Hi Sharon,
it's possible that your kiddo has a bladder stone - aka urinary
calculi. What happens is that due to a hundred different circumstances,
from the water to genetic predisposition, calcium compounds (or others too,
for all I know,) can come out of solution in the urine as it collects in
the bladder and form sand, gravel or stones. The small stuff usually
sails right on out, but the bigger chunks can remain and grow larger over
time. They provide a perfect hiding place for bacteria and yeasts, which
persist in the microscopic crannies until treatment has ended, then come
right back out to reinfect the bladder wall again. Antibiotics are no use
solving this problem either, except strictly temporarily.
It's also possible she has something called interstitial cystitis, I think
that's unlikely in a kid, but you might check out Dr. Stanley Jacob's site
on DMSO at the university of Oregon; he is tops in that area.
Back to the first possibility, which I actually know something about from
personal experience. The. Most. Important. Thing you can do, is get her
to drink lots of water; don't worry about whether it has "nothing else in
it at all." Sure, you want to avoid sugar for the most part, and the
juices have lots of that as well as their own solids. But what you are
trying to do is to dilute the urine, and keep the flow high to rinse out
the system. Think of it as starvation for the bugs and maybe a little
dissolving action for any stones.
A couple of suggestions that have worked for me are to buy plain old steam
distilled water in gallons; stay away from "spring water" or "pure mountain
water" or other label gimmicks. Don't worry yourself about how distilled
water is supposed to 'leach the minerals out of your body' because the
minerals that even ultra-pure laboratory grade water could conceivably
leach can be replaced by a very small sprig of broccoli or a scrap of
lettuce leaf - and it doesn't, anyway. The reasons for getting the steam
distilled kind are partly because it may turn out to be easier for her to
drink a lot of it - and you too, try it and see, - and also to eliminate
the possibility that your usual drinking water has a mineral content that
somehow contributes to the formation of calculi for her. I also drink a
lot of Gatorade, the clear ones called 'ice' seem the best. This is a
balanced electrolyte solution, similar to 'pedialyte', though with (what
else!) a little sugar too. Even so, the balanced electrolytes are easier
to take in quantity. Hibiscus tea like Celestial seasonings Raspberry
Zinger is also high in C and pleasant tasting.
Anything else you do for her, from cranberry to vitamin C to "Magic Fairy
Dust" will only work if you can keep the water intake up. Speaking of
cranberries, the active principle makes the mucous layer on the inside of
the bladder wall more impervious to bacteria, but it isn't a bug killer in
and of itself so already-present infections aren't much affected; that
may be a clue as to why the CS isn't performing miracles, doesn't penetrate
the mucous. The juice you get in the stores is so full of sugar it's
criminal. If you can get the pills down her somehow, and they work,
that's great!
Vitamin C is wonderful for UTI's, I dont know what a tolerable dose is for
children; one recommendation for adults is to take as much as you can
without getting the runs. The daily amount is best divided into four or
more doses to keep the overall concentration even - don't forget
bedtime. I don't know a good brand of chewables for kids, ask around; but
again, don't obsess over the sugar, just try to keep it down. Another
virtue to the vit. C is it's tendency to dissolve bladder stones; for this
reason, you might want to avoid the ester or salt or otherwise 'improved'
forms in favor of good old original L-Ascorbic Acid plus maybe a buffer -
(and some, uh, sugar? Drat!!<g> I know it's serious, particularly if you
are also fighting intermittent candida, as I have, but a little sugar and a
Lot of water intake is better than no sugar and mediocre water intake
IMNSHO, and I been there, and done that.)
About the Magic Fairy Dust; well, if you can get some from Tinker Bell,
and sprinkle it in your food, and you're still a kid, then -- No, I have
NOT lost my marbles!!
t 10:49 PM 4/13/03 -0700, you wrote:
Sorry, dd is accepted on most lists as short for Dear Daughter, just like
DH is short for Dear Husband or perhaps Dorky, or d...@#n depending on how
you are feeling at that particular moment... the first D is always
considered context sensitive ; -). It should have been capitialized though.
