Discovering If Your Child Has An Urinary Tract Infection

Only the doctor can tell for sure whether suchThe kidneys represent a filter for the water and the
infection is present in your child.wastes from the blood and they eliminate in an adult
To determine this, an urine sample of your child will1, 5 to 2 quarts of urine every day. Then, the urine is
be used for tests. This sample is taken in case ofsent through the urethras and collected by the
very small children through a plastic collection bag or,bladder. In children, the bladder can keep 1, 5 ounces
in case of older children - by means of a container.of urine every year. When the urine exists in the
Sometimes, a small tube introduced inside the urethrabladder, it enters the urethra, which opens in front of
to grant a more sterile mean to collect urine, and,the vagina in girls and in the end of the penis in boys.
other times, the most appropriate is a needle that isBacteria is normally absent from the urine. Their
introduced into the bladder to ensure the purity ofpresence indicates and produces urinary tract
urine.infections. They enter the urinary tract through the
During the microscopic exam, bacteria or pus will beurethra, inflaming and inflecting the bladder and
certainly identified in urine, or, in case they areproducing cystitis.
difficult to see a liquid that helps multiplication of anySometimes, the infections get to the kidneys,
kind of germs will make hem grow, enabling theproducing fever and pain, and are much more severe
doctor to determine the specie.than these that only touch the bladder.
The sample should be cultivated immediately after itsThere are children more predisposed to such
collection, or refrigerated, to prevent the apparitioninfections because of abnormalities of the urinary
of inaccuracies.tract. A series of tests may provide information and
What is the normal function of the urinary tract?solutions.