Just A Dirty Diaper, Or Worse? Smelly Urine May Mean Infection : Shots

Stinky urine in a feverish child should be a red flag for doctors.

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If you’ve spent any time around very young children, you know they can sometimes be pretty stinky. But particularly pungent urine in a child who is fussy or feverish could be a sign of infection.

Urinary tract infections are common in kids, leading to more than 1 million visits to pediatricians’ offices each year in the U.S. Bacteria or other microbes enter the body and can infect the urethra (urethritis), bladder (cystitis) and kidneys (pyelonephritis). Antibiotics knock out most cases, though serious infections may cause kidney scarring or blood poisoning if not treated.

So it’s important to diagnose quickly, which can be difficult to do in children younger than 3. The symptoms — unexplained fever, irritability or vomiting — aren’t all that specific, and collecting a reliable urine sample usually involves a catheter, which is invasive.

Reports of stinky urine in a feverish child should be another red flag for doctors, according to a newly published study by Canadian researchers in Pediatrics.

“If the child has fever and at the same time his urine smells stronger than usual, the risk of having a urine infection is a little bit increased compared to a child not having smelly urine,” Dr. Marie Gauthier, a pediatrician at Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center in Montreal, tells Shots.

She and her fellow researchers studied 331 children ranging in age from 1 month to 3 years old who were brought into Sainte-Justine’s emergency room and had a urine culture because doctors suspected infection. Parents were asked to complete an eight-question survey, including two questions about whether their child’s urine smelled stronger than normal or offensive.

Parents mentioned malodorous pee in 57 percent of the 51 kids diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and in 32 percent of the 280 children who didn’t have infection, according to the Pediatrics report.

Gauthier says the foul odor may be due to the production of ammonia from bacteria. While this is often cited as a symptom of urinary tract infection, previous studies have been contradictory.

She emphasizes that the latest findings are mostly something for doctors to think about, not parents.

Stinky pee accompanied by fever increases the likelihood of infection — but the association isn’t strong enough to make a diagnosis one way or the other, Gauthier says. Still, the presence of another risk factor might help doctors decide whether to collect urine from a child when doing so might require invasive measures.

“I think that most of us do not ask parents this question when we assess a young child in the ER for unexplained fever,” says Gauthier, who also teaches at the University of Montreal’s Department of Pediatrics. “If the answer is yes, well, it’s not necessarily a reason to do a urine test, but we should be a little bit more cautious.”

Other things can also cause a funny smell. If a child hasn’t eaten for 12 or 24 hours and has vomited and is a little dehydrated, it could cause a different or strong odor, she says. Certain foods such as asparagus can also produce a funky whiff.

So when should parents be concerned? Gauthier says if a young child has an unexplained fever for more than 24 hours, call the doctor.

UTIs in Children: How Can I Tell if My Child Has a Urinary Tract Infection?

According to Babycenter.com, about 8 percent of girls and 2 percent of boys will have at least one UTI, or urinary tract infection, during childhood. UTIs happen when bacteria gets in the urine by way of bloodstream or skin around the genitals. This can create an infection and inflammation of the urinary tract.

If your kids are older than 4-years old, they can probably describe what they are feeling when they’re in pain or uncomfortable. But for babies that cannot talk or toddlers who are just learning to put sentences together, how can you very well pinpoint what is wrong with them when it can be so many different things? And if you’ve never dealt with a urinary tract infection (UTI) before, you probably don’t know what signs to look out for.

So here’s what you should check for to determine if your child should see a doctor:

Most Obvious Symptoms of Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in Babies or Toddlers

1. Most Obvious Symptoms of a Urinary Tract Infection in Babies or Toddlers
   1.   Odd-smelling Urine: The most obvious symptom of a UTI is odd-smelling urine. The foul odor comes from the bacteria that has entered into the urinary tract. For babies and toddlers, do a smell check of their diaper to see if the urine smells different than normal. Not all babies or children will have odd-smelling urine during a urinary tract infection but you can’t miss it if it happens to them.
   2.   Cloudy or Bloody Urine: Hematuria, or blood in the urine, is fairly common and UTIs and typically doesn’t signify anything serious unless an infection has gone untreated for an extended amount of time. Bloody urine will be a lot easier to spot on a diaper than cloudy urine but sometimes the blood is so microscopic that only a urine test will detect it.

   Other Telltale Symptoms of Urinary Tract Infections

   4.   Fever: Not all babies with a UTI have a fever, and for some babies, fever is the only symptom they’ll show with a UTI. The rule of thumb is that if the fever reaches above 100.4 for a baby under 3 months, 101 for a 3-6 month old, or 103 for babies and children 6 months or older, you should seek medical advice. Even if your baby or toddler has a low-grade fever that won’t go away, you should take them to see a doctor for testing. Vomiting, loss of appetite, and diarrhea may also accompany a UTI but these symptoms can be mistaken for a variety of illnesses.
   5.   Crying or Unexplained Irritability: Babies cry for many reasons so it’s hard to tell sometimes why they are crying especially for first time moms. Are they just wanting to be held? Or are they in pain from colic, constipation, or a urinary tract infection? When you’ve covered all the possibilities within your control – fed them, changed them, burped them, made sure they’re not too hot or cold – watch to see how often they have bouts of irritability.  The good news is that UTIs are usually easy to treat but can cause permanent kidney failure and damage if left untreated. So if your child has any of the above symptoms or other unusual symptoms, it’s best to have them seen and tested by a medical professional. You can take your child to an ER clinic for urgent care and attention, especially if it’s after hours, and you cannot see your pediatrician.A UTI is most painful during urination. If you notice sporadic fussiness and irritability, monitor your child while they urinate. Some toddlers can respond if you ask them if it hurts when they go potty. For babies, it’ll be a little harder and may take a little longer to assess. Take their diaper off, and watch for their next urination. If they cry or look like they are in pain, take them to the doctor immediately.

Strong Smelling Urine In Babies – 4 Reasons For Smelly Urine

Strong smelling urine in babies

New parents quickly become experts in changing nappies. After all, they change wet or dirty nappies several times every day. Parents often take a lot of notice of what they see in their babies’ nappies too, because it’s one way they can tell if their baby is getting enough milk.

From around day five onwards, a baby having at least five wet nappies is one reliable way to help determine if a baby is getting enough milk, especially if the urine is pale in color.

But what about if your baby has strong-smelling urine? Is it something to worry about? Here are 4 reasons why your baby might have strong-smelling urine.

#1: Baby’s strong smelling urine may be normal

Strong smelling urine in a baby may be normal if:

• Your baby is otherwise well
• Your baby is showing reliable signs of getting enough milk
• Baby’s urine is pale in color, despite being strong smelling.

Although the urine of babies tends to have little odor, as they grow older it may start to smell of ammonia. Or perhaps someone else who doesn’t usually change your baby’s nappy isn’t used to the smell. Or maybe you got a whiff closer to your baby’s nappy than you have before.

Nonetheless, if you’re concerned, it’s always a good idea to see a doctor – at the very least, your peace of mind will be worth it.

#2: It may be a urinary tract infection

Canadian researchers found parent-reported foul-smelling urine in babies was associated with a urinary tract infection (UTI). This does not mean strong-smelling urine always means your baby has a UTI. In this study, around one-third of the time when a baby’s urine was foul-smelling, there was no UTI. 

If your baby has strong-smelling urine, it’s a good idea to get a doctor to examine your baby, especially if your baby also has a fever or seems out of sorts.

#3: It may be something you ate

If you’re breastfeeding, it’s possible that something you ate could influence the smell of your baby’s urine.

Anecdotally, some breastfeeding mothers have reported that eating a lot of asparagus, onion or garlic can make their baby’s urine smell differently.

Other breastfeeding mothers have reported that when they’ve taken antibiotics, its has temporarily changed the smell of their baby’s urine too.

#4: Smelly urine may mean your baby needs more milk

Another reason why your baby’s urine may be strong-smelling is that they may not be getting enough milk. If a baby isn’t drinking enough milk, this makes their urine more concentrated, stronger smelling, and less pale in color.

If you’re concerned your baby may not be getting enough milk, seek medical advice without delay.

If you’re breastfeeding and you discover your supply is low, there are ways you can increase it.

Strong smelling urine is unlikely to be teething

Sometimes strong-smelling urine, as well as a wide range of other signs and symptoms, gets blamed on teething. However, evidence to support the link between teething and strong-smelling urine doesn’t exist. Before assuming any of your baby’s signs and symptoms are the result of teething, it’s important for any issues to be investigated by a doctor, so there’s no delay in starting the appropriate treatment if required.

…

Armed with information about possible reasons why your baby might have strong-smelling urine, take a deep breath, as now you hopefully have a clearer idea and plan of what action you may like to take.

You may also be interested in these BellyBelly articles:

Strong Urine Smell in Babies:Causes & Symptoms

Taking care of a baby is not easy, and as a first-time parent, you may find it challenging. There are countless things that could go wrong and this forces parents to be on their toes at all times. You are likely to worry about every minor and major health issue that your little one may experience, and rightly so, you’re a parent, after all. For instance, if you notice a strong smell of urine from the baby, you’re likely to worry if something’s wrong with your baby, and you might panic. But should you? Read this article to find out!

What Are the Causes of Smelly Urine in Babies?

There could be many reasons for your baby’s urine to smell pungent. It is not always something that you need to worry about but here are some causes for why baby urine smells strong.

1. Urinary Tract Infection

UTI happens bacteria enter the urinary tract. Although UTI is not contagious, it can be unpleasant and a nuisance to deal with and could also lead to foul-smelling urine. A UTI affects girls more than it does boys due to human anatomy. Since a UTI is hard to detect amongst infants, you must watch out for other symptoms like fever, vomiting, irritability etc.

2. A Mother’s Feeding Habits

Bad smelling urine in a baby could be something as simple as the food that the mother consumed. Eating vegetables and herbs like asparagus, onion, and garlic can make a baby’s urine to smell. At any point, if you notice that your baby’s urine colour is far from clear, keep a track of what you eat and drink, as it could be due to your diet or dehydration.

3. Additional Requirement for Milk

For most babies, the only way they get any kind of water in their system is through breastmilk. Their nutritional requirements are met through the breast milk, and they must be fed thoroughly so that at no point they go hungry. Being hungry and dehydrated can concentrate their urine and in turn, lead to the foul-smelling urine. If you find out that your breastfeeding supplies are running low, there are methods that you can find online to increase it.

Why Does a Baby’s Urine Smell Like Ammonia?

Sometimes, an infant’s urine may smell of strong ammonia. Ammonia has an unpleasant and pungent smell. This smell can sometimes be a bit overwhelming but you need not worry. It can happen during early morning or if the baby is dehydrated. The kidney is required to process more than it usually does and this causes the urine to smell of ammonia.

Why Does a Baby’s Urine Smell Like Poop?

This could be a simple sign of your baby having a UTI. Sometimes, the bacteria from the anus can enter the urinary tract of your baby, leading to an infection. Make sure to clean and wipe properly so that the next time, your baby is not feeling miserable.

Why Does a Baby’s Urine Smell Like Vinegar?

If your baby’s urine smells like vinegar, it could be due to dehydration or a UTI, or something you ate. Vinegar smell from urine could also mean that your baby may come down with a cold. If your little one is already sick, her urine may smell of vinegar. It could be also due to acid reflux. Also, if the baby’s body is not able to produce enough lactose to keep up with the amount of lactose that she is fed, it can lead to smelly urine.

Symptoms of Smelly Urine in Infants

If your baby’s urine smells bad, there are some symptoms that you should watch out for so that you can decide if you need medical intervention or if it can be controlled at home. Here are the symptoms.

Is Smelly Urine a Sign of Teething?

Many parents think that smelly urine is a sign of teething in babies, but there is no scientific evidence to support this. If your baby’s urine smells a lot, you should check with a doctor without making any assumptions or trying home remedies.