Oh, Definitely!<g>
You know we did the cranberry every day for a year and it did help keep
most of the infections at bay, but the MINUTE that we stopped she had one
again. The naturopath seemed to think that meant she never really rid
herself of it, it just "went into hiding".
My daughter just turned six, and we have been battling this since she was
three. I have caught a lot of flak from her "regular pediatrician" for not
subjecting her to all the standard testing.To the point where i don't take
her to see that Dr. anymore.
Yes, absolutely! Look for another doc, and take someone with you,
preferably a woman friend who is friendly and also assertive. Talk about
your concerns with her ahead of time and write them down so they won't get
passed over or downplayed; you and your daughter deserve that, at the very
least! Someone who yells at you just wants to get their way.
The very first time DD had an infection, and I refused to immediately
schedule her for an ultrasound and the radioactive dye tests, she yelled
at me, and I mean really yelled. I have recently been considering taking
her back in for the testing.
The radioactive dye one I have had - I call it the sparkle test - addresses
mainly kidney flow functions, takes a long time lying still on a cold flat
hard table after being catheterized and shot up with a large syringe full
of radioactive isotope and drinking lots of water to chase it through the
system. Over time a number of little points appear on a computer screen
representing emissions from the isotope. A 'picture' is taken every few
minutes to determine the progression of fluid excretion. A responsible
doctor might well be concerned that if your child only had one functional
kidney it would be critical to take very good care of it, including
'heroic' measures. OTOH, why not address the immediate problem first, get
the infection!? This is necessary anyway, right?
Ultrasound is truly amazing, non-invasive, by comparison at least and I've
had a few, and gives all sorts of good info on the kidneys, the ureters,
bladder and urethra; including size, formation, abnormal growth, arterial
and venous blood flow through each kidney which is fairly indicative of
function, it often spots calculi which the sparkle test is incompetent to
do, - but it does tickle when they put that goo on your stomach and go
skidding all around!
Just for the record, She has not had a transplant, just recurrent bladder
infections.
So far the measures we've taken include these:
She is Supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day. Mostly she falls
short, unless I am constantly nagging her.
She's not allowed sugar, since it seems to make the situation worse. (
well O.k. very seldom )
She doesn't take baths, only showers. Of course no bubble bath, which is
what started us down this path ( if only I had known... )
Now we have her using a wet wipe every time she goes just to make sure
that she gets properly clean.
It could also help a lot to teach her to wash her hands often, and before
she touches herself or goes. You already know about perfumed soaps, right?
She seems not to have any awareness of bowel issues until it is on the
verge of being too late, so that she ends up with "messy" pants. At Six
this is getting pretty embarrassing for her. Sorry of that was TMI everyone!
We tried CS and it seemed to improve but as soon as she stops taking it,
bingo, back to square one.
CS can sometimes cause or aggravate loss of bowel control, because it can
cause an expulsion or diarrhea without the tell-tale gut sensations that
usually accompany these. That seems contrary to what you're describing,
though.
I am so hoping that she grows out of this soon. According to the
information I've read, either they grow out of it, or they wind up needing
to have surgery to correct it.
Some ideas; do you know her blood type? Consider modifying her diet in
accordance; check out "Eat Right for your Type" by Dr. D'Adamso. Also has a
website, I think. Also consider allergies, such as to soy, wheat, dairy,
other foods that you - or she - find attractive; I know it sounds weird,
but people are often allergic to what they crave. Increase protein and
more concentrated forms of food in preference to the usual high bulk -
fiber advice that's de-rigeur these days; makes sense, and can't hurt to
try it for a while, but first get an idea of what might be appropriate from
"Eat Right ... ".
The last time I posted about this everyone was really helpful. I wish I
could say that we had resolved it, but it seems to just keep coming back.
Oh, and I have a question for you. How did you manage to teach your DD to
swallow pills? Mine still can't.
We'd been opening up the pill and giving it to her in some cod liver oil,
Urk! Try butter, or almond oil, or . . . . Magic Fairy Dust! Like on her
first few bites (not all of it!) of something that, a: she really likes
and, b: you can get away with it. Maybe. One hopes.
A little fantasy can work wonders, particularly if she gets to control some
little part of the scene; It should be just as effective in any case.
Sharon
Well, I hope some of this helps; Take care, Malcolm
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