Help! 3 Year old urine culture...

[IansMommy]

Ialso posted this in Health and Healing:
OMG. I just went to the ped about my dd complaining about burning urine. They got a "clean catch" of urine...as best as we could in the office. In the office quick test, they found ketones, blood, and lukosytes (spelling wrong, I know)---they are going to do a culture overnight and work from there.
Any experienced moms with this? I am terrified!
Then, the ped *lectured* me on my dd's diet. She said she is not eating enough. She just turned 3 and is 31 lbs. She's a picky eater, but we get some fruits and veggies in, with nothing but whole grains/oatmeal. She is not a huge meat eater, but likes cheese. I am not starving the kid --in fact, I am ALWAYS trying to feed her.
I am so nervous...
Does anyone know anything about this? I don't starve my child. Could she be diabetic? Why didn't the ped say anthing about this? She just assumed I wasn't giving my own child enough to eat!!!

[Hayes]

The urine infection has NOTHING to do withher diet. She has a UTI. She needs to be on antibiotics. I assume they gave her some. My dd got several UTIs as a very young child, just under a year old. She was usually given a shot of antibiotic to begin with then oral anitbiotics.

For right now, be sure she is drinking LOTS of water. It will help some. I am sorry your ped was a jerk about how much she weighs. Heck, my FIVE year old only weighs 34 pounds.

[jenoline]

I agree with Hayes. Sounds like a UTI, and completely unrelated to diet (well, I suppose there are some dietary factors to UTIs, but not big ones). I have had a number of UTIs myself, and my DD (4 1/2) has had a few. Not urinating often enough, not wiping properly, too much bathing (with lots of ups & downs in the water), and using bubble bath are all culprits. Have her drink lots of water, and cranberry juice (if she'll drink it). Did the doc make you feel like the UTI was diet-related? Did the doc even mention a UTI? Regarding your DDs weight - how much should a 3yo weigh? My 4 1/2 yo weighs around 35, and she's fairly tall. She's thin, but not skinny, healthy-looking.

Good luck to you. I hope your DD feels better soon. UTIs can be pretty miserable.

[AndiG]

I also would suggest that the ped is being a bit weird about the eating issue relating to his weight.
My daughter, a tall not quite four and a half year old, still weighs a scant 36lbs.
She eats quite well but is active and has a fast metabolism.
She does look thin. She's just always built that way.

Has your three year old been in higher percentiles and suddenly dropped? That sometimes causes peds a bit of concern if a child was always 75th for weight and suddenly drops to 40th or something.
Charlotte has always been thin. Its just who she is.

Good luck with the urine catch. We had to do one once when Charlotte was an infant, it was brutal.

[IansMommy]

So here is the update...with some other info I didn't include in the original post:
The good news is, dd does NOT have a UTI...yay!
But I have to tell you, I wish the doc had actually READ the results of the in office urine dip before her crazy lecture...and talk about a catheter and dye test.
The nurse who called with the results told me that it is completely normal for little girls to have *trace* amounts of ketones and white blood cells in their urine...especially morning urine. Dd's urine culture was negative for bacteria/infection. The ped totally made it seem as if dd had tons of it--even making me think that she was starved...and then talking about invasive tests...
Is it just me, or do peds routinely make mountains out of molehills?

[mommyofshmoo]

KEtones in urine can be associated with diabetes or altered carbihydrate metabolis,. But trace amounts mean nothing. My guess is that this doc is just green and was reciting what she had learned in med school without any practical knowledge.

As for the weight thing- she;s just wrong.

MY dd weighes about 31.5 lbs at her 3 year old visit. She was between the 50th and 75th percentile I thought weigh-wise. 31 lbs is not below average for a 3 yo. Again I think the doc was just unaware of the "normals" here.

The problem with med school is there is much more focus on disease states than on normals and variations on normal.

[mattemma04]

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[lotusdebi]

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