Spotlight on UTIs in Children

Recognizing a UTI in a young child can be difficult, but here are some tell-tale signs to watch out for:

• fever
  
• vomiting
  
• complaints that it hurts to urinate
  
• an overly-frequent urge to urinate but with little output
  
• unexplained wetting accidents
  
• foul smelling or cloudy urine
  
• abdominal and/or lower back pain

When pediatricians see a child for an inexplicable fever, they'll often ask for a urine sample to check for a UTI. Young babies who can't articulate their symptoms may vomit, have a fever, strange smelling diapers, or diminished appetite. Doctors can use a catheter to collect a urine sample from a child who's not toilet trained to determine if a UTI is the cause of the problem. "Some kids have 'silent infections' with no symptoms," Dr. Duel warns, "so most pediatricians perform a standard urine check during well-child visits for potty trained toddlers."