Potential UTI and antibiotic use

[2mamas]

Hi all,

DS (12 weeks old) has been diagnoses with a possible UTI. The doctor is not really 100% sure but would like to treat it just in case. Whilst I know that UTIs are very serious, and if the doc was certain, I would have no hesitation in treating. But giving my very young son a potent medication on the off chance he may have a condition.

Any one have any similar experience or advice? We were going to start DS on probiotics at the same time if we go ahead.

TIA!!

[hotNpreggo]

Has your GP send off a urine sample?

IMHO....which stems from my son's renal issues, the risks posed by antibiotic therapy, are far less than the risks of damage caused by a untreated UTI...especially in children so young. If you are worried about the antibiotics your child has been prescribed, I would be re-contacting your GP and discussing the issue with him/her!

I can see where your concerns stem from..DS was placed on long term AB's for one of his renal issues...after being on it for about 6 months, I questioned its use (was being used to prevent UTI's)...having said that, he had never had a UTI, so for us side effects of the AB's outweighed the risks..but, if he ever demonstrated any signs of a UTI, or any unexplained temps (especially continued low grade temps), it was straight off to the GP, for a MSU and commencement of AB's.

Even with a MSU test, the results can take between 2 & 5 days depending on where you live...so if your child does have a UTI, there COULD already be damage caused by the time the results are received...many times we have received results back, which have been all clear, so we have just ceased the AB therapy then and there...but I would rather he have them until the results came in.

ETA..just wanted to add, many doctors prefer to treat where its not confirmed but highly probably a child has a UTI, especially in a child of your sons age, as getting a MSU sample can be extremly challanging...and if the collection bags are used the sample can be easily contaiminated making the results unreliable...I'd be weighing up with is the lesser of the two evils?

[jacs]

On what basis was it diagnosed? Did you have a definite UTI from the urine sample?

I would try and get a clean catch if you haven't already and confirm definitely before starting on antibiotics. When my DS was around 4 months he had a suspected UTI - the first sample wasn't the best (only a small amt in jar and I wasn't sure it was a clean catch) so i sent off another one to be sure. Turned out it definitely was.

12 week babies wee quite frequently so just keep his nappy off and keep some cloth terry squares/towels under him on your lap. They will often get a little fidgety before they need to wee, or on waking/during or after a feed can be a good time to catch one. use a specimen jar too - the bags aren't good as they can introduce contamination.

You also want to have a definite diagnosis from further investigations point of view for kidney reflux - these investigations can be quite invasive (MCU) and so you want to be sure.

HTH

[Foxywoman]

This thread is a bit old and you make have already resolve the UTI issue. But just in case.

To determine if it is a UTI a clean urine sample is needed. When my DD (at 16wks) was diagnosed with a UTI the sample was contaminated, she was put on a course of antibiotics anyway and the doctor sent her for an ultrasound. She had the ultrasound the next day, it showed issues, she conitnued to take the antibiotic for 7 days and then went on probotic dosage which she is still on today at 15 months.