When to Consult a Doctor

In case it seems like the symptoms are persisting or getting worse, make sure to take your baby to a doctor. You can also carry a soiled diaper with you so that the doctor has a better idea of what he/she is tackling. It is easy to brush off some symptoms at home because many parents live in denial about their baby being unwell. However, if your baby has blood in their stools, vomiting, fever or anything remotely harmful to their health, you must make sure that you take them to a doctor and provide the right treatment.

If your baby’s urine smells a lot, without delay you must consult a doctor. If you are confident enough about being able to handle it at home, then again consult with your doctor before trying any home remedial measures.

Also Read:

Mucus in Infant’s Poop
Infant Poop: What’s Normal & What’s Not
Abnormal Signs In Your Infant’s Pee & Poop That Need Immediate Attention!

Baby Care: Manage Baby’s Urine

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The baby urinates in Bed[/caption]To be a mother is the most precious gift a woman receives. It brings joy and happiness. Along with excitement it also brings the responsibility of taking care of the newborn. Many mothers have questions regarding baby pee.

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How often the baby urinates, what should be the normal colour of urine, what should you check while changing your baby’s diaper? These queries are very normal to look for.

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‍Want to consult a specialist? Find the best pediatrician in Mumbai

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Answers to some common questions about baby pee are given below

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How often the baby urinates?

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A newborn baby urinates for the first time within 12 to 24 hour of birth. An exclusively breastfed baby may not urinate often during the first few hours or days of birth.

On the second after birth, the baby may need to change the wet diaper twice.

When the mother’s breast begins to fill with milk and the baby starts to feed, 3rd to 5th day onwards your baby should have 4 to 5 wet diapers.

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After 6th day the baby urinates more frequently and should have 6 to 8 wet diapers a day. Many a times baby urinates after every breastfeed.

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The amount of urine a baby passes depends upon the amount of fluid the baby has. The urinary bladder of a newborn baby holds up to one teaspoon of urine that is around 15ml. So your baby can urinate 10 to 20 times a day and that’s natural. You don’t need to wake up your baby to change the diaper. Let your baby sleep well and change when the baby is awake.

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How to check for a wet diaper?

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Check the wetness of the diaper by placing a tissue under your baby’s diaper to absorb urine to make it see easily. Use disposable diaper having a urine wetness indicator. There might be a colour change of a line that you can see. Try using cloth diapers. It is easy to feel and see wetness in a cloth diaper.

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What is the normal colour of urine?

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Baby’s urine can be white or slightly yellow in colour. Colour may change while you are breastfeeding as the food or medicine you are taking might change the colour of your milk. This may add a tint of green pink or orange colour to your baby’s urine.

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When to See a Doctor?

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If you are taking proper care of your baby at home and your baby is having enough amount of fluid, your baby will have a wet diaper at least 6 to8 times a day. ‍

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When your baby does not get enough food she can become dehydrated. You need to see a doctor if you see following changes.

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–If there is a brick dust stain in the diaper of the newborn after 4th day of life.

-If your baby is urinating very small amount of urine that is concentrated, smelly and has a dark yellow colour after 5th day of life.

-If your baby is passing urine less than 6 times a day after the 6th day of life.

-If your baby is not having enough of your milk or not feeding well.

-If your baby is having a dry mouth and lips.

-If your baby is always sleepy and difficult to wake.

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Your pediatrician will check your baby’s health and will let you know whether your baby is feeding well or not.

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Blood in the diaper

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You might see blood in the diaper in both newborn girl and boy child. This is normal and ok if it is due to the following reasons.

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Psuedomenstruation

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‍ it is also known as false menstruation in which baby girls have blood tint vaginal discharge during the first few days of life. This occurs due to the hormones present in your baby’s body and it is not harmful.

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‍Circumcision

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‍baby boys may have a small spot of blood in the diaper after circumcision. Bleeding after circumcision stops within a few hours, but there may be a spot of blood in the diaper even after a day. Baby will urinate 12 hours after the circumcision.

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Blood in the urine

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Blood spot in diaper due to pseudo menstruation or circumcision is normal but blood in urine is a matter of concern and you should see your doctor immediately. If you see blood in your newborn’s urine or your baby is shouting and crying while urinating, you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

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Urinary tract infection in babies

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When bacteria gets inside your baby’s urinary tract it causes an infection known as urinary tract infection or UTI. UTI changes the colour of urine and can make it smelly.

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Your baby shows the following symptoms of a urinary tract infection

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‍– Frequent urination

-Fever

-Pain while urination

-Blood in urine

– Smelly urine

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Take your baby to a doctor when you see the above sign .take proper care of your baby at home to prevent UTI.

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Make sure your baby is feeding well. Change your baby’s diaper more frequently. Wash your hands before and after changing the baby’s diaper and clean the diaper area from front to back with a fresh tissue or cloth properly.

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All babies are different and the fallow a different pattern of eating sleeping and urinating.

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You can always consult a doctor if you have any queries regarding the amount, colour or smell of your baby’s urine.

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Want to consult the Best Pediatricians in India? Please find the links below.

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1. ‍Best Pediatricians in Bangalore
2. Top Pediatricians in Chennai
3. Best Pediatric Doctor in Mumbai
4. Top Children’s Specialist near me in Pune
5. Best Child Specialist doctor in Chandigarh
6. Top Pediatrician near me in Gurgaon
7. Best Pediatrician doctors in Noida

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Why Does Your Kid’s Urine Smell? – Peejamas

When you’re changing multiple diapers a day, it can feel like you’re a robot on a strange bum-wiping conveyor line.

1. Unfasten dirty diaper.
2. Wipe that booty.
3. Reposition new diaper.
4. Refasten diaper.
5. Next!

So when an abnormally strong whiff of urine jolts you from the standard diaper-changing routine, it can be alarming. Most of the time, there isn’t cause for concern, but it’s good to know the signs to look for in case you do need to head to the doctor.

Urine is mostly made up of water, though it also has salt, urea, uric acid, and salt in it. It gets it yellowish color from something called urochrome, which collects when your liver processes dead blood cells. Properly hydrated and healthy people have urine that is clear and copious, though the exact color and smell depends on the person and the person’s diet. If your child’s urine suddenly develops a dark color or a strong smell, there are a variety of different explanations.

Dehydration

Especially if this is the first time you have noticed the strong smell of urine, you should probably start by doubling up your kid’s fluid intake. Strong urine smell could just mean that the urine is concentrated to the point it’s getting a little stinky. Check to see if there are any other symptoms of dehydration, such as a baby that:

• Is more sleepy than usual
• Has had less than six wet diapers over the 24 hours
• Has dry lips or a dry mouth
• Is more irritable than usual
• Has a sunken soft spot on the top of his head

It seems a little counterintuitive, but if your baby is dehydrated, he might not be interested in breastfeeding, taking a bottle, or drinking from a cup, so you may need to get creative to boost his fluid intake. Stay away from drinks that are high in sugar and sodium. Instead, offer frequent small sips of clear fluids such as soup, Pedialyte, extra water, milk, diluted juice, popsicles, or ice chips. Before you take any measures, however, you should call your child’s pediatrician to know whether or not you should bring your baby into the office. What works to rehydrate an older child may not work – or could even be dangerous – for a young baby.

Food Interactions

What your child eats can influence how his urine smells or looks. Beets, for instance, can make urine a dark red color, and asparagus can make it smell strongly. Similarly, if a child is breastfed and the mother takes Fenugreek (a supplement to help milk supply), it can make the baby’s urine smell sweet. If you have given your child new medicine, vitamins, or food in the last day or so, this may be contributing to the odd smell. If it lasts more than a day or has any other side effects, it’s best to call the doctor.

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

A UTI is another somewhat common cause of stinky pee, though the smell isn’t always a reliable indicator. UTIs happen when bacteria gets into the urinary tract and causes inflammation and infection, and they’re more common in girls than boys. They can be very painful and can even cause severe damage to the kidneys if left untreated, so if you’re worried it may be a UTI, take your child to the doctor right away. The symptoms for UTI are inconsistent, but some that you may observe include:

• Pain during urination or unexplained fussiness after all other needs have been met
• Fever over 100.4° F
• Blood in the urine or cloudy urine
• Vomiting
• Smelly urine
• Frequent need to urinate without passing much

Your child’s doctor will need to collect a urine sample either by having your child pee into a cup (if he’s old enough), or securing a special bag to his body inside of his diaper to collect enough fluid. Unfortunately, since children don’t urinate on demand, you’ll probably spend quite some time in the doctor’s office, making your kid guzzle water or juice until he releases enough liquid. Fortunately, though, UTIs are easy to diagnose and also easy to treat with a round of antibiotics.

Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD)

MSUD makes a child’s urine smell strongly of brown sugar or maple syrup (hence the name). It is highly unlikely your child has this disease because it’s pretty rare (only 1 in 185,000 kids worldwide have it). MSUD is usually diagnosed right at birth, and it’s inherited. It happens because the baby’s body doesn’t break down certain amino acids the right way, so they build up in the body and can cause severe damage if untreated or poorly managed. MSUD can be managed through a low-protein, carefully measured diet and quick access to care when sick or through a liver transplant.

If you are concerned about your child’s urine, the best thing you can do is take him/her into the doctor to get checked out. Many times, the solution is as simple as beefing up his fluid intake, but there could be serious underlying problems. It’s always better to be safe than sorry when you notice a change.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) – BabyCentre UK

What is a urinary tract infection (UTI)?

Your baby’s urinary tract consists of her kidneys, bladder, ureters and urethra. The ureters are the tubes that connect her kidneys to her bladder. The urethra is the tube that runs from her bladder down to her genitals (NHS 2016).

A urinary tract infection (UTI) can happen when bacteria spread into the urethra from the skin around your baby’s bottom and genitals. The bacteria can cause inflammation at any point along the tract.

There are two types of UTI:

• an upper UTI is a kidney infection, or an infection of the ureters
• a lower UTI is a bladder infection (cystitis), or an infection of the urethra
  (NHS 2016)

How will I know if my baby has a UTI?

It can be difficult to tell if a baby has a UTI. If your baby is unwell with any of the following, it could mean she has a UTI:
If your child is older and potty trained, she may need to wee a lot and it may be painful when she does (NICE 2007, 2017). She may not want to empty her bladder if it hurts to wee, and she may complain of a tummy ache.

Should I take my baby to the doctor?

It’s important to take your baby to your doctor if you think she has a UTI. If she has an upper UTI that’s left untreated, the infection could cause kidney problems.

If your baby has signs of a UTI, your doctor may need to collect a sterile urine sample to find out which bacteria are causing it (Harding 2016, NHS 2016a, NICE 2007).

It can be tricky to get a sterile urine sample from your baby (Kaufman et al 2017, NICE 2017a). Your doctor can explain the best way to do this. It may be a case of leaving your baby’s nappy off and then watching and waiting until she does a wee. You may then be able catch some of your baby’s wee in a clean pot (NICE 2017a).

Another method of collecting wee is putting an absorbent pad in your baby’s nappy, which can then be syringed to draw out a urine sample (Harding 2016, NICE 2007). However, this method doesn’t often give a sterile enough sample as it’s easy for the pad to be contaminated with other bacteria (NICE 2017a).

Your doctor may make a referral for other tests and treatment at the hospital if your baby:

• is younger than three months and has any kind of UTI or
• is older than three months and has a suspected upper UTI
  (Harding 2016, NICE 2007, 2017)

Your GP will refer your baby urgently if she’s concerned that she could become seriously ill as a result of a UTI (NICE 2007, 2017). Rarely, an untreated UTI can develop into sepsis (NICE 2007, 2017).

Sepsis happens when a bacterial infection triggers the body to attack its own tissues and organs (UK Sepsis Trust nd). Sepsis is rare, but it’s important that your baby’s symptoms are checked by a doctor, just in case.

At hospital, your baby may have a scan called a renal ultrasound (NICE 2007). The scan will look at how her kidneys and bladder are working.

