. I really wish they could give me a medical reason for the infections in the first place but if she remains healthy I am grateful.
Its just hard watching her fight this infection and not have any answers. April 1, she went to the doctors and for the first time in months had a negative urinalysis. Then, last night she started vomiting and is still today. Took her back to the doctors and had another urinalysis done today. He said her WBC count was not as high as usual (which is good) but she had blood in her urine, which is a first for her. Usually she has a high WBC count and no blood in the urine. She is currently taking Macrodantin 25 MG, 3 times a day and now they are putting her back on the bactrim twice a day. I do not understand why this infection is continuously coming back. They said that the Macrodantin was sensitive to the infection so why does it never go away and stay gone, she has been on a daily antibiotic regimen. I feel completely helpless because she can't get into the specialist until the 20th and the only thing her family doctor does is add more antibiotics. These infections have to be doing damage I would think. I wish I could do something more than sit back and wait for an appointment with the specialist.
Re: 3 year old - dead kidney? 
Re: 3 year old - dead kidney? 
I am sorry to hear that your child is going through the same thing. They have continued her on antibiotic therapy. We recently just switched to bactrim as the macrodantin was no longer sensitive to it. Antibiotic resistance is said to be present when an organism which previously responded to an antibiotic (such as the macrodantin) would become immune to the drug and no longer responds to it as it did earlier. We do everything we can to prevent infections. The whole process is very frustrating. 
