they want to cathaterize my 19 month old.

I'd do the cath and IV fluids if he is lethargic, not taking in fluids, not playing normally. I've cath'd many intact men. It isn't a big deal.

Get this baby some probiotics, anyway, any kind at this point, especially bifidum bacterium and lactobacillis they help!

Also, consider some coconut water and "rehydration solutions". Here is the recipe:

All you need is 1/4 tsp sea salt to each 6 oz or water; the rest is for flavor but here is the full recipe:

To make 1/2 gallon at a time:
1 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed, no preservatives)
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 syringes full of lemon drop stevia
7 cups filtered water

Here are two links to info on many of the health benefits of coconut water:

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/coconutwater.html

http://www.cocotap.com/nutrition.htm

I heard it is best served chilled.

Pat

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With all due respect, cathing a man is quite different than cathing a sick, scared baby. In addition, I absolutely do believe it's a big deal for a few reasons but the main one being I have heard horror stories of retraction during this procedure because the people doing them were not skilled enough and not knowledgeable enough about intact penises. I, personally, would not let them cath my child - boy or girl - unless it felt VERY medically necessary. Since there is an easy way to catch urine using a bag it seems absolutely awful to me to not want to try this first.

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The doctor said something about needing to cath in order to get a clean catch? I think I was so surprised they wanted to cath at all that I didn't catch the "why they needed to do it." I asked DH and he didn't know either. I guess I'll ask the Dr.why and find out alternatives before consenting.

There is a world of difference between cathing and adult retractable man and a completly non retractable infant/boy.

Some Dr think it is cleaner that way but in all honesty you can get just as good a sample with the bag.

If they do end up cathing him explain to them exactly what you expect. They are in no way to push back the skin. Ask them how they would do it and if at any point they say push the skin back stop them and say no you are not. Please go find someone who knows what they are doing. Someone in the NICU would be your best bet. Be sure that you can see exactly what they are doing and be in a position to stop them should it look like they will retract.

(I am telling this story below as a caution to what can and does happen not to try and scare you OP)
Recently over in CAC (the hospital incident thread) had a mom come telling that her ds was retracted after the nurse repeately assured her that she wouldnt do it then it got stuck behind the glans and they had a emergency situation that took a lot of work and pain to the boy to get it back down The nurse actually blocked the mom's view so she coudlnt see what was going on

I cant stress enough how important it is that they know that you will not tolerate any retraction period.

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Our urologist will not accept a urine sample unless it is by cath. His reasoning is that there is less chance of it being contaminated by outside bacteria, which can give you false results. It reduces the chance of putting a child on abx that they may not need.

I'm not saying that he is right, but that is the explanation that we got. It hasn't been a big issue for us since it is DD being cath'ed, not DS.

I hope your little guy is feeling better soon!