How will my baby’s UTI be treated?

Your doctor will prescribe your baby a course of antibiotics to take at home for three days (Harding 2016).

If the infection is in your baby’s kidney, she will need antibiotics for between seven days and 10 days (Harding 2016, NICE 2007, 2017).

Make sure you give your baby the antibiotics as instructed by your doctor or pharmacist (NHS 2016b).

Take your baby back to the doctor if she’s getting more poorly, or if she has any new symptoms (NICE 2007, 2017).

If your baby is under three months old or very poorly, she will need to go to hospital, where nurses will give her antibiotics through a drip (NHS 2016a, NICE 2007, 2017).

Your doctor may recommend a follow-up scan in the weeks or months after your baby’s infection, depending on her age, how many UTIs she’s had, or the seriousness of the infection. If your baby keeps getting UTIs, despite treatment, your doctor may recommend daily antibiotics to tackle the infection (NICE 2007).

Is there anything I can do to prevent my baby getting a UTI?

Some babies are more prone to UTIs, but there are a few things you can do to help protect your baby:

• Wipe your baby’s bottom from front to back when you change her nappy.
• Change her nappy as soon as she’s done a poo. She may get tiny bits of poo in her urethra if she has a dirty nappy, especially if she’s squirmy while being changed.

How to change a nappy

A midwife explains the best way to change your baby’s dirty nappy.More baby videos

• Exclusively breastfeed your baby for the first six months to boost her immune system and to help prevent her from becoming constipated. If your baby is constipated, it can cause her bowel to press on her bladder, making it harder for her to wee normally. Speak to your GP or health visitor if your baby is constipated.
• Make sure your baby has plenty of fluids to help prevent constipation and to flush out bacteria. Her wee should be pale and clear during the day. Let her breastfeed whenever she wants. If your baby is formula-fed, offer her cooled, boiled water as well (NHS 2016, NICE 2007).
• Don’t bath your baby in scented bath products.
  (NHS 2016)

Did you know that a condition called kidney reflux can cause repeated UTIs in babies? Find out more about kidney reflux.

Last reviewed: April 2018

References

Harding, M. 2016. Urinary tract infection in children. Patient. patient.info [Accessed April 2018]

Kaufman J, Fitzpatrick P, Tosif S, et al. 2017. Faster clean catch urine collection (Quick-Wee method) from infants: randomised controlled trial. BMJ 357:j1341 www.bmj.com

NHS. 2016a. Urinary tract infections in children. NHS Choices, Health A-Z. www.nhs.uk [Accessed April 2018]

NHS. 2016b. Antibiotics. NHS Choices, Health A-Z. www.nhs.uk [Accessed April 2018]

NICE 2007. Urinary tract infection in under 16s: diagnosis and management. Updated 2017. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Clinical guideline, 54. www.nice.org.uk [Accessed January 2018]

NICE 2017a. Urinary tract infection in under 16s: Evidence reviews for UTI diagnosis in under 3 years. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Clinical guideline, 54 – Guideline Updates Team. www.nice.org.uk [Accessed April 2018]

NICE 2017b. Urinary tract infection – children. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Clinical Knowledge Summaries. www.nice.org.uk [Accessed April 2018]

UK Sepsis Trust. nd. What is sepsis? Support, sepsistrust.org

90,000 odor causes, disease symptoms and solution

The urine of a newborn baby is almost odorless and practically colorless. As the baby grows up, with the beginning of the introduction of complementary foods and further, the stool of the crumbs will gradually change, becoming more and more similar to adults both in appearance and in smell.

Nevertheless, even in an adult, urine normally has a subtle, specific “aroma” characteristic of it. Therefore, it is not surprising that when a sharp unpleasant smell of urine appears in a child, parents begin to worry and look for the reasons for such changes.

It should be recognized that this manifestation cannot be ignored in any way. On the other hand, you should not make hasty conclusions: sometimes urine smells unpleasant even in a completely healthy child.

It is safe to say that if the urine smells strongly of ammonia, then there are health problems. But with the same symptom, these can be different diseases. First of all, it is necessary to exclude acetonemia and diabetes mellitus.

It will be most reliable to pass the appropriate blood and urine tests – general and sugar.Elevated urine acetone levels can be easily identified at home. To do this, the pharmacy sells very simple and convenient test strips: you should dip such a strip in urine and find out the test result by changing its color.

Acetone in the urine of a child appears when toxic substances are formed in the body. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including even physical overwork and emotional stress. Therefore, if your baby is very tired or worried, offer him sweets in order to avoid the formation of ketone bodies, that is, the appearance of acetone.A decoction of raisins, a solution of glucose, tea with honey is best suited for this purpose, it is convenient to have glucose tablets on hand, but if there is nothing like that, then the candy is fine. In the same way (give the baby glucose), you must do if the baby’s urine smells strongly of ammonia.

An analysis for sugar must be done urgently if there are diabetics among the next of kin.

In this case, the child’s urine may smell like ammonia or apple cider vinegar, and other accompanying signs appear: intense thirst, dry skin and mucous membranes, weight loss, disturbances in the usual mode of urination, etc.

A strong acetone odor in the urine is evidence of an infection in the genitourinary tract. Most often, children have cystitis or pyelonephritis. A bad smell appears due to the development of bacteria and their waste products in the urine. It can be not only ammoniacal, but also resemble the pharmaceutical, chemical smell of drugs. And in this case, urine analysis is also necessary.

A strong smell of urine in a child: other causes

There are a number of serious diseases in which urine often acquires a strong, pungent, unpleasant odor.So, urine smells like rotten fish or cabbage with tyrosinemia or trimethylaminuria, mice or mold – with phenylketonuria, burnt sugar – with leucinosis, also called wedge syrup disease. These are all conditions associated with metabolic disorders. But in children, such ailments are rarely found, and usually they appear already from birth.

In most cases, a child’s pungent urine odor has other causes. One of the most common is a violation of the water balance in the body, that is, insufficient intake of fluid into it.This occurs most often in summer, during a period of extreme heat, when the child sweats, loses a lot of fluid, but does not replenish its supply. The urine becomes more concentrated, darkens, smells unpleasant. After restoring the water balance (it is necessary to give the child more drink), the problem disappears by itself. By the way, even an infant who is exclusively breastfed may not have enough water in the diet: then it needs to be supplemented. It should be mentioned that for the same reason, urine has a pungent odor when a child is sick: with vomiting or diarrhea, runny nose with difficulty in nasal breathing, high fever, taking antibiotics and some other medications.

The color and smell of urine largely depends on the diet. One of the reasons for the appearance of “amber” may even be hunger. There are also products that can affect the composition of urine. It was noticed that it acquires a stronger smell when abusing fatty protein foods, seafood, sweet, spicy, fast food, as well as after eating asparagus beans, cabbage, garlic, horseradish. It is perfectly normal if the smell of urine changes in an infant when complementary foods are introduced into their diet or when the infant formula is changed.The smell of baby feces is also affected by the diet of a nursing mother.

It is not scary if the urine smells unpleasant only in the morning, after the night, and the smell comes from a full diaper. Perhaps, by the way, that the reason lies in poor-quality diapers or poorly washed linen. If a sharp unpleasant odor comes out of the pot immediately after fresh urination, then you need to look for the cause. Especially if this phenomenon is persistent (persists for more than three days) or repeats regularly, and did not happen only once.

If the urine of a child under one year old stinks, who, moreover, does not sleep well, has no appetite, sweats on the palms and feet, then most likely he does not have enough vitamin D
due to rickets.

Very often urine in children and adolescents begins to stink during periods of hormonal changes. This is temporary and passing, but parents are obliged to accustom their children to careful hygiene and proper body care, which eliminates unpleasant human odors.

In general, in order not to speculate, it is best to pass urine and blood tests and make sure that the child’s health is normal.Show it to your doctor immediately if there is a sharp odor of urine in the child and a burning sensation in the genital tract, pain during urination, discharge, cloudy urine, fever, or other signs of malaise at the same time. If necessary, the doctor will give a referral for additional research (analysis for bacterial culture, acetone, sugar, etc.).

Especially for – Elena Semenova

A change in the smell of urine of a small child serves as a signal for an urgent appeal to a pediatrician.The reasons for this condition can be completely natural, for example, a change in diet. But sometimes timely diagnosis and drug treatment help to eliminate the pathology at the earliest stage. Some diseases are characterized by a sharp smell of urine in a child.

Why does the smell of baby urine change

In children over 12 years old, the smell of urine changes due to the excessive production of biologically active substances by the endocrine glands. Hormonal changes in the body of adolescents strongly affect all vital systems, including the urinary system.In this case, you should talk with the child about the mandatory observance of the rules of personal hygiene. But if the smell of urine is sharp, it smells like acetone or ammonia, consultation with a specialist is required. Physical fatigue can cause bad urine odor in a child

A rare change of diapers, diapers, bed linen and underwear can be a natural cause of unpleasant urine odor in a newborn or a child under one year old. In addition to the hygienic component, such negligence can provoke diaper rash and various allergic reactions: urticaria, dermatitis.The following factors also contribute to the change in the smell of urine:

1. Changes in diet. As they grow older, the list of products in the child’s menu expands. Vegetables or pickles with a specific aroma (onion, garlic, ketchup) change the smell of urine, make it more pungent and pronounced.
2. Dehydration. An extremely dangerous condition for young children often occurs when poisoning with stale food or poisons of plant and animal origin. As a result of intoxication, fluid begins to be released from the body with profuse vomiting and (or) diarrhea.The reason for the unpleasant and pungent urine smell is its concentration.
3. Vitamin D deficiency. An insufficient amount of sunlight or the absence of long walks leads to the development of rickets, an abnormal formation of the child’s bones. In addition to the pungent smell of urine, in newborns and one-year-olds, appetite decreases, hair grows poorly, and sweating increases.
4. Taking antibiotics. Antimicrobial drugs give the baby’s urine a specific “pharmacy” smell. As a rule, after recovery or changing medications, all indicators return to normal.
5. If the baby is breastfed, the smell of his urine can change dramatically after the mother uses a new, unusual product. For example, cabbage or asparagus have the ability to change the smell of urine.
6. Rhinitis. Prolonged nasal congestion reduces metabolic processes in the baby’s body, in which the presence of molecular oxygen is mandatory. This condition leads to dehydration. The sharp smell of urine disappears immediately after recovery.

Child’s urine always starts to smell bad with flu or SARS.Colds occur against the background of significant dehydration. The baby has no appetite, vomiting may open due to the occasional hyperthermia. An increase in temperature increases sweating, which thickens the urine, making it concentrated. The lack of fluid provokes an unpleasant smell of urine in the child.

A pungent smell of urine in a child occurs when breastfeeding

Pathological causes

Not all causes of strange urine odor can be corrected by frequent diaper changes or dietary changes.This condition occurs with a decrease in the functional activity of one or more vital systems. Therefore, if the parents noticed that the baby’s urine began to smell bad, it is necessary to contact the pediatrician. For the convenience of diagnosis, doctors use the following classification of odors of baby urine:

1. Ammonia. A very pronounced indicator of disruption of the urinary system. The pathology is provoked by the malfunctioning of the endocrine glands. An excess amount of ketone bodies is released into the blood and then into the urine.The main cause of the pathology is diabetes mellitus or acetonemia. Symptoms of diseases also include increased thirst, a sharp decrease in body weight, urinary disorders, increased dryness of the skin and mucous membranes. If the above signs are absent, but the child’s urine has acquired a dark color, an infectious focus has formed in one of the sections of the urinary system.
2. Acetone. Urine that smells of acetone may appear in mobile or excitable babies. With increased emotional and physical exertion, the concentration of ketones in urine increases.In most cases, no treatment is required. It is necessary to adjust the child’s day regimen, control games and nutrition. Sometimes the cause of this condition is emotional stress, for example, when changing a place of residence or divorce of parents. For a complete cure, you will need to consult a child psychologist.
3. Rotten Fish. Parents are almost always ready for such changes, as they are warned about the baby’s diagnosis. This condition occurs when you have a specific genetic disorder.Not only the urine of the child smells unpleasant, but also the sweat secreted by the children, the vapors of the exhaled air.
4. Mouse. A pronounced symptom of phenylketonuria, congenital, genetically determined pathology. The disease is characterized by the accumulation of amino acids and products of its metabolism in the urine. Phenylketonuria occurs against the background of extensive damage to the central nervous system.

