Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary Tract Infection

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Treatment

All children with urinary tract infections are treated with a safe and well-tolerated antibiotic selected to treat the specific bacteria identified by the urine culture. Children with a bladder infection usually are treated with a seven-day course of medication. Children with kidney infections should be treated for 10 to 14 days. A child who is very ill or who has a kidney infection most likely will require hospitalization for intravenous antibiotics until the fever subsides and the urine culture results are known.

• Another urine culture will be done while your child is taking the antibiotic or when the medication is finished to make sure the infection is gone.

• If your child has not had an X-ray evaluation, the antibiotics should be continued until the appropriate X-rays are done and our office has instructed you that it is safe to stop the antibiotics.

• Children with urinary infections may have unhealthy urination habits. Establishing a schedule and completely emptying the bladder every two to three hours often helps. This problem usually disappears as the child enters puberty. If no kidney damage is present at the time of initial evaluation, these children are not at greater risk for serious problems in the future.

• Some children who have repeated urinary tract infections for no obvious reason may require continuous low-dose medication for a period of time.

• Stretching the urethra (urethral dilation) isn't a technique our urology team uses. In the past, it was believed that many girls who got urinary tract infections had narrow or tight urethras. We now know that the size of the urethra is no different between girls who have infections and those who don't.

• Treatment for vesicouretal reflux will vary according to the child's age, number of urinary tract infections and test findings.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Children's Hospital.
Last updated May 8, 2007