Pain when urinating in children
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Unfortunately, pain in urinating in children is often enough. Children, like no other, are susceptible to hypothermia and the effects of a large number of negative factors. An adult can control his sensations and stop the impact on his body in time, for example, low temperatures. Children, in view of their active behavior, lack of experience, there is no control over external factors.
In addition, increased thermoregulation, incorporated in the child's body physiologically, leads to the fact that the baby may simply not feel that it is frozen. Remember how children bathe in open water to the blue lips and nail plates. Only after they are forcefully forced out of the water and placed in a warm towel, they have a feeling of severe cold.
[Why does pain arise when urinating in children?
Subcooling is the main, but not the only, reason why children develop diseases accompanied by burning pain during urination. Viral infections and inflammations that arise as a consequence of the influence of low temperatures on the child's body, and when they penetrate organ independently, during epidemics or the development of favorable conditions for the development of infection. So, one of the favorable conditions for joining various diseases is weakened immunity.
Children's curiosity often leads to disastrous consequences. One of the reasons why painful urination begins to develop is the ingress of foreign bodies into the urethra, for example, beads, small seeds or toys, the child simply shoves them into the urethra. Below are the most common causes and diseases, as a result of which the usual process of urination turns into a problem:
- inflammations of an infectious nature that arise in the cavity of the urinary system (renal pelvis, bladder, urethra);
- formation of salt conglomerates (stones) in the kidneys;
- penetration into the urethra of a foreign body;
- vesical-reflux reflux (reverse urine flow from the bladder to the renal pelvis).
Given all the possible causes of pain, you should pay special attention not only to the complaints of the baby, but also to try to find at least an approximate localization of pain. Usually there is a burning pain when urinating in children, in the perineum, in the lower abdomen, in the region of the lower back or navel. It is necessary to study the amount, color and even odor of urine output, to track how often the child is forced to urinate and what portions of the urine goes (in normal quantity, in small portions, in several visits).
In a situation in which renal-pelvic reflux develops, the first urination passes with a sharp soreness in the lumbar region, so the baby cries and is afraid next time to go to the toilet. Although the desire for the next urination appears almost immediately, and at the second entry the urine leaves without any manifestation of pain, this indicates that the rest of the urine left the renal pelvis, which got there from the bladder.
Children's cystitis
However, most often, pain when urinating in children has evidence of the onset of cystitis - an inflammation developing in the bladder cavity. Mostly this disease affects girls, since the length of the female urethra is almost ten times shorter than the male. However, in childhood, the difference is not so significant, yet it is there, so that the infection very quickly overcomes the entire distance of the urinary canal and gets directly into the bladder on an ascending principle.
In cystitis, two forms are distinguished: acute and chronic. The appearance of acute cystitis is always unexpected. Against the background of well-being, suddenly there is painful and frequent urination, and in small portions. There may be a futile urge to urinate, when the child wants, but can not write. Desires are also accompanied by soreness.
During acute cystitis, the character of the excreted urine changes. In it, there may be impurities of pus and blood, and, by the amount of purulent or sacred content, one can judge the degree of progression of the disease.
Pain when urinating in children, with acute cystitis, manifests itself not only at the time of 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 disorder, 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-lasting infectious diseases of other organs and systems, which are among the long, exhausting children's organism and causing weakening of immunity.
If pain during urination is not removed after the course of treatment, you should look for deeper reasons that give rise to a continuous process of chronic cystitis.
The symptomatology of the chronic form of cystitis differs from the acute form only in degree of severity and less intensity, otherwise everything proceeds in the same way.
Kidney stone disease in childhood
The severe pain in the lumbar region that causes the child to frequently change the position of the body, in search of the most convenient and lightening condition, giving in the groin, passing along the urinary tract, extending to the anterior abdominal wall and to the lower limb, indicates the presence in the renal pelvis of stones, who began their movement and clogged the duct.
Renal colic requires immediate medical attention, so as soon as there is pain during urination in children accompanied by lumbar pain, you should see a doctor as soon as possible or call an ambulance.
In urine, with nephrolithiasis, you can see the sediment, which is formed by the sand removed from the kidneys. If the process is progressive, then together with the sand can go out and small pebbles. The presence of an admixture of blood in the urine will indicate that during the movement of the stone, the wall of the ureter, renal pelvis or urethra was damaged.
On how quickly first aid will be given with renal colic, how timely the treatment of the underlying disease begins, the outcome of recovery directly depends. As a rule, the treatment takes quite a long time.
Diagnostic measures
Before the appointment of a course of treatment, it is necessary to conduct a detailed examination of the child and to establish the cause, which caused pain when urinating in children, and what kind of causative agent underlies its development. On the basis of how correctly and thoroughly the diagnosis will be performed, all subsequent treatment depends completely.
The most informative in this case is the urinalysis. The urine is given for both general and bacteriological analysis. The detected causative agent is immediately checked for sensitivity to antibiotics, thus, the most effective medication is selected on the basis of urine analysis.
In inflammatory processes in the urinary system, the urine analysis will show high values of leukocytes and red blood cells, the content of a large number of epithelial cells. While in the blood tests there will be practically no significant changes, except for increased ESR, which is always present in any inflammatory process in the body, but this indicator is not particularly clear.
In some cases, an additional examination is performed using the ultrasound machine. This happens if there is a suspicion of nephrolithiasis or the pathology of the genitourinary system, for detecting a foreign body or a tumor.
Pain during urination in children and methods of treatment
Medical measures entirely depend on the disease itself and on the age of the child. It is better if the entire course of treatment will take place at the hospital. So the child and parents will be easier to comply with the regimen of taking medications, monitor the amount of urine allocated, timely to take all the necessary tests, and most importantly, the child will not be tempted to violate bed rest, which is a prerequisite for a quick recovery.
A strict diet is established for the entire treatment period and is recommended for use for some time after complete recovery. The basic drug will depend on the identified pathogen and can be either antibacterial or antifungal.
An abundant drink, consisting of pure drinking water or fruit drinks, best of all cranberry, should be at least two liters per day. And drink better often and in small portions, so that the liquid has time to assimilate in the body.
Accurate performance of all medical appointments, adherence to diet and strictly bed rest, supplemented by the adoption of medicines, is the main guarantee for a quick and full recovery.
How to protect the child from disease?
With the advent of a small man in the family, you need to think through all the measures that will be aimed not only at maintaining his life, but also at strengthening the weak organism. Many pediatricians recommend hardening procedures developed by medical scientists in the early 20th century and successfully used in many countries for many years. For each child, depending on the state of health and age, their own methodology is chosen, painted by day.
Instruction of a child's organism for quenching procedures is much faster and easier than in adulthood, so parents need not be afraid. In addition, the hardening begins with the use of warm water and gradually the degree goes down to a lower one. In addition to water procedures, air baths, foot baths and contrasting footpaths are used, which are laid out from various materials, dry and moist, even and rough, around the room. Walking barefoot in the warm season.
According to the All-Russian Pediatric Center, pain in urinating in children involved in quenching procedures is observed five times less frequently than in ordinary children.