Leucinosis, or branched-chain ketonuria, is accompanied by the smell of burnt sugar every time you urinate.The cause of the congenital disease was a genetic predisposition. The functional activity of the system responsible for the production of enzymes gradually decreases. Important amino acids do not undergo oxidation, which gives urine its peculiar strong smell. This pathology is diagnosed immediately after the birth of a child, and requires long-term drug therapy.

Colds provoke changes in the smell of urine in babies

Diseases of the urinary system

The main factor in the change in the odor of urine in young children is the pathology of the kidneys, urinary tract and bladder.Inflammation is one of the most common causes of a strong, unpleasant odor. After the pathogenic pathogen enters the baby’s body, his immune system begins to produce leukocytes to fight the infectious agent.

But due to the not yet formed immunity and high permeability of blood vessels in children, the disease begins to progress. In addition to the fact that, parents should pay attention to the following symptoms:

1. The child began to rarely go to the toilet.
2. The kid complains of cramps during each urination, pain in the abdomen and lower back.
3. Urine became cloudy, sometimes with fresh blood or clots, flakes, curdled sediment.

Why does the child’s urine smell change: pathogenic microorganisms and damaged leukocytes accumulate in the biological fluid. Rare urination leads to thickening of urine, provoking the spread of inflammation, because pathogenic bacteria remain in the baby’s body.This condition occurs with cystitis, glomerulonephritis, urethritis, pyelonephritis.

The appearance of an unpleasant odor is always the first sign of diseases of the urinary system. The sooner the parents turn to the pediatrician, the sooner the treatment will begin. In addition, taking antimicrobial agents will help avoid negative consequences (renal failure, chronic cystitis).

Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bladder can develop not through the fault of viruses and microbes, but after taking certain pharmacological drugs.Since there are no pathogenic microorganisms, the urine smells like penicillin. Parents need to pay attention to the smell of fresh rot when the child urinates. This is typical for a sluggish chronic kidney or bladder disease with the formation of purulent discharge.

Sudden changes in the diet of children contribute to the appearance of an unpleasant odor of urine

What to do for parents

When the baby’s urine smell has changed, but the next day everything is back to normal, then you should not sound the alarm.Most likely, the child ate something unusual or was too tired for a walk. If an unpleasant odor appears after each urination, you should pay a visit to the pediatrician. Laboratory tests for urine content will be carried out:

90 120 90 053 leukocytes;

90,053 proteins and their breakdown products;

90,053 ketones.

If an inflammatory process is suspected in one of the organs of the urinary system, a biological sample is inoculated into a nutrient medium.By the number of colonies formed, one can judge the presence of an infectious focus and the degree of its spread. The appearance of an unpleasant urine odor serves as a signal for a study on sugar content.

In order to eliminate dehydration, you should give your baby clean water, not sugary carbonated drinks. In case of high fever or severe vomiting, pediatricians recommend special saline solutions, which are sold at the pharmacy. If a child refuses to take such a medicine, it should be “drunk” – given a tablespoon of the drug every 15-20 minutes.After the normalization of the water-salt balance, the unpleasant odor of urine of small children disappears.

In a newborn baby, urine does not have any smell, but with age it becomes more like an adult’s urine and acquires a smell. Parents should know which one is normal and when to be alert.

What should be the norm?

The smell of a child’s urine is normally quite specific, but not harsh.
That is why the appearance of a very pronounced or unpleasant odor always causes the thought of illness in a baby.Such changes cannot be ignored, although it happens that the child is completely healthy.

Some diseases can be diagnosed by the appearance of urine and its smell

Smells like ammonia

The appearance of such a smell indicates a violation of the baby’s health.
First of all, it is necessary to exclude the presence of diabetes mellitus and acetonemia. With diabetes, urine can acquire not only an ammonia smell, but resemble apple cider vinegar or ammonia. In this case, the child will also have other signs of the disease, for example, increased thirst, weight loss, dry skin, urinary frequency disorders, and others.It can also appear with a urinary tract infection.

Smell of acetone

The appearance of the acetone odor indicates an increased excretion of ketone bodies in the child’s urine, which happens when there is a large amount of ketones in the blood.
An increase in the level of acetone in the blood is due to various factors, including emotional or physical stress. If your child has already had cases of the appearance of acetone, you should make sure that the baby does not have prolonged hunger or overwork.When the child is tired, give him sweet foods to prevent ketones from forming.

Special test strips

will help determine the level of acetone in the urine of a child

Smells like stale fish

The appearance of an unpleasant odor, reminiscent of rotten fish, is characteristic of trimethylaminuria.
This is a genetic disorder in which trimethylamine accumulates in the body, causing a fishy odor from urine, sweat, exhaled air and human skin.

With other genetic pathologies, the smell of urine also becomes unpleasant and begins to resemble mold or mice (indicates phenylketonuria), burnt sugar (happens with leucinosis), cabbage (noted for tyrosinemia).

Possible Causes

The following factors lead to a change in the smell of the child’s urine:

1. Change in water balance.
   A child may drink too little or lose fluids, for example, through vomiting or in hot weather with sweat.Difficulty in nasal breathing may also be the cause.
2. Diet changes.
   The urine of a starving child has an unpleasant odor, as well as of a baby whose menu contains too much fast food, sweet foods, fatty protein dishes, seafood, and spicy foods. It can also change if the child ate horseradish, garlic, asparagus or cabbage. In a nursing baby, a new complementary food product or a new formula, as well as a change in the diet of a nursing mother, can affect.
3. Disorders of metabolic processes,
   caused by genetic pathologies.
4. Taking antibiotics
   and other medicines.
5. Poor diaper or stale linen.
   In this case, the smell will be unpleasant in the morning.
6. Rickets.
   It causes a change in the smell of urine in a baby under one year old, and also manifests itself with sweating of the palms, poor appetite, disturbed sleep and other symptoms of a lack of vitamin D.
7. Hormonal changes
   with adolescent hormonal changes.This is a temporary phenomenon, but it is important for parents to teach their teenager about body care and hygiene rules.
8. Infectious diseases of the excretory system.
   An unpleasant odor appears with cystitis, as well as with urethritis, pyelonephritis and other inflammations.
9. Diabetes mellitus.
   Urine with such a disease is excreted in large quantities, while it gives off ammonia.
10. Liver diseases.
    Not only does it become unpleasant smelling, but it also becomes dark in color.

Some foods may change the odor of urine

What to do?

A one-time change in odor does not require any action, especially if the parents notice the effect of nutrition. If a strong smell of urine appears within a few days, you should contact the pediatrician and take the child’s blood and urine for analysis. When the smell of ammonia appears, it is imperative to determine the sugar in the baby’s blood.

If you suspect the presence of acetone in your urine, you can verify this at home using special test strips.In case of a positive reaction to acetone, the first step is to give the child glucose. You can give your baby glucose to drink from an ampoule or chew glucose tablets, or make a decoction of raisins or warm tea with honey for the baby.

If you associate the situation with dehydration, it is important to give your child more drink. This is especially important in the presence of diarrhea or vomiting, as well as in diseases with a high body temperature. In these cases, it is extremely important to avoid large waste of fluid, and everything will return to normal by itself.

The urine of a healthy newborn baby practically does not smell and only with the introduction of complementary foods acquires a characteristic subtle smell, which intensifies 15 minutes after urination. And the sharp smell of urine in a child indicates disorders in his body. The reasons for the change in the smell of urine can be associated with a change in diet and other physiological reasons, or indicate an illness. In any case, this fact cannot be ignored.

The physical properties of urine largely depend on what children eat, urine in the hearth is very different from urine in a child who eats the usual foods.

The smell of urine in a baby before the introduction of complementary foods is practically indistinguishable, even if it is in contact with air for a long time.

After the start of complementary feeding and with an increase in the amount of animal protein and plant foods in the diet, the aroma of baby urine is more and more similar to that of an adult. In a healthy child, urine can acquire a pungent odor after consuming foods such as garlic, horseradish, and certain vitamins. The organoleptic properties of urine are influenced by the state of health of the baby; in a newborn, normal urine should have a mild aroma without harshness and specific tone.It is worth considering that due to the use of some medicines, the smell of urine may change for a short time.

Ammonia odor

Normally, baby’s urine smells like ammonia 15 minutes after urinating. It is released from the breakdown of urea by aerobic bacteria. Immediately after birth, the baby’s urine has almost no ammonia tone. After the child’s diet is enriched with more and more meat, the smell of ammonia in the urine increases. Sometimes, in the normal state of the baby’s health, a short-term increase in the ammonia aroma can be observed, the ammonia odor becomes more pronounced, if the child’s diet is too rich in protein food, the child does not consume enough liquid, experiences excessive muscle stress.If you change the diet and normalize the child’s drinking regime, everything returns to normal. Urine stinks of ammonia, if the baby has a fever, is recovering from surgery, or is taking some medications. The smell of ammonia in the urine of a child becomes more intense with a number of pathologies, but in this case, a number of symptoms characteristic of an underlying disease can be observed.

Smell of acetone

Due to the appearance of ketone bodies in it, which come from the blood.Ketone bodies are an intermediate product in the glucose synthesis reaction. If metabolic processes in a child’s body are abnormal, ketone bodies break down and begin to accumulate. When their amount in the blood reaches borderline values, ketones through the kidneys enter the urine, which begins to smell like saturated ketone – acetone. This condition is called acetonuria. The number of ketone bodies can increase in children’s blood for physiological reasons: due to emotional or physical overload, prolonged hunger, overwork.Contributes to the development of ketoacidosis and an imperfect children’s enzymatic system, which must utilize ketones. Such a condition in an acute form is often manifested by repeated debilitating vomiting in response to food or drink, which is accompanied by abdominal cramps, signs of intoxication and dehydration, weakness, and hyperthermia. In addition to urine, the smell of acetone, reminiscent of the sweet and sour aroma of rotten apples, comes from vomit, sweat and exhaled air. To confirm acetonuria, an express analysis of urine is performed using test strips.To prevent the condition in emergency situations, the child is given something sweet to eat or drink, preferably glucose. If a child from 1 to 13 years old has a strong odor of urine with an acetone tone for a long time, this may be a symptom of diabetes mellitus. In this case, it is possible to reduce the amount of ketones in the blood and urine only by compensating for the diabetes.

Smells like stale fish

An unpleasant smell of urine in a child, which has a fishy aroma, is characteristic of a hereditary disease – trimethylaminuria, or fishy odor syndrome.The accumulation of trimethylamine in the body leads to the fact that not only urine stinks of stale fish, but also sweat, skin, and exhaled air. In this case, the odor diminishes when the consumption of foods containing choline, carnitine and lecithin, from which trimethylamine is formed in the body, is reduced. These are eggs, legumes, meat. A fishy tone can appear in the urine of a girl with various diseases: some STDs (for example, with chlamydia) and thrush, with which a child can become infected from the mother, inflammatory processes in the genitals.Reproduction in the organs of the genitourinary system of streptococci, staphylococci, Escherichia coli can also cause the fishy smell of urine.

