Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection that affects a person’s urinary system. It is one of the leading causes of morbidity in the Philippines, just behind the respiratory infection, hypertension, and pneumonia. Unfortunately, this is true even among the younger population, and it is actually one of the most common pediatric infections. This condition can cause immense discomfort to the child and heightened anxiety to you, the parents.
UTI can also result in more serious consequences if left untreated or if it keeps recurring. The most serious of these consequences are sepsis, a potentially fatal infection complication, and long-term kidney damage. In addition, UTI can even lead to sakit sa reproductive system later on in your child’s life. Specifically, chronic UTI can cause infertility and damage reproductive system organs like the urethra in boys and the fallopian tubes in girls.
It goes without saying that treating UTI is vital for any child’s long-term health. Even better, help your kid avoid getting UTI in the first place by following the tips below.
Have your kid drink lots of water
Drinking lots of water brings many health-related benefits. One of these benefits is reducing one’s risk of getting a UTI. That’s because drinking lots of water will help your kid urinate more often. Frequent urination helps flush bacteria out of your child’s urinary tract before it can cause an infection. Ideally, get your kid into the habit of drinking around 1 to 1.5 liters of water daily—the equivalent of 7–8 glasses.
Unfortunately, some children have this tendency to hold in their pee because they do not want to miss a minute of playtime or are too preoccupied with something. All this does is keep urine in the bladder, where bacteria can multiply and ultimately cause a UTI. So, explain to your kid both the importance of using the toilet and the consequences of holding it in for long periods. Whenever possible, ask your child to urinate every two to three hours.
Remind your child to pee completely
Kids also have this tendency of not emptying their bladder completely. Instead, they urinate just enough to make the sensation go away. As a result, there will be leftover urine in the bladder, which can harbor bacteria that can eventually multiply and cause a UTI. To keep this from happening, encourage your kid to “double pee” every time they urinate — urinate again after the first try to ensure urine has been flushed out of the bladder.
Emphasize good genital hygiene
An unclean genital area is a breeding ground for bacteria, making its way to the urinary tract and cause an infection. This is why you need to emphasize to your kids why good hygiene is vital, more so in their genital area. Better yet, teach them how to best clean their body from head to toe. Make sure also that they are wearing clean clothes, including underwear, at all times. Also, remind your child to wipe clean with tissues their genitals every time they take a pee. Maintaining cleanliness help keep the harmful bacteria at bay.
Make sure your kid gets enough fiber
Enough fiber helps promote regular bowel movement, which is crucial in preventing constipation and UTI. The whole point in making sure that your child gets enough fiber prevents them from being constipated.
When your child is constipated, the stool will rest in the colon and near the urethra (the part of the body where urine passes through). The stool is obviously full of bacteria, and its close proximity to the urethra increases the likelihood of bacteria getting into your child’s urinary tract. When it does, contracting UTI is almost inevitable. So, encourage your kid to eat fiber-rich food such as apples and bananas and to drink plenty of water.
Encourage a healthy, balanced diet
Research shows that bacterial growth is minimized when the urine is less acidic and more neutral. The key to reducing the acidity of your kid’s pee is to get them on a healthy, balanced diet. In particular, have them eat fewer animal proteins high in potential renal acid loads (PRALs) that make urine acidic. Conversely, make fruits and vegetables a significant component of your kid’s diet as they are low in PRALs.
UTI is a serious medical condition that can reoccur frequently and cause long-term consequences. Fortunately, it is preventable, and you can start by following the five simple tips discussed above. By doing so, you are saving your child from a world of hurt today and a lifetime’s worth of complications tomorrow.
