Urinary pain in children

Unfortunately, pain when urinating in children is quite common. Children, like no one else, are susceptible to hypothermia and the impact of a large number of negative factors. An adult can control their feelings and stop the impact on their body, for example, of low temperatures in time. Children, due to their active behavior, lack of experience, have no control over external factors.

In addition, the increased thermoregulation, physiologically embedded in the child's body, leads to the fact that the baby may simply not feel that he is cold. Remember how children swim in open water until their lips and nails turn blue. Only after they are forced out of the water and placed in a warm towel, they experience a feeling of extreme cold.

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Why does pain occur when urinating in children?

Hypothermia is the main, but far from the only reason why children develop diseases accompanied by burning pain during urination. Viral infections and inflammations that arise as a result of the effect of low temperatures on the child's body, and when they independently penetrate into the organs, during epidemics or the development of favorable conditions for the development of infection. Thus, one of the favorable conditions for the addition of various diseases is weakened immunity.

Children's curiosity often leads to disastrous consequences. One of the reasons why painful urination begins to develop may be the entry of a foreign body into the urethra, for example, beads, small seeds or toy parts, the child simply inserts them into the urethra. Below are the most common causes and diseases, as a result of which the normal process of urination turns into a problem:

• inflammations of an infectious nature that occur in the urinary system (renal pelvis, bladder, urethra);
• formation of salt conglomerates (stones) in the kidneys;
• penetration of a foreign body into the urethra;
• vesicoureteral reflux (reverse flow of urine from the bladder into the renal pelvis).

Considering all possible causes of pain, you should pay special attention not only to the child's complaints, but also try to find out at least the approximate location of the pain. Usually, burning pain appears during urination in children, in the perineum, lower abdomen, in the lumbar region or navel. You should study the amount, color and even the smell of the urine excreted, track how often the child is forced to urinate and in what portions the urine comes out (in normal quantities, in small portions, in several stages).

In a situation where renal pelvic reflux develops, the first urination occurs with sharp pain in the lumbar region, so the child cries and is afraid to go to the toilet the next time. Although the desire for the next urination appears almost immediately, and during the second visit, urine comes out without any manifestations of pain, this indicates that the remainder of the urine has come out of the renal pelvis, which got there from the bladder.

Childhood cystitis

However, most often pain during urination in children is evidence of the onset of cystitis - inflammation developing in the bladder cavity. Girls are predominantly susceptible to this disease, since the length of the female urethra is almost ten times shorter than the male one. True, in childhood the difference is not so significant, but it still exists, as a result of which the infection very quickly overcomes the entire distance of the urinary canal and gets directly into the bladder in an ascending manner.

Cystitis has two forms – acute and chronic. Acute cystitis always appears unexpectedly. Against the background of a healthy state of health, painful and frequent urination suddenly appears, and in small portions. There may also be ineffective urges to urinate, when the child wants to, but cannot pee. The urges are also accompanied by pain.

During acute cystitis, the nature of the excreted urine changes. It may contain admixtures of pus and blood, and the amount of purulent or bloody content can be used to judge the degree of progression of the disease.

Pain when urinating in children with acute cystitis manifests itself not only during urination, but also at rest. Children complain of a burning sensation in the lower abdomen, which does not stop at night. In addition to pain, there is an increase in temperature, from subfebrile to high. Sleep disturbance, increased excitability, nausea, often accompanied by vomiting, general malaise and weakness.

The appearance of chronic cystitis is always secondary. It develops against the background of existing inflammatory processes in the genitourinary system or long-term infectious diseases of other organs and systems, which are considered protracted, exhausting the child's body and causing a weakening of the immune system.

If the pain during urination does not subside after a course of treatment, you should look for deeper causes that give rise to the ongoing process of chronic cystitis.

The symptoms of the chronic form of cystitis differ from the acute form only in the degree of severity and lesser intensity; otherwise, everything proceeds the same way.

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Kidney stone disease in childhood

Severe pain in the lumbar region, which forces the child to frequently change body position in search of the most comfortable and relieving condition, radiating to the groin, passing along the urinary tract, spreading to the anterior abdominal wall and lower limb, indicates the presence of stones in the renal pelvis that have begun to move and blocked the duct.

Renal colic requires immediate medical attention, so as soon as pain appears during urination in children accompanied by lumbar pain, you should consult a doctor or call an ambulance as soon as possible.

In the urine, with kidney stone disease, you can see sediment that is formed by sand excreted from the kidneys. If the process is progressive, then small stones can come out along with the sand. The presence of blood in the urine will indicate that the wall of the ureter, renal pelvis or urethra was damaged during the movement of the stone.

The outcome of recovery directly depends on how quickly first aid is provided for renal colic, how timely treatment of the underlying disease is started. As a rule, treatment takes quite a long time.

Diagnostic measures

Before prescribing a course of treatment, it is necessary to conduct a detailed examination of the child and establish the reason for the pain during urination in children, and what kind of pathogen underlies its development. All subsequent treatment depends entirely on how accurately and thoroughly the diagnosis is carried out.

The most informative in this case will be a urine test. Urine is submitted for both general and bacteriological analysis. The identified pathogen is immediately tested for sensitivity to antibiotics, thus, based on the urine test, the most effective treatment is selected.

In case of inflammatory processes in the urinary system, the urine analysis will show elevated levels of leukocytes and erythrocytes, and a large number of epithelial cells. While in blood tests there will be practically no significant changes, except for an increased ESR, which is always present in any inflammatory process in the body, but this indicator does not carry any particularly clear information content.

In some cases, an additional examination is prescribed using an ultrasound machine. This happens if there is a suspicion of kidney stone disease or pathology of the genitourinary system, to detect a foreign body or tumor.

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Pain when urinating in children and methods of its treatment

Treatment depends entirely on the disease itself and the child's age. It is better if the entire course of treatment is carried out in a hospital. This will make it easier for both the child and parents to follow the medication regimen, monitor the amount of urine excreted, take all necessary tests on time, and most importantly, the child will not be tempted to break bed rest, which is a necessary condition for a quick recovery.

A strict diet is established for the entire period of treatment and is recommended for use for some time after complete recovery. The main drug will depend on the identified pathogen and can be either antibacterial or antifungal.

Drinking plenty of water, consisting of clean drinking water or fruit drinks, preferably cranberry, should be at least two liters per day. Moreover, it is better to drink often and in small portions so that the liquid has time to be absorbed by the body.

Precise adherence to all medical prescriptions, adherence to diet and strict bed rest, supplemented by taking medications, is the main guarantee of a quick and complete recovery.

How to protect a child from illness?

With the appearance of a little person in the family, it is necessary to think through all the measures that will be aimed not only at maintaining his life, but also at strengthening the weak body. Many pediatricians recommend hardening procedures developed by medical scientists at the beginning of the 20th century and successfully used for many years in many countries. For each child, depending on the state of health and age, their own method is selected, scheduled by days.

Getting a child's body used to hardening procedures is much faster and easier than in adulthood, so parents do not need to be afraid. In addition, hardening begins with the use of warm water and gradually the temperature is reduced to a lower one. In addition to water procedures, air baths, foot baths and contrasting walking paths are used, which are laid out from various materials, dry and wet, smooth and rough, around the room. Walking barefoot in the warm season.

According to the All-Russian Pediatric Center, pain during urination in children who engage in hardening procedures is observed five times less often than in normal children.