The main causes of a strong and unpleasant odor of urine in a child

The smell of baby urine for various reasons can and does change if the diet or health condition changes, and the urine begins to smell differently. The most common reasons a child has a strong urine smell are:

1. Violation of the water balance. The cause of this condition may be a lack of fluid or, diarrhea, fever, which is accompanied by profuse sweating, overheating.In this case, the urine smells like ammonia in the baby.
2. Wrong diet or hunger. If a child eats foods rich in protein, simple carbohydrates, or that have a specific smell, urine may smell like acetone or ammonia, depending on whether the metabolism is disturbed – protein or carbohydrate. The smell of baby urine depends on what foods the mother uses herself or uses for complementary foods.
3. An important reason why urine acquires a specific aromatic tone is genetic diseases.In addition to trimethylaminuria, such diseases include: phenylketonuria (urine in this case smells like mice or mold), leucinosis (caramel smell), tyrosinemia (cabbage aroma).
4. If antibiotics are prescribed to treat the disease, the child’s urine smells like drugs. Ammonia urine stinks when taking thyroxine, corticosteroids, salicylates, quinine.
5. With one-year-old children and with other pathologies in the body associated with a lack of vitamin D, urine acquires a sharp unpleasant odor.
6. Diabetes mellitus, in which urine smells strongly of ammonia, apple cider vinegar or acetone.
7. Fecal odor is acquired by urine in the presence of a vesicourectal fistula.
8. Various inflammatory diseases (pyelonephritis, cystitis, urethritis) of the excretory system lead to the fact that urine becomes fetid and often smells like ammonia. A putrid aroma appears in urine with gangrenous cystitis. Medicines used for a long time to treat cystitis also lead to a change in the aroma of urine.An uncharacteristic strong tone of urine acquires in kidney disease, the analysis will show other abnormalities.
9. Liver diseases lead to metabolic disorders in the child’s body and, as a result, cause the appearance of the smell of ammonia or acetone in urine.
10. Dehydration of the body leads to the fact that the concentration of urea in urine increases, which decomposes with the release of a large amount of pungent gas.

Various reasons lead to urine smelling like ammonia, acetone or some other specific odor.To clarify what caused the change in the natural aroma, you will have to analyze other symptoms, pass not only a general urine test, but also a blood test, do an ultrasound of the urinary tract and other studies.

What to do for parents

Parents should regularly check their baby diapers; if the urine smells unpleasant in a diaper, don’t worry right away. You should consult a doctor if the smell persists for a long time and does not disappear in response to changes in the child’s lifestyle, diet and drinking regime.Parents are often interested in what to do if the child, in addition to the smell of urine, does not feel well.

First of all, you need to contact your pediatrician. He will confirm or deny the dependence of the condition on nutrition, help to identify the cause of this condition.

So, if there is a smell of ammonia or acetone, the doctor will send the child for a glucose test, biochemical analysis of blood and urine. When an acetone tone appears, it is worth conducting an express test for its presence in the urine.With ketonuria, the main task is to stop vomiting and restore the water balance in the baby’s body, and after recovery, a special diet will be required. If the appearance of an unpleasant odor in urine is associated with fever, acute respiratory viral infections or other viral diseases, the use of antibiotics and other drugs, after recovery, the properties of urine will return to normal on their own.

In a newborn baby, urine is practically odorless and colorless. This is due to the not yet perfect work of internal organs.After a while, the smell of urine in the baby changes, and gradually the baby’s urine begins to smell like that of an adult. However, when an atypical unpleasant odor appears, you should consult a pediatrician.

What does baby urine smell like?

The smell of urine in a child should not be sharp, not specific, without unpleasant impurities. In children, in the first months of life, it practically does not smell. As soon as the diet expands due to the introduction of complementary foods, a subtle, soft, unobtrusive odor appears in the infant when urinating.This usually occurs from 5-6 months. The urine of a bottle-fed baby has a more pronounced aroma in comparison with babies who feed on mother’s milk.

Parents should constantly observe how their child’s urine smells. This is especially important before the age has come when the baby is able to independently report health problems.

The smell of baby urine is a kind of indicator of the functioning of internal organs and body systems.As soon as the child’s urine begins to smell pronounced, its color changes, turbidity is observed, the mother should definitely seek advice from the local pediatrician.

This is important, because when urine smells strongly, there is a possibility of serious pathological processes in the child’s body. Timely clarification of the reasons for a sharp change in odor during urination in a child under one year old will avoid taking potent drugs.

Physiological causes of specific odor

Why does my child have a strong urine smell? This can happen under the influence of a number of physiological factors.For example, in children after 12 years of age, a rich aroma appears when urinating due to the increased production of hormones (puberty). A poor-quality diaper can lead to the fact that even a month old baby will have a change in the smell of urine. Other possible causes:

• Dramatic dietary changes. With age, children begin to consume foods with a specific taste (onions, garlic, spices). Gradually the menu is supplemented with a large amount of the most varied food.As a result, the baby may have an unpleasant odor of urine.
• Dehydration is a serious risk for children, especially under 1 year of age. In babies, it can occur as a result of food poisoning. The body’s attempts to get rid of toxins are accompanied by profuse vomiting and diarrhea, due to which fluid is rapidly lost. At the same time, there is a smell of ammonia in the urine, or acetone. Dehydration, accompanied by a pungent discharge, often manifests itself in the heat of summer.
• Vitamin D deficiency.It is extremely important for the child’s body to get the required amount of this vitamin, which is involved in many metabolic processes. Its deficiency leads to the fact that urine smells bad, and the baby has a decrease in appetite, increased sweating, poor hair growth (usually the first symptoms appear at 3 months). All these symptoms indicate the development of rickets.
• Antibiotic treatment. The strange, chemical odor of urine goes away after the children stop taking the medication.
• Rhinitis. If the smell of urine has changed against the background of nasal congestion, do not panic. Often, with recovery, this problem disappears on its own.

Pathological causes

If, for example, a child’s urine smells like ammonia, and the parents have eliminated all physiological factors, it is worth contacting a pediatrician. The causes of the phenomenon may be associated with serious disorders in the urinary system.

Failures in the functioning of the endocrine glands, as well as a lack of glucose in the body, leads to the fact that ketone bodies in large volumes enter the urinary tract from the blood.Diabetes mellitus or acetonemia can provoke this condition. If the ammonia smell is accompanied by darkening of urine, it means that one of the parts of the urinary tract has encountered an inflammation of an infectious nature.

When urine smells like fish, there is a specific genetic disorder called trimethylaminuria. Moreover, not only urine becomes fetid, but even the vapor of exhaled air. A genetic disorder called phenylketonuria is accompanied by a mouse-like urine odor. A sign of leucinosis is urine that smells of burnt sugar – a consequence of the impaired production of enzymes responsible for the oxidation of important amino acids.

Excessive odority of urine in childhood is a consequence of pathological processes in the liver with jaundice. In this case, the urine often smells like rotten eggs and may also have a sour smell.

Diseases of the genitourinary tract

Problems in children’s urinary tract are common causes of a strong urine odor. Most often pathologies develop in the kidneys, bladder, urinary tract
. In this case, ammonia can be felt in the urine of the child.In addition to the fact that the secreted liquid stinks strongly, there are pains in the lower abdomen, lumbar region. If cloudy urine is observed against the background of these symptoms, it is likely that the child has developed cystitis, urethritis, or pyelonephritis.

It is boys who are more susceptible to urethritis, since the inflammatory process develops in the lower part of the urethra. Girls tend to have cystitis because a short urethra can cause symptoms of this disease to develop quickly. Due to a bacterial infection in the urinary tract, urine begins to smell like penicillin.This is due to the excretion of the waste products of microorganisms with the biological fluid.

When urine smells like ammonia in a child for a long time, parents should definitely go to an appointment with a local pediatrician. The analysis of urine will help to find out the exact cause of this phenomenon.

What should be done?

An abnormal, putrid smell of urine, accompanied by a general deterioration in the condition, is a reason for urgent consultation with a pediatrician. The sooner treatment is started, the more chances you have to avoid the dangerous consequences of the disease.

If you suspect inflammation, the doctor will prescribe a bacterial culture. Such an analysis will allow you to get an idea of ​​the infectious focus, as well as its severity. The acrid smell of urine is a reason to test for the presence of sugar in the sample to rule out diabetes.

In case of dehydration, parents should monitor the replenishment of fluid in the child’s body. For this, the baby should be given clean, non-carbonated water. High fever and vomiting is an indication for the appointment of special saline solutions.If the baby refuses to drink or cannot do this because of the gag reflex, you need to water him with a tablespoon every 5-10 minutes.

How long does it take for the child’s pungent urine odor to disappear? It depends on the factors that provoked this phenomenon. For example, if an increase in ketone bodies is detected, the child needs glucose. For one-year-old children or younger children, ampoules with a glucose solution are suitable, and for those who are older, you can give a decoction of raisins, sweet compote or glucose in tablets.After that, the unpleasant odor should disappear immediately. The presence of ketone bodies in urine can be checked independently using test strips sold at the pharmacy.

If there is a smell of stale fish, we can talk about a genetic disease. Her treatment will take a long time. Here you need proper childcare: a special diet rich in vitamins, which can last 1–2 months. In any case, in order for the baby to begin to recover, the main thing is not to self-medicate and follow the recommendations of the pediatrician.

90,000 Why are kidney diseases dangerous in children?

Any malaise of the baby, even the most insignificant, at first glance, instills primitive horror and panic in the parents, forcing them to torment themselves with the question: how can you help? What can we say about complex and rather serious diseases.

Unfortunately, the number of children with various kidney pathologies has increased significantly over the past few years. The unfavorable ecological situation and complications of infectious diseases also make themselves felt.Doctors say that almost every sixth child suffers from some kind of nephro-urological pathology. And such data cannot but frighten, because the kidneys are one of those organs that determine the “purity” of the body, being responsible for the removal of toxic substances and decay products from it, being, as it were, a natural filter. What do parents need to know to protect their kidneys and what do the experts recommend? A word to the pediatric nephrologist of the OKDC Alexei Kozhin

Observed from birth

– From the first days of life, hereditary and genetically determined diseases often appear.Among the infectious factors, intrauterine infection dominates, penetrating the crumbs’ body during childbirth. This happens if the mother was a carrier of chlamydial or mycoplasma infection. The baby automatically receives it “as a gift”, and vulnerable kidneys are hit.

The fact is that by the time of birth, their development has not yet been completed. The filtering surface of the kidneys of a newborn is 5 times less than that of an adult, but by six months in most children it reaches values ​​close to those in adults.As you grow older, the processes of excretion become more and more perfect. However, the adaptive abilities of a child’s body are worse than that of an adult, especially during the so-called critical periods of maturation. There are three of them: from newborn to 2-3 years old, from 4-5 to 7-8 years old, and adolescent, in which there is a sharp change in metabolism under the influence of hormones.

The risk of developing kidney disease is high in those children whose parents suffer from pyelonephritis, metabolic diseases (urolithiasis, arthrosis, fermentopathy), endocrine disorders (obesity, thyroid disease).Unfortunately, about 50% of children who have undergone neonatal resuscitation have kidney pathologies.

In infants, the mother can suspect metabolic nephropathy herself – by too bright spots on the diapers – uric acid diathesis is manifested by unusually intense staining of urine. Urinalysis will help you navigate further examination and treatment.

In boys, an attentive mother will notice a weakening of the urine stream. The reason for this is the presence of congenital valves of the urethra or a violation of its nervous regulation.Thanks to the emergence of new effective drugs, the improvement of surgical techniques, the installation of stents – devices that prevent the improper flow of urine, such children lead an active lifestyle, following the recommendations of the attending doctor.

The absence of urination in a newborn for more than 24-48 hours after birth, edema, and increased blood pressure can also be alarming in terms of congenital kidney disease. With congenital anomalies of the renal vessels, timely surgical intervention is required.

Abdominal pain in young children, even without changes in urine, can often be associated with abnormalities of the urinary system. Dysuria – pain or pain when urinating, increased or decreased frequency of urination, urinary incontinence or incontinence indicate the possibility of a urinary tract infection. Congenital changes in the urinary system, accompanied by the return of urine from the bladder, often predispose to urinary tract infections, including pyelonephritis.

Is the infection to blame for everything?

