Urinary Reflux in Children: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Urinary reflux, or Vesicoureteral reflux, is a condition in which a child's urine abnormally flows back into the kidneys from the bladder through the ureter. Reflux is a dangerous condition. It causes chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs), kidney infection and scarring due to bacteria flowing into the kidneys. Roughly 1/3 of children who have UTIs have reflux. Children are born with reflux, but there are treatments and cures.

Instructions

• 1

  See your child's physician regularly. Most kids with urinary reflux grow out of it without any necessary treatment.

• 2

  Have your child take an antibiotic daily if his physician deems it necessary. Daily low-dose antibiotics help kids with severely chronic UTIs. These antibiotics are UTI-specific and have minimal side effects.

• 3

  Get annual ultrasounds and cystograms of your child's kidneys to determine if her reflux is gone or to see if her kidneys are scarring.

• 4

  Consider surgery if your child still develops scarring on his kidneys and continues to have serious urinary reflux after four to five years.

• 5

  Follow your child's physician's advice for surgery, which involves a short procedure followed by a three to four day hospital stay. During the procedure, the surgeon repositions the refluxing ureter or urinary tube in her bladder wall.

• 6

  Give your child daily antibiotics after surgery, as prescribed by her physician. A month after surgery, your child has an ultrasound to ensure the ureter and bladder healed.