My daughter started having UTI's at age 3. She was fully potty trained, staying dry at night, and I later realized, getting too busy with playing to stop and go potty. Yes, after about a thousand dollars in testing, we found out she was totally fine physically, but she kept on getting infections. This tends to happen when little ones (particularly girls) hold their urine too long. And once they get one infection, they are more susceptible to them in the future.
After a while, I realized that cranberry supplements
were very effective in keeping these infections at bay. So we gave them to her daily, even more than what the label suggested. She is now 6.5 and we haven't used the cranberry in a while. But yesterday morning, I knew something was wrong when she woke up at 8 am and I kept hearing the bathroom door close. She asked if she could take a bath because she was "hurting." Oddly enough, this was the first time she has experienced pain with a UTI, and if you've ever had one, you know why that is strange!
So my suspicions were correct, and it took about 10 minutes to talk her into taking the cranberry. (With one infection her fever went up to 106 degrees and she had to get a very painful shot...I simply reminded her of that.) The pills don't taste bad, she was just grumpy and in pain and wanted to defy anything I asked of her.
Within the hour, I had my happy, cheerful daughter back and there were no further signs of infection. Had we not had the cranberry supplements, we would have spent $60 at the doctor and at least $10 for antibiotics, not to mention the havoc that they wreak on the body!
I can only vouch for the ones that we take, the "Solaray CranActin Chewables." This company also has drops, and pills for adults, but the chewable is good for the whole family so it's good to keep around the house.
If your child has never had a UTI you may be wondering how you would know if you don't take your child to the doctor. Like I said, my daughter never experienced pain. She has had pain in her kidney area, but not "down there" like is typical. The very first symptom I ever saw from her was that she had an accident on the kitchen floor. She was totally potty trained. Five minutes later, it happened again. She was also unable to stay dry at night, even though she had been dry at night for six months. Another tell-tale sign is that the urine has a different smell. It stinks, actually. My son got an infection when we drove to Dallas for six hours and I realized when he was having painful urination that he hadn't had any water all day. Yikes! Another symptom which is really scary is blood in the urine. With her first infection, my daughter never complained of pain, so when I saw blood in her urine I was severely alarmed.
The most common reason children get infections is not drinking enough water, and holding their urine. When they hold it, the sensation goes away temporarily and they think they don't have to go anymore. Then it comes back, and they know it will go away, so they wait through it, and resume play. This is where parents come in. Making your children come inside to potty is key to avoiding this problem. If you have to set a timer to remind you, it would be wise. The most important thing to children is having fun, and going potty does nothing but get in the way of their goal.
If you have urinary tract problems yourself, I would definitely get on this regimen! Also, make sure to boost your immune system by eating right and getting outside when it's sunny. And it goes without saying...drink plenty of pure water daily and avoid your favorite sodas.
After a while, I realized that cranberry supplements
were very effective in keeping these infections at bay. So we gave them to her daily, even more than what the label suggested. She is now 6.5 and we haven't used the cranberry in a while. But yesterday morning, I knew something was wrong when she woke up at 8 am and I kept hearing the bathroom door close. She asked if she could take a bath because she was "hurting." Oddly enough, this was the first time she has experienced pain with a UTI, and if you've ever had one, you know why that is strange!So my suspicions were correct, and it took about 10 minutes to talk her into taking the cranberry. (With one infection her fever went up to 106 degrees and she had to get a very painful shot...I simply reminded her of that.) The pills don't taste bad, she was just grumpy and in pain and wanted to defy anything I asked of her.
Within the hour, I had my happy, cheerful daughter back and there were no further signs of infection. Had we not had the cranberry supplements
, we would have spent $60 at the doctor and at least $10 for antibiotics, not to mention the havoc that they wreak on the body!I can only vouch for the ones that we take, the "Solaray CranActin Chewables
." This company also has drops, and pills for adults, but the chewable is good for the whole family so it's good to keep around the house.If your child has never had a UTI you may be wondering how you would know if you don't take your child to the doctor. Like I said, my daughter never experienced pain. She has had pain in her kidney area, but not "down there" like is typical. The very first symptom I ever saw from her was that she had an accident on the kitchen floor. She was totally potty trained. Five minutes later, it happened again. She was also unable to stay dry at night, even though she had been dry at night for six months. Another tell-tale sign is that the urine has a different smell. It stinks, actually. My son got an infection when we drove to Dallas for six hours and I realized when he was having painful urination that he hadn't had any water all day. Yikes! Another symptom which is really scary is blood in the urine. With her first infection, my daughter never complained of pain, so when I saw blood in her urine I was severely alarmed.
The most common reason children get infections is not drinking enough water, and holding their urine. When they hold it, the sensation goes away temporarily and they think they don't have to go anymore. Then it comes back, and they know it will go away, so they wait through it, and resume play. This is where parents come in. Making your children come inside to potty is key to avoiding this problem. If you have to set a timer to remind you, it would be wise. The most important thing to children is having fun, and going potty does nothing but get in the way of their goal.
If you have urinary tract problems yourself, I would definitely get on this regimen! Also, make sure to boost your immune system by eating right and getting outside when it's sunny. And it goes without saying...drink plenty of pure water daily and avoid your favorite sodas.
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