One of the most common diseases that a pediatrician detects during examination at a polyclinic is urinary tract infection.This diagnosis is made after passing urine tests (general urine analysis and urine culture for sterility). In this case, the doctor, as a rule, prescribes antibiotic therapy, it must normalize the urine tests. After this treatment, your child usually forgets about kidney disease for quite some time. But this does not always happen, and here’s why.

The cause of the disease in girls is very often inflammation in the vagina, which is manifested by vulvovaginitis.The child complains of soreness of the labia majora and small labia, of strange discharge. This discharge from the vagina enters the bladder and the child develops cystitis, complaints of pain in the lower abdomen, frequent or rare sometimes painful urination, then an ascending urinary infection enters the kidneys from the bladder.

If you do not carry out all the necessary laboratory tests, do not consult a pediatric gynecologist, do not perform an ultrasound of the kidneys, with a full bladder and measuring the thickness of the bladder wall, it will be difficult to establish the causes that led to this disease.

Mothers of girls are often asked what causes vulvovaginitis. The most common reason is the wrong toilet of the external genital organs, when daily treatment with lacticide, or other similar soap, is not performed on the labia majora and labia minora before entering the vagina.

The second cause of vulvovaginitis can be infection from adults through bed linen, which contains the discharge of an adult woman or man, plastic furniture in water parks and swimming pools, where a sick adult has sat; as well as when visiting toilets in schools and kindergartens through the toilet.

The diagnosis was made – how to treat it?

Almost all common kidney diseases are treated in combination: antibiotic therapy in injections or tablets is combined with the use of gynecological suppositories and washing the vagina.

Combination therapy is also required for the treatment of cystitis: antibacterial drugs in combination with intravesical flushing with bladder antiseptics through a urethral catheter, as well as physiotherapy on the bladder area.With the wrong tactics of diagnosing and treating urinary tract infections, children for years receive several courses of antibiotic therapy per year with a short-term effect.

Therefore, when choosing an individual treatment regimen, it is so important to consult not only with a pediatric nephrologist and a pediatric gynecologist, but also with a urologist for cystoscopy – this is an instrumental examination of the bladder.

One of the problems in boys is physiological phimosis, which the child’s parents should detect by about 3 years of age.Many dads and mothers do not deal with this issue until high school, until the child himself takes care of this problem. When examining such boys, urine tests will be collected incorrectly and will be uninformative.

How much does your child drink?

One of the most important criteria in the diagnosis of bladder function is to determine the rhythms of urination, you must monitor how many times your child urinated per day and in what portions.To properly conduct this study, you must also take into account the daily water load, to know at what interval the child drank liquid. It is believed that on average he should drink at least a liter of fluid per day, and in the summer from 1.5 to 2.0 liters of fluid per day. Under normal water load, the baby’s urine will be light yellow, sometimes becoming clear, like water. In case of unsatisfactory water load, the urine becomes bright yellow, sometimes cloudy and opaque.

If we start discussing what portions a child should urinate, then there are age criteria.In an infant, the volume of the bladder is about 90 ml, so he urinates in portions from 30-50 ml to 90 ml, at 2 years the volume of the bladder is 120 ml, at 3 years old – 130 ml, at 4 years old – 140 ml and at 5 years – 150 ml. It happens that your 5-year-old child urinates 200 and 300 ml in the morning, which corresponds to the portion of an almost adult. How does this happen?

It turns out that the bladder, like the stomach, can be stretched to incredible sizes if desired. There are children who are used to drinking water in a volume of 250-300 ml before going to bed.This water is in the bladder all night long, stretching it (by the way, sometimes, against the background of this habit, bedwetting occurs). There are a number of children who do not reach the toilet during the day without holding back urine. A congested bladder is also at the root of this problem. When the bladder habitually becomes distended, it cannot completely evacuate urine. In the future, viral – bacterial infections easily arise in it, leading to the appearance of cystitis and an ascending urinary tract infection.

Sometimes, against the background of overcrowding, a situation arises in which urine from the bladder returns back to the renal pelvis, deforming and stretching it. This process often leads to the need for surgical treatment. To prevent kidney disease, it is important to know how much fluids your child is drinking – whether the kidneys are flushed enough, and how much to serve when urinating.

What will the ultrasound tell us about?

Parents often come to the nephrologist for an explanation of the kidney ultrasound data.This method is very necessary for every doctor: it describes how the kidneys look, gives an idea of ​​the anatomy of the organ. However, on the basis of ultrasound, it is far from always possible to immediately make a final diagnosis. This method requires clarification by other more accurate X-ray urological studies. At the same time, it is very important on which device the ultrasound was performed, and how experienced the specialist who issued the conclusion was.

Sometimes it is necessary to recheck the ultrasound data of the kidneys and conduct a more in-depth specialized examination.The main thing is not to leave undeciphered diagnoses made by ultrasound behind your back, so as not to be late with the appointment of the necessary treatment in the future. First of all, it is worth paying attention to various deformations of the anatomy of the kidneys, impaired urodynamics, and a violation of the outflow of urine from the kidneys or bladder.

So we come to another fairly common disease – pyelonephritis. Often, when asking parents about the presence of kidney disease in the family, you can hear that I had chronic pyelonephritis.And in what way did it manifest itself? – “My back, my stomach ached, the temperature rose and there were changes in the urine tests. This situation was repeated 1 or 2 times a year ”.

Why did pyelonephritis come back again and again? Chronic pyelonephritis is often referred to as secondary pyelonephritis because it is based on a combination of urinary tract infection and impaired urodynamics, or urine drainage from the kidneys or bladder. If you have been prescribed antibiotic therapy without finding out the causes of pyelonephritis, then you will not get a real remission of the disease.Pyelonephritis will come back. And in this situation, you need a competent nephrologist, and, possibly, a urologist who will conduct all the necessary examinations and establish the true cause of the violations.

You should always remember the main things

My experience as a practical doctor shows that in recent years many different diseases have arisen against the background of toxic and chemical damage to organs, leading to severe kidney diseases.It has been repeatedly noted that after eating a watermelon grown on nitrogenous fertilizers or strawberries from a greenhouse in May; the child had urine mixed with blood, or a severe allergic process began, which sometimes led to edematous syndrome.

Such kidney diseases were treated for a long time, in nephrological clinics, using hormone therapy. Therefore, do not forget that it is better to give your child vegetables and fruits that are appropriate for the season and grown in your own garden than a poor-quality product of unknown origin.

Against the background of a herpes viral infection, nephritis and cystitis occur, which cannot be cured without the complete elimination of the main viral infection. Children with such a diagnosis need advice from an immunologist and nephrologist with an ELISA diagnosis to determine the activity of a viral infection.

Treatment of kidney diseases is impossible without a modern diagnostic base. This is well known to the specialists of the Regional Consultative and Diagnostic Center, where the latest expert-class equipment is concentrated and European examination standards are introduced.

Not without reason, recently, the flow of small patients has grown in the OKDC. In this leading medical institution in the Southern Federal District, now not only pediatricians, but also children’s doctors of almost all narrow specialties are accepted.

There is a great variety of kidney diseases and they can be described for a very long time. I focused on some of the most common cases. It is important to remember the main thing: if your child has changes in urine and blood tests, or any problems with an ultrasound are found, do not delay your visit to an experienced nephrologist.Otherwise, it will take much longer to be treated, and the complications that have arisen can even lead to irreversible consequences.

90,000 Unpleasant smell of urine in a child: reasons and what to do

Urine of a child, especially a young child, is usually almost odorless. But from time to time we observe changes that are not encouraging: these discharge acquire an unpleasant, often pungent, odor. What it signals and what needs to be done in order not to miss the symptoms of serious malaise, every parent should know.

What should alert

One-time changes in the color and odor of urine, as a rule, do not frighten anyone. These are more often manifestations of some natural changes in the diet, or insignificant malfunctions in the work of the urogenital organs. But if a child has an unpleasant odor of urine for several days, and even accompanied by other signs of trouble, this is a reason to consult a doctor and do the necessary research.

Babies grow, the functionality of their internal organs develops, with age, the discharge becomes more and more “mature”, which leads to a change in their smell.But if these are persistent putrefactive “amber” or the presence of sulfur, sweat, mold, ammonia, and other not very pleasant substances begins to be felt in the fumes, it is better not to be careless and find out the reasons for the alarming changes.

Reasons

Babies under one year old in our latitudes often lack vitamin D . And then, in addition to the appearance of new shades of the smell of secretions, they have a loss of appetite, growth retardation, the child often sweats, this is especially noticeable in the limbs, and bald patches form on the head.

Respiratory diseases , accompanied by a rise in temperature, especially when dehydration is added to them, also give a reaction to a sharp smell of urine in a child, and then drinking plenty of fluids becomes the first aid. Sometimes this alone stops the problem, although the need to treat the underlying disease does not cancel. But here’s the paradox: busting with drugs (primarily antibiotics) is again able to provoke a change in the smell of urine not for the better.

Abrupt changes in the diet lead to the same consequences, even when it comes to infants: their ventricle and intestines react in such a way to the “liberties” in the mother’s diet. Overeating, like fasting, is equally harmful to our children, these extremes lead to disorders in the activity of internal organs, manifested, in particular, in the unpleasant odor of urine in children of different ages.

Even not too clean linen or diapers of poor hygiene quality can give a similar reaction: thus urine droplets react to the presence of bacteria on underwear or diapers, entering into a chemical reaction with them.

Diseases of internal organs and metabolic failures

The causes of the smell are not always as local and “harmless” as in the examples described above. Sometimes the situation is much more serious, and these symptoms are manifestations of dangerous diseases of the genitourinary or immune system, or signs of other ailments. To identify a specific source of problems and establish the correct diagnosis, the doctor prescribes a series of examinations: for the content of sugar and acetone, other impurities, for bacterial sowing.

If a child has a strong smell of urine, giving off ammonia, there is a likelihood of getting cystitis, pyelonephritis, urethritis and other disorders of the genitourinary system, in which the waste products of pathogenic bacteria and these microorganisms themselves get into the urine. The child is also worried about long-term pain: both in the lower abdomen and in the lumbar region, urination becomes painful, sometimes a burning sensation appears during this process.

Not always the inflammatory process in the bladder (cystitis) is of infectious origin. Sometimes it occurs as a result of irritation of the mucous membrane with drugs in the treatment of a variety of diseases. Then in the smell of urine appears “pharmacy” shade or indefinite “chemical”.

The smell of acetone is a reason to suspect the presence of diabetes , especially if it appears in combination with other abnormalities: lack of appetite, weight loss, severe constant thirst, dry skin.

Dehydration, infectious diseases and diseases associated with metabolic disorders are also accompanied by a change in the color, turbidity of urine and its odor. For example, already in the first week of a baby’s life, a maple syrup disease (leucinosis) may appear – a hereditary ailment, the presence of which is indicated by the smell of burnt sugar or maple syrup, into which the baby’s urine is “stained”. Genetic is such a rare disease as phenylketonuria, which gives urine a “mouse” odor.And trimethylamine accumulates in tissues with such dysfunction as trimethylaminuria, which adds an unpleasant smell of stale fish to the baby’s urine. Fortunately, these diagnoses are rare.

Other reasons

Not only diabetes mellitus gives an acetone reaction of urine, it can also indicate the presence of acetonemia – an increased content of acetone in the body with the likelihood of deep damage to the gastrointestinal tract and other internal organs.

In practice, small and short-term deviations in the analyzes are more often observed, the reasons for which are not pathological: a change in food priorities, stress, severe fatigue, allergic manifestations.But in order to exclude diabetes mellitus or infectious diseases, it is necessary to consult a doctor and an appropriate examination.

As the first measure to improve the child’s condition, you can offer him something sweet, and it is better if it is a liquid substance (compote, juice, tea with honey or a ready-made pharmaceutical glucose solution) – it will be absorbed more quickly. So we compensate for insulin deficiency, it is she who usually becomes the direct source of excess acetone. But you still need to see a doctor in order to avoid possible complications.

