How urinary tract infections occur in a child

Urinary tract infections in a child are a very common cause of hospitalization and in this dubious superiority are second only to SARS.

What exactly causes infections? How are they diagnosed in newborns? Is it possible to prevent their occurrence? This is what today's article will be devoted to.

What is the urinary system

Before we talk about diseases, let's remember which organs belong to the human urinary system.

• Let's start with the kidneys, the paired organ responsible for filtering urine.
• The ureters are moving away from him – the tubes through which the filtered urine moves into the bladder (the organ for the accumulation of this fluid).
• The urethra is a tube through which urine comes out.

Normally, all these structures cannot be a breeding ground for microorganisms, since they are sterile. But if bacteria get there from the outside against the background of weakened immunity, a person may develop diseases – urinary tract infections.

In a child, as in an adult, such pathologies include cystitis, pyelonephritis, urethritis, etc. But in children, the risk that the inflammatory process will turn into a chronic form is much higher. This is all the more dangerous because of the frequent absence of obvious clinical manifestations of the disease.

Urinary tract infection: causes of its occurrence in a child

As the main cause of a large number of these diseases, the features of the structure and functioning of the genitourinary system in children are highlighted.

So, for example, in children under three years of age, due to the immaturity of the renal tissue and weak immunity compared to adults, there are almost no isolated infectious manifestations of the same urethritis or cystitis. Urinary tract infections in a child spread to the entire system, affecting both the renal pelvis, urethra, and bladder.

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The pathology itself is most often caused by E. coli, which, being natural in the flora of the large intestine, becomes a source of inflammation, getting into the kidneys, but can also be excited by staphylococci, streptococci or other types of bacteria.

Worm infestations that reduce the immune background of the child, frequent constipation, dysbiosis are also a considerable danger., as well as the presence of chronic inflammation on the skin or other foci of infection.

Urinary tract infection in infants: how it manifests itself

As you have already understood, in order to prevent UTI, it is important first of all to observe hygiene rules. So, in newborn girls, a wide urinary canal located close to the anus is easily infected, therefore, proper (without soap) and regular washing plays an important role in preserving the health of the future woman.

But if the infection still occurred, then the following signs may signal this:

• The child cries when trying to pee;
• The baby's urine smells bad;
• Blood streaks appear in it or it becomes cloudy;
• The baby loses appetite;
• The temperature rises;
• Vomiting occurs.

Each of these symptoms requires contacting a pediatrician and a thorough examination of the newborn. Untreated urinary tract infections in a child often lead to serious pathologies of the kidneys and other organs in old age.

Be healthy!