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Untreated UTIs in Children

Although more common in adults than in children, urinary tract infections, or UTIs, occur in about three percent of children in the United States annually. Untreated UTIs in children can lead to dangerous infections and potential kidney damage.

  1. The Facts

    • UTIs occur when bacteria enter the urinary tract. The bacteria infect the urethra and the bladder, causing the tissue to become inflamed. UTIs cause swelling and pain in the lower abdomen and along a child's side. They also result in painful, difficult urination. As the infection worsens, a child with a UTI can also develop a fever and nausea. Untreated UTIs in children are a problem because they are difficult to diagnose. If left untreated, a UTI can cause lasting damage to a child's body.

    Difficulty in Diagnosis

    • UTIs are not easy to diagnose in children and this can be one of the major causes in the delay of treatment. Children too young to talk are unable to describe the pain they feel, so those symptoms go unreported. Other symptoms of a UTI in a child include irritability, lack of appetite and fever. These can all be symptoms of other illnesses and because UTIs occur relatively infrequently in children, they might not be correctly identified.

    Kidney Infection

    • If a UTI is left untreated, the bacteria in the ureters can travel to the kidneys and spread the infection to them. A kidney infection causes pain, fever, pus and blood in the urine and vomiting. If the kidney infection goes untreated as well, the infection can travel from the kidneys into the bloodstream. This leads to a potentially deadly infection called sepsis. There is also the risk that the child will experience acute renal failure, which can also be fatal.

    Kidney Damage

    • Even if an untreated UTI in a child does not lead to a kidney infection, it might still lead to long-term kidney damage. This damage can include scarring of the kidneys, retarded kidney growth and reduced kidney function. Damage to the kidneys can lead to a child having high blood pressure later on in life.

    Underlying Factors

    • UTIs in children are often caused by underlying health issues. If the UTI goes untreated, so does the underlying factor that triggered it. Vesicoureteral reflux is a condition in which urine flows back from the ureters into the kidney. It can cause reoccurring UTIs. A urinary obstruction like a kidney stone or a ureter that joins the kidney or bladder in the incorrect place can also cause UTIs and other problems with urination. Dysfunctional voiding like delaying urination too long can lead to UTIs and also accidental leakage later on in life.

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