Complications after childbirth – causes and consequences

After giving birth, a woman often thinks that all worries and anxieties are over. But, alas, sometimes the first, happiest days or weeks of a mother and baby’s life together can be overshadowed by various complications. In what cases are postpartum changes normal, and when is it worth seeing a doctor?

Labor ends after the third stage of labor, that is, after the birth of the placenta. Following this, the uterus immediately significantly decreases in size, becomes spherical, its cavity is filled with blood clots; the bottom of the uterus at this moment is approximately halfway between the bosom and the navel.The early postpartum period lasts for 2 hours and during this time the woman is in the maternity ward. Then comes the late postpartum period. This period lasts 6-8 weeks. During this time, there is a reverse development (involution) of all organs and systems that have undergone changes in connection with pregnancy and childbirth. The exception is the mammary glands, whose function reaches its peak precisely in the postpartum period. The most pronounced involutional changes occur in the genitals, especially in the uterus.The rate of involutional changes is most pronounced in the first 8-12 days. The uterus and cervix are significantly reduced in size. After the birth of the placenta, a large wound surface remains in the uterus, which takes about 4-6 weeks to heal. During this period, the placental site in the uterus bleeds, bloody discharge – lochia – in the first days have a bloody character, gradually their color changes from red to reddish-brown, brownish, by the 4th week the discharge almost stops and soon disappears completely.In women who have undergone a caesarean section, everything happens more slowly, since, due to the presence of a suture on the uterus, it contracts worse. Their total amount of bloody discharge during the postpartum period is 500-1500 ml.

What complications can arise after childbirth

A doctor should be consulted in the following cases:

1. If the amount of discharge increased sharply , profuse bleeding appeared after its amount had already begun to decrease, or abundant spotting did not stop for a long time, large blood clots appeared.When bleeding occurs, you need to see a doctor-obstetrician-gynecologist, preferably in the maternity hospital where the birth took place. If the bleeding is very profuse (several pads are required within an hour), you do not need to go to the hospital yourself, you need to call an ambulance.
2. The most common cause of late postpartum hemorrhage (that is, those that occurred later than 2 hours after delivery) is retained part of the placenta in the uterine cavity . The diagnosis in this case is confirmed by ultrasound examination.To remove the remnants of the placenta, curettage of the walls of the uterus is performed under general intravenous anesthesia with mandatory subsequent antibiotic therapy to prevent infectious complications.
   In rare cases, the causes of bleeding can be changes in the blood coagulation system hereditary or acquired, blood diseases. In these cases, complex drug therapy is required.
   Perhaps the development of bleeding associated with violation of the contraction of the muscles of the uterus .This is the so-called hypotonic bleeding. In the subsequent period, the hypotonic state of the uterus can be caused by its overstretching due to many days, multiple pregnancy, large fetus, underdevelopment of the uterus. A decrease in the contractility of the uterus is also caused by changes in its wall itself (fibroids, the consequences of inflammatory processes, frequent abortions). These bleeding most often occurs in the first hours after childbirth and requires active treatment with medication, and in severe cases, surgery.
   A sharp, unexpected cessation of bloody discharge should also alert a woman and requires an urgent visit to a doctor. In this case, the outflow of blood from the uterus may be disturbed, that is, lochia accumulates in the cavity and the so-called lochiometer develops. Blood clots are a good breeding ground for bacteria, therefore, if the lochiometer is not treated in time, bacteria penetrate into the uterine cavity and endometritis develops – an inflammation of the uterine lining. After a cesarean section, a lochiometer occurs more often than after a vaginal birth.Treatment consists in the appointment of drugs that reduce the uterus, with the simultaneous use of antispasmodics to relax the cervix and restore the outflow of lochia. In some cases, it is necessary to resort to vacuum aspiration of the contents of the uterus under general intravenous anesthesia and mandatory subsequent antibiotic therapy.
3. Discharge has acquired an unpleasant odor . This may indicate the development of an inflammatory process in the vagina or in the uterus. In the postpartum period, there was a significant increase in the composition of most groups of bacteria, including bacteroids, E. coli, streptococci, staphylococci.Potentially, all of these species can be the cause of postpartum infectious diseases. A common problem in women after childbirth is the development of bacterial vaginosis. Bacterial vaginosis is a pathology of the vaginal ecosystem caused by the increased growth of predominantly anaerobic bacteria (that is, those that grow in an oxygen-free environment), which actively multiply in the postpartum period in the woman’s vagina and can be pathogens in postpartum endometritis or suppuration of the vaginal and cervical sutures.Diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis is based on measuring the acidity of the vagina and detecting in a smear on the flora specific for this disease “key cells” (these are cells of the vaginal mucosa covered with anaerobic bacteria). Treatment of bacterial vaginosis in the postpartum period is carried out with local preparations.
4. The appearance of cheesy discharge, itching, burning in the genital area, redness indicates the development of vaginal candidiasis (thrush) .The risk of this complication is increased with antibiotics. Diagnosis is based on the detection of a large number of yeast-like fungi in a smear on the flora. For treatment, local preparations are used in the form of vaginal suppositories or tablets.
5. Pus-like discharge, lower abdominal pain, increased body temperature . These symptoms may indicate the development of a serious complication – postpartum endometritis (inflammation of the inner lining of the uterus). Most often, endometritis occurs in patients after a cesarean section, manual examination of the postpartum uterus, manual separation of the placenta and discharge of the placenta (if independent separation of the placenta is difficult due to impaired uterine contractile function), with a prolonged anhydrous interval (more than 12 hours from the moment of amniotic fluid discharge to birth of a baby), in women admitted for childbirth with inflammatory diseases of the genital tract (for example, against the background of sexually transmitted infections), in patients with a large number of abortions in the past.The classic form of endometritis occurs on days 1-5. The body temperature rises to 38-39 degrees, the heart rate increases to 80-100 beats per minute. Depression of the general condition, chills, dryness and hyperemia of the skin, soreness of the body of the uterus, purulent discharge with a smell is noted. The erased form appears on the 5-7th day, develops sluggishly. The temperature does not exceed 38 degrees, there is no chill. Endometritis after cesarean section is always severe.
   In making a diagnosis, the doctor is assisted by an ultrasound examination of the uterus and a complete blood count, in which signs of inflammation are detected.Endometritis treatment should be started as early as possible. They spend it in a hospital. Assign bed rest, with acute endometritis cold on the lower abdomen. Postpartum endomeritis is necessarily treated with antibiotics, together with them, agents that reduce the uterus are used. Currently, in many clinics and maternity hospitals, the uterine cavity is washed with chilled antiseptic solutions. In severe cases, intravenous infusion of saline solutions is required to improve blood circulation, relieve symptoms of intoxication.
   With untimely treatment, there is a very high risk of the spread of the inflammatory process to the entire uterus, small pelvis, the development of sepsis (the appearance of infectious agents in the blood), up to the death of the patient.
6. In the postpartum period, there may be pain in the mammary glands , a feeling of fullness, an increase in body temperature. When these symptoms appear, it is imperative to consult a doctor – an obstetrician-gynecologist in a antenatal clinic or a surgeon.
   Possible reasons for the appearance of pain in the mammary glands and the accompanying increase in temperature are lactostasis and mastitis.
   Lactostasis (stagnation of milk in the gland) is caused by blockage of the excretory ducts. Most often, this condition develops with improper attachment of the baby to the breast, violation of the feeding regime. Lactostasis often affects primiparous women. With stagnation of milk, the mammary gland increases in volume, its dense enlarged lobules are determined. Body temperature can rise to 38-40 degrees. There is no redness of the skin and swelling of the glandular tissue, which usually appear with inflammation.After expressing the mammary gland with lactostasis, pain disappears, painless lobules with clear contours are small in size, and the body temperature decreases. If lactostasis is not eliminated within 3-4 days, mastitis (inflammation of the mammary gland) occurs, since during stagnation of milk the number of microbial cells in the milk ducts increases dramatically, milk is a good breeding ground for various bacteria, which contributes to the rapid progression of inflammation. With the development of mastitis, the body temperature constantly remains high, accompanied by chills.Symptoms of intoxication appear (general weakness, weakness, headache). The patient is disturbed first by a feeling of heaviness, and then by pain in the mammary gland, which is accompanied by stagnation of milk. The mammary gland increases in volume, areas of redness are noted on the skin. Expressing milk is painful and does not bring relief, after expressing, dense painful areas remain, and a high body temperature remains. In severe cases, pus impurities can be detected in milk.
   To eliminate lactostasis, pumping, local anti-inflammatory ointments, and physiotherapy are used.Mastitis is treated with antibiotics. In some cases, suppression of lactation and surgical treatment are required.
7. Fever, back or side pain, painful urination . These symptoms may indicate the development of postpartum pyelonephritis, that is, inflammation of the kidneys. Doctors consider the critical periods for the development of postpartum pyelonephritis 4-6 and 12-14 days of the postpartum period. The development of the disease is associated with the ingress of infection into the urinary tract from the genital tract.Most often, the disease develops in women in childbirth, in whose urine during pregnancy a small amount of bacteria was found. An ultrasound examination of the kidneys and bladder and urinalysis are helpful in making the diagnosis.
   Treatment of pyelonephritis is necessarily carried out with antibiotics.
8. Pain in the legs, swelling, redness on the legs along the vein, increased pain when walking – these are symptoms of a serious pathology – venous thrombosis (the formation of blood clots in the veins) and require an urgent visit to a surgeon or phlebologist.The most dangerous periods for the occurrence of thrombosis are considered 5-6 days after childbirth or a cesarean section, less often thrombosis occurs 2-3 weeks after childbirth. The causes of thrombosis are changes in the blood coagulation system that occur during pregnancy and after childbirth. Physiologically, in the postpartum period, the coagulation system is activated. As the body tries to stop the bleeding. At the same time, the tone of the vessels of the small pelvis and lower extremities is reduced, the veins have not yet had time to adapt to work in the new conditions.These conditions trigger the mechanisms of blood clot formation. An important role in the development of postpartum venous thrombosis is played by the hormonal background, which changes sharply after the end of pregnancy.
   The risk of developing venous thrombosis is especially high in women with various pathologies of the blood coagulation system, which are detected even before pregnancy or while carrying a baby. There is a high probability of thromboembolic complications and in the presence of diseases of the cardiovascular system, overweight.The risk of thrombosis also increases in women in the age group after 40 years, in the presence of varicose veins of the lower extremities. The risk of blood clots is increased in women who have undergone caesarean section.
   In making a diagnosis, the doctor is assisted by an ultrasound examination of the veins, with Doppler sonography, that is, an assessment of blood flow in the vessels.
   For the treatment of venous thrombosis, medications are used, wearing compression hosiery.
   A serious complication of venous thrombosis is the separation of a part of the thrombus and its movement along the vascular bed.In this case, blood clots, getting into the vessels of the lung or brain, cause strokes (impaired cerebral circulation) or thromboembolism of the pulmonary arteries (blockage by a thrombus of the pulmonary arteries). This serious complication appears a sharp cough, shortness of breath, pain in the chest, hemoptysis may begin – the appearance of streaks of blood in the sputum when coughing. In severe cases, the work of the heart is disrupted and death can occur.
9. Discomfort in the area of ​​postoperative sutures after cesarean section or in the area of ​​sutures on the perineum may bother .Normally, after suturing vaginal tears, there may be slight painful sensations for 1-2 days, but they quickly pass. Pain in the postoperative wound area after a cesarean section may bother for 2 weeks, gradually decreasing. A feeling of heaviness, distention, pain in the area of ​​the postoperative wound may indicate the accumulation of hematoma (blood) in the area of ​​the sutures. This usually happens in the first three days after childbirth and requires surgical treatment – removal of accumulated blood. Pain, burning, bleeding of the seams, the appearance of discharge with an unpleasant odor, swelling in the area of ​​sutures, an increase in body temperature indicates the addition of infection and suppuration of the seams.In these cases, you should also consult a doctor for treating the wound and deciding on a further method of treatment.
10. Violation of the physiological functions of the pelvic organs of varying degrees (bladder, rectum), which can appear as in the postpartum period – incontinence of urine, feces, uterine prolapse. The problem of prolapse of the genitals arises when the pelvic floor muscles have lost the ability to contract so much that individual organs or parts of them do not fall into the projection of the supporting apparatus.The most common cause of pelvic organ prolapse is trauma to the pelvic floor muscles during childbirth.
11. Hemorrhoids . Quite often, women after childbirth are worried about the appearance of hemorrhoids – varicose veins of the rectum. The predisposing factor in this case is a significant increase in intra-abdominal pressure during pregnancy and during childbirth. In the case of hemorrhoids, formations appear in the anus, which can be painless, but most often they are painful, bleeding and itchy.The appearance of intense pain in the anus, bloody discharge from the rectum is a reason to consult a doctor – a proctologist. Most often, uncomplicated forms of hemorrhoids are treated with local medications – creams and suppositories, in case of complications (pinching of the node, bleeding), surgical treatment is required.

