Are Urinary Tract Infections in Newborns Serious?

Urinary tract infection is a very common disease in normal times, and it can generally occur at any age. If your baby has a urinary tract infection, you must take your baby to the hospital for examination in time. After finding out the cause, treat it symptomatically. Urinary tract infection will cause urination or infection. Severe cases may cause diseases such as nephritis. Children's urinary tract infection must be treated in time.

Urinary tract infection, also known as urinary tract infection, or "urinary infection" for short, is caused by bacteria invading the urinary tract. In fact, urinary incontinence is a common disease in children, and the probability of urinary tract infection in children is not low. According to the survey, this disease accounts for 8.5% of children's urinary system diseases, ranking fourth. This disease can occur in children of any age, and the incidence rate is particularly high in infants under 2 years old. The incidence rate in girls is 3-4 times that in boys, except in infancy when boys are more likely to be infected than girls.

Why are babies prone to "urinary urge"?

This is mainly determined by the baby's physiological and anatomical factors and environmental factors. The urinary tract of infants and young children is prone to retrograde infection. Due to the frequent use of diapers or open-crotch pants, the urethral opening is often contaminated by feces and other unclean substances. Various pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Proteus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Streptococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus accumulate around the urethral opening, looking for an opportunity to invade. Infants, especially girls, have short urethras and poor sphincter function, so bacteria can easily ascend along the urethra to the bladder. In addition, the terminal section of the ureter of infants and young children runs shorter in the bladder muscle layer, and the bladder cannot be compressed and closed when it expands. When the bladder is holding urine, it is easy for urine to retrograde through the ureter and cause renal pelvic infection. In addition, infants and young children have imperfect immunity and poor defense capabilities, which not only easily cause ascending infection, but also may cause descending infection of the urethra due to upper respiratory tract infection, pneumonia, bacteremia, etc. Therefore, the younger the baby, the higher the incidence rate.

Once the diagnosis is confirmed, the patient should be hospitalized for thorough treatment to avoid any sequelae.

In case of acute infection, you should rest in bed, drink plenty of water, urinate frequently, and shorten the time bacteria stay in the bladder. Girls should pay attention to the cleanliness of their vulva.

Antimicrobial therapy: The drugs selected for acute urinary tract infection should have high concentrations in urine, be sensitive to bacteria, and be harmless to the kidneys. Parents should not give babies drugs indiscriminately. For example, sulfa drugs can easily precipitate crystals in the urine, causing hematuria and kidney damage. Neomycin, streptomycin, kanamycin, and vanguard toxin have side effects of causing deafness and kidney damage and are not suitable for infants. Be careful of allergies to penicillin-type drugs. In short, the use of medication should be strictly controlled by pediatricians in regular hospitals, and parents should never listen to the instructions of quack doctors and abuse antibiotics. Acute urinary tract infection can usually recover quickly with reasonable antibacterial treatment, but half of the patients may have relapses or reinfections, and only 1/4 of chronic cases can be completely cured.

Take good prevention measures: Take good care of the infant's genitals, clean the buttocks after each bowel movement, wash diapers regularly, it is best not to wear open-crotch pants, and change underwear frequently. Drink more water, less sugar water, and more alkaline beverages to alkalize urine and relieve symptoms of urinary tract irritation. Boys with foreskin that is too long should pay attention to cleaning and try to avoid using urinary tract instruments. Strict aseptic operation should be performed when necessary.

Correction of deformities: If abnormalities in the urinary tract structure are found, the doctor will provide appropriate correction. For example, boys with phimosis should undergo surgery and parents should not refuse. Because the deformity is not removed, the infection is sometimes difficult to control and eradicate.