My daughter often gets UTI since her childhood. Why?

Question

Hi doctor,

My daughter is 14 years old and has had UTIs since she was at a very young age. We have taken her to doctors, and they put her on antibiotics which do not work, or at least not long enough. She drinks plenty of water every day and does physical activity daily. We are stuck with no treatment plans and do not know what to do. She lives with UTIs, and she is used to it. She claims that every time she goes to the bathroom, it burns really bad and stops her from going to the bathroom more often. She had an ultrasound to prove that she has a bladder infection and to make sure nothing is getting backed up when she goes to the bathroom.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

From the history you gave, it seems that she has a genetic susceptibility to urinary infections. Other reasons could be neurogenic bladder dysfunction, undiagnosed reflux disease, ureterocele and other anatomic causes. Use of daily low dose antibiotic prophylaxis is a good option, but it seems not enough in your daughter's case. First, we need to know the infecting organism by doing urine culture and sensitivity. This needs to be treated or controlled with culture sensitive antibiotics. Then, the reasons for repeated infections needs to be identified and resolved. For this I would suggest investigations which are, ultrasonogram of abdomen and pelvis, voiding cysto-urethrogram, and urodynamic examination. Based on the reports further treatment may be planned. Consulting a urologist or a pediatric urologist will be the best to guide you on further management.