In any case, if you experience any symptoms that cause concern, it is advisable to consult a doctor, because it is better to prevent or treat any complication at the very initial stage.

90,000 Pyelonephritis in children

Pyelonephritis is a microbial inflammatory disease of the kidneys. In this case, the lesions of the cups, pelvis and directly the renal tissue occur. Pyelonephritis can occur in acute and chronic (longer than 1 year) form. If left untreated, over time, it can lead to serious complications, including severe kidney failure.

Why do children develop pyelonephritis?

The main cause of the disease is bacteria that are in the bladder and rise up the ureters.Sometimes pathogens penetrate the kidneys with lymph flow in acute or chronic infections in other organs, such as vulvovaginitis in girls, dental caries, chronic cholecystitis, tonsillitis, colitis.

In a very short and simplified way, bacteria enter the kidneys, cause inflammation in them, more urine starts to be produced, and there is a risk of dehydration. Outwardly, this is manifested by some symptoms. Over time, inflammation causes kidney tissue damage and scarring.Kidney function is increasingly impaired, blood pressure rises. Serious disorders occur in the body, because the kidneys cease to cope with the excretion of harmful metabolic products.

Several factors contribute to the development of pyelonephritis in children:

• Violation of urine outflow and its reverse reflux: from the bladder – into the ureters, from the ureters – into the renal pelvis. More than a hundred different causes of this disorder are known. These can be various obstacles to the outflow of urine (improper location of the ureters and blood vessels, narrowing of the lumen of the ureters, stones, tumors), neurogenic bladder, etc.
• Diseases in which a child has to place a catheter in the bladder. This increases the risk of infection.
• Damage to kidney tissue as a result of metabolic disorders, the use of certain drugs (hypervitaminosis D), infections (including those that the expectant mother suffered during pregnancy).
• Violation of the immune system.

Symptoms of pyelonephritis in a child

Typical manifestations of acute pyelonephritis are as follows:

• Dull, reminiscent of a feeling of tension, tension, pain in the abdomen or lower back.They intensify when the child bends, jumps, abruptly changes the position of the body, subside if you put a warm heating pad on the lower back.
• Sudden violent urge to urinate. The child needs to urinate right now, he starts to leak urine.
• Frequent painful urination.
• The child often wakes up to use the toilet at night.
• Urinary incontinence.
• Burning, itching during urination.
• Chills, increased body temperature.
• Weakness, lethargy.
• Pallor.
• Headaches.
• Decreased appetite.
• Turbid urine with an unpleasant odor.

In chronic pyelonephritis, urination problems fade into the background and are often absent altogether. The child is lethargic, periodically complains of pain in the abdomen, but cannot indicate the exact location of their localization, does not eat well, gets tired quickly, he constantly has a slightly elevated temperature.

If we adjust for different age groups, then in general the prevailing symptoms of pyelonephritis will look like this:

Possible complications

Kidney function in pyelonephritis can be so severely impaired that severe renal failure occurs .The child’s condition worsens because substances that normally should be excreted in the urine remain in his blood and poison the body. Blood pressure rises.

Sometimes apostematous nephritis develops – a lot of abscesses appear in the kidneys. At the same time, the body temperature rises greatly, the child’s condition worsens, he is worried about nausea, vomiting, convulsions occur, the skin becomes dry, pale.

Another possible complication is paranephritis , a condition in which inflammation spreads to the adipose tissue surrounding the kidneys.Lower back pain intensifies, body temperature rises. In the general analysis of urine, many leukocytes are found.

If blood impurities appear in the urine, this indicates that part of the renal tissue has died – developed renal papillary necrosis .

All these complications require immediate medical attention.

Diagnostic Methods

In acute pyelonephritis, it is relatively easy to make a correct diagnosis. The doctor can do this based on an assessment of the symptoms and the results of a urinalysis. Additionally, diagnostic methods such as ultrasound of the kidneys, urine bacterial cultures, functional tests to assess kidney function, biochemical blood tests, X-ray studies, radioisotope scanning, cystoscopy can be prescribed.

Treatment of pyelonephritis in children

In case of acute pyelonephritis and exacerbation of a chronic illness, the child should be hospitalized in a hospital. He should be on bed rest for the entire time while his body temperature is high. Prescribe an abundant drink, diuretics according to indications, antispasmodics to combat pain, antibiotics, phytopreparations.

Physiotherapy is used: ultrasound, microwave therapy, electrophoresis with drugs, sinusoidal modulated currents.

It is necessary to eliminate all foci of chronic inflammation in the body that could lead to pyelonephritis.

After treatment in a hospital, the child should be registered with a dispensary: ​​with acute pyelonephritis for 3 years, with an exacerbation of chronic pyelonephritis – until he goes to an adult clinic. Up to 6 months after an acute illness subsides and up to 1 year after an exacerbation of a chronic one, prophylactic treatment with uroseptics, phytopreparations is carried out. The child must adhere to a special diet.You cannot eat sausage, pickles, canned food, smoked meats, food in which there are a lot of spices. Moderate physical activity is not contraindicated.

If your child has symptoms that resemble those of a urinary infection, make an appointment with an experienced pediatrician at the SOVA clinic. Our doctor will conduct an examination, prescribe an examination, effective treatment, and if necessary, send the child to a hospital. Do not delay a visit to a specialist: this threatens with complications.

90,000 Stinky Urine – Healths – 2021

Content

By itself, the smell of urine is usually not a cause for concern.There are often things you can do to help normalize your urine.

Common causes of foul-smelling urine

Urine is usually clear or pale yellow with a slight odor.

Common things that can increase urine odor include:

• Certain foods and drinks, such as asparagus or coffee
• Dehydration
• Certain medications
• Vitamin B6 supplements

Things you can do yourself

Try these things to keep your urine clean and smell soft.

Do

• Drink plenty of fluids, especially water or squash – Drink more in hot weather and during exercise

Don’t

• Don’t drink too much coffee or alcohol
• Don’t eat garlic or asparagus – they contain chemicals with strong odor that can get into your urine
• do not take more than 10 mg of vitamin B6 per day

Non-urgent advice: see your doctor if you have smelly urine and:

• you need to write suddenly or more often than usual
• you have pain or burning sensation when urinating
• blood in your urine
• you have pain in the lower abdomen
• You feel tired and unwell
• You feel embarrassed or anxious

These could be symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI).

Information:

Coronavirus update: how to contact a physician

It is still important to seek the help of a physician if you need it. To contact your GP:

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Less Common Causes of Bad Urine Smell

Other symptoms can give you an idea of ​​what your urine smells like.But don’t self-diagnose – always see a therapist.

90,000 Navel with a trick.Why can an unpleasant odor come from it? | Child health | Health

The navel, or navel, is, in fact, a scar that is on the anterior abdominal wall. It remains after the removal of the umbilical cord in the newborn. All placental mammals have this distinctive feature. Often the navel is a depression on the belly, but there are those who have it convex, however, there are fewer such people.

Traditionally, it is believed that it is necessary to monitor the state of the navel only in the first months after the birth of the baby.Usually after this, the navel does not manifest itself in any way and does not remind of itself. But there are also exceptions to the rule. So, for example, at different ages, you can feel an unpleasant smell that comes from this particular area. Experts, however, argue that this really takes place and is caused by a number of reasons.

Why does a child’s navel smell like

Umbilical fistulas are one of the common reasons a baby may have a belly button odor. “The umbilical fistula is a hole that forms exactly in this place.It can manifest itself early enough, and if the navel is not healing well, or it cannot completely end, when the process with the bracket fell off or was removed, and the wound continues to get wet, you need to look carefully – perhaps a hole has formed there. And in it, against the background of healing, inflammation can easily develop, ”says pediatrician Anna Shulyaeva.

There are several manifestations of this problem – complete and incomplete fistula. The first is more dangerous. Indeed, in this case, the ducts can be completely open, and both urine and feces will come out through the hole.An incomplete fistula is said to be when the duct is partially open, then suppuration occurs, but without serious complications. With such a problem, in addition to the smell from the navel, an increased body temperature, inflammation of the umbilical ring, and edema in this area may appear. If untreated, diverticula, intestinal obstruction, body intoxication and even peritonitis can form. The consequences will be completely sad – blood poisoning, disability and even death.

Another disease that can cause a baby’s belly button odor is omphalitis.“This is an inflammation of the skin in the umbilical wound, which can be triggered by pathogens, mainly bacteria. This is a surgical pathology that urgently needs to be treated, because it is also fraught with peritonitis and inflammatory processes in the entire abdominal cavity, ”says Anna Shulyaeva.

A problem develops if the infection gets through an unhealed umbilical wound. For example, this can happen if the umbilical wound is not properly cared for. In addition, diaper dermatitis can act as a provoking factor.Omphalitis, like a fistula, can manifest itself as a weeping wound, swelling and redness. In addition, it happens that the body temperature of the child rises.

Another reason for the appearance of an odor from the navel in a child (by the way, the same problem can be found in adults, but rarely, because it is mainly diagnosed in childhood) is the Urachus cyst. “Such a defect occurs when the bladder and duct are not properly formed, which normally should be overgrown by 3-6 months. As a result, a process is formed at the bladder, in which fluid accumulates, and later it begins to be excreted just through the navel, through the existing umbilical wound, ”the pediatrician notes.

This disease also requires the fastest possible treatment. It is not worth waiting for it to pass by itself.

Causes of odor in adults

In adults, belly button odor may also appear. “It so happens that inflammation develops in the navel due to some kind of trauma. It can start imperceptibly. For example, during an injury, the integrity of the skin was violated, and pathogens of the conditionally pathogenic flora that lives on the hands got on the integument. As a result, fungi, staphylococci and so on can easily migrate to the navel, ”says Anna Shulyaeva.

In addition, the smell may appear due to poor hygiene of this area on the body. The navel must not be forgotten. And in fact, few people at least somehow pay attention to this area when washing, do not rub it with a washcloth inside. And in the navel, villi and microparticles from clothes, dust, etc. easily accumulate. If pathogens get here, unpleasant consequences can begin. And then it will be possible to fully feel the smell from the navel. To prevent such a problem, it is recommended to gently clean the navel with cotton wool dipped in alcohol or peroxide at least once a week.

“Also, the smell from the navel in adults and children in puberty can appear against the background of a decrease in immunity and any diseases that can impair the body’s defenses. For example, this happens with pathologies of the thyroid gland or diabetes mellitus, ”the pediatrician notes. Diabetes easily leads to the fact that the navel area begins to get wet, or even completely discharge from it begins, outwardly resembling cottage cheese.

In general, if a smell appears from the navel, it is worth checking your hygiene for compliance with standards and correcting deficiencies.And if it is accompanied by other manifestations, such as an increase in body temperature or any discharge, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible to determine the cause and start treatment.

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