Symptoms of Bladder Infection in Children
While health symptoms diagnosis of bladder infections are found much less in children than adults, children are much more likely to develop complications if bladder infection treatment is not sought early.
Bacteria entering the urethra and traveling up to the bladder causing infection and inflammation cause symptoms of a bladder infection. Parent may have a difficult time deterring symptoms of a bladder infection in smaller children due to their inability to tell you how they are feeling. A parent usually discovers symptoms of a bladder infection by observing the child, particularly during the toileting process.
Children may exhibit symptoms such as:
- Trying to avoid urinating (due to pain, burning, and stinging).
- The urethra may become red and irritated.
- Fever is usually more prevalent in children
- A child may pull at the penis or urethra in an attempt to get it to stop hurting
- Crying when a child urinates or starting a stream of urine, stopping it, then refusing to finish urinating may be symptoms of a bladder infection in a child.
- A child who is verbal may complain of pain when they urinate.
Diagnosinghealth symptoms of bladder infection early in a child so that bladder infection treatment can be started is important in children. If a child has a fever, and acts ill for more than a day when no cold symptoms are present; they may need to be checked for a bladder infection.
Only by consulting with a doctor (preferably a pediatrician) can it be determined if symptoms of a bladder infection require treatment. To determine if your child needs bladder infection treatment, the doctor will collect a urine sample and send it to the laboratory to be checked for bacteria. Normal urine is sterile and does not have any bacteria present. As a part of bladder infection treatment, the lab may also check to see what antibiotics are effective at killing the bacteria.
Under normal conditions, an antibiotic will take care of symptoms of bladder infection in children. Occasionally due to anatomical problems or bacteria resistance, another antibiotic may be necessary for successful bladder infection treatment.
It is important o complete the entire antibiotic bladder infection treatment. If a child presents frequently with symptoms of a bladder infection, you may want to ask your doctor about some diagnostic procedure s to check your child for other problems such as urinary obstruction or problems voiding. A parent should be aware that the irritation that can occur from sexual abuse in children could also cause repeated symptoms of bladder infection.
A pediatrician who is sensitive to young children and the trauma that can occur with examinations of the urinary tract is recommended. You and your child should feel comfortable with the examination, procedures or tests your doctor suggests.
Frequent symptoms of bladder infection are not usually normal in children. Only in rare cases where a child is susceptible to infection of the bladder is this normal. Further investigation as part of a bladder infection treatment regimen should be requested if your child is continuing to have symptoms of bladder infection. If your child is still an infant and none of these symptoms fit there are also other, more likely causes for why they are behaving erratically.
