Pediatric Urology

[hilbun]

My daughter is 9 years old and has had recurring UTI's since she was in diapers. She had a VCUG when she was very young and nothing abnormal was found. She has been on a daily dose of antibiotic most of her life. We take her off occasionally to see if she can stay off, only to end up with another infection. Now she is getting infections while on the antibiotic and we are extrememely frustrated. They have given her a number of different meds and we are concerned for her health (physical and mental). How long can this go on? Is there anything different we can do? Are there others experiencing the same thing? Thank you.

[chiyaki-chan]

Hello Hilbun,

I hope that the following will really help you, it's a collection of information that I've accumulated since I started suffering from UTIs some time ago. I have now been UTI free for a good long while so I really hope that you can use this information to make your daughter well again too.

Try to avoid her drinking or eating anything that will make her urine acidic, 95% of the bacteria that cause UTIs can multiply at double their normal rate in an acidic environment so this is very important. This means ensuring that she's NOT drinking Cranberry juice & Orange juice. Ensure that she isn't using any acidic/non-buffered Vitamin C tablets. Try to keep her off all Meats (especially red meats), and any fatty foods as all of these will cause the urine to be acidic.

Many of the anti-biotics that are given out only work against 40%(ish) of the bacteria, so whilst she's on them, it's true that they can't really build up a very large colony size with nearly half of them being killed off all the time by the anti-biotic, but they also will never really go away since those that are not killed actually adapt to the anti-biotics and become stronger. One of the anti-biotics that's far too commonly prescribed for UTIs is called Ciprofloxacin, it has some rather nasty side effects that are very nasty to joints and bones, along with a known side effect of possible "death upon first dose"!

I've been using a product called 'Waterfall D-Mannose' which is a natural, completely harmless glyco-nutrient that interferes with the bacteria attachment mechanism and causes them to be flushed from the body when I need to urinate. I've been UTI free since I started using it, and I'd strongly recommend that you give it a try so you can have her free of the anti-biotics that she's currently living on.

I really, really hope that this get's her well. Please keep me updated on any progress you make with this.

Sending my love,

Chiyaki x