CAN BABIES GET BLADDER INFECTIONS?

Q I didn’t think they could, but I suspect my baby has one. Yikes! Not sure how this happens. He’s a boy, and I thought this was a girl thing.

DR HANNEKE HEYNS SAYS: Bladder infections are the most common ones to affect the urinary tract. The urinary tract begins at the kidneys and includes the entire pathway that the urine follows until it reaches the urethra. Infection can occur at any place, but usually begins in the bladder itself. Bladder infections are caused by bacteria. These bacteria come from the intestinal tract and then move over the skin of the anus to the urethra, and from there up into the bladder where they multiply and cause infection.

Bladder infections are very common and do not occur due to poor hygiene or something you’re doing wrong. It occurs in 2 percent of boys and 8 percent of girls. But before the age of 1 year, it is more common in boys.

Bladder infections are very difficult to diagnose, as the symptoms are very few and non-specific. The most common symptom is a fever for which one can not find another reason. All babies who have had a fever for more than 48 hours should be tested for a bladder infection.

Other possible symptoms are irritability and crying or that your baby is just inexplicably limp and tired. Sometimes the urine may smell funny or be bloody or hazy.

Baby may also vomit, not drink well or have diarrhoea.

If a baby inexplicably does not grow well despite the fact that he gets enough kilojoules, or has jaundice that does not want to go away, he should also be checked for a bladder infection.

The doctor needs a fresh, uninfected urine sample that is sent to the laboratory for culture and diagnosis. He can do a quick test in the consulting room with a urine dipstick, but it is very important for the sample to be sent to the laboratory to establish sensitivity to antibiotics.

Bladder infections need to be treated with antibiotics. If a bladder infection is left untreated, it can lead to kidney damage. If a bladder infection is diagnosed with a laboratory test, further routine investigations are carried out to catch potential urinary tract disorders and complications early. Any baby can develop a bladder infection at any time, and unfortunately there aren’t any preventative measures that can stop it. ●

BLADDER INFECTIONS OCCUR IN

2%

OF BOYS AND

8%

OF GIRLS.