Sometimes physicians will suggest corrective surgery, or they may allow the problem to correct itself. Through a cystourethrogram, a test in which dye is inserted through a tube into the bladder, physicians can determine if the infections are caused by urine backing up into the kidneys. Low-dose daily antibiotics will usually correct this problem, said Dr. Strife. Although it's sometimes difficult to identify UTIs in young children, physicians look to one source for most infections. The same bacteria present in the bowel cause infections when they move into the urinary tract.
Bacteria can multiply rapidly, and that can lead to serious infection.
Although grandparents may pass on advice handed down to them, there's no foundation in folk wisdom that urges taking showers instead of baths or avoiding sitting in wet bathing suits, said Dr. Strife. What researchers have confirmed, though, is that some children are more susceptible to UTIs because the mucus in the area has been disturbed by a chemical irritation or damage caused by a foreign body near the opening to the urinary tract. A child who is frequently constipated won't empty the bladder as fully, so the puddle of urine in the bladder acts as a culture for bacteria to grow. Void urine regularly. Void fully before bed so the urine won't sit in the bladder, allowing bacteria to grow.