Everything went well at the hospital today. The ultrasound scan went without a glitch, though Baby bawled and fussed initially but when she realized that it didn't hurt, she quietly saw her 'pictures' on the 'TV'. That's what we told her - that the doctor was taking pix of her kidneys and that she could watch them on the TV (the monitor).
According to our surgeon, the ultrasound scan showed that her right kidney (both the moities) is growing well. Though a tad dilated (it will always be dilated as it was dilated from day one since she was in-utero), the dilation is significantly lower than pre-surgery. Our surgeon isn't worried about the dilation as there is now no more kidney reflux. We just have to keep her constipation at bay as constipation is one of the main causes of UTIs in children. She was prescribed with a big bottle of Duphalax and has to consume 10ml should she have constipation.
I am very amazed that despite having gone through the nightmarish stay in the hospital after more than a year ago, she still remembered the X-ray room very much! The second she stepped into the radiology department of the hospital, her mood changed from lively and jovial to one that's tensed. Each time we walked closer to the X-ray rooms, she fussed and cried. When she was brought into the X-ray room, she kept saying "I tak mau injection!". I think she still remembered what she had gone through during the many radiation scans (which required injection of dye into the IV catheter on her hands and feet) and x-rays during her 3-week stay in the hospital in May last year. My poor baby. I hope that all those bitter and painful experiences will now be behind her once and for all.
Pictures taken at the hospital will be posted later....
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Pumping Baby With Chinese Herbs And Coconut Water To Flush Out Bacteria From Her Urinary Tract System
One of my blog readers commented in my blog that I should get some herbs to clear Baby's urinary tract system of bacteria from the Chinese Medicine Hall. Well, I sent the hubs to buy a few packets of Chinese herbs from the Chinese Medicine Hall and have them boiled immediately. After a day of drinking the Chinese herbs, coconut water (which is also well known for treating UTI) and lots of plain water, Baby's urine turned from cloudy+foul smelling to clear+no foul smell.
Today, I boiled another packet of herbs, fed Baby with Refresh from E. Excel (this is also good for the urinary tract) and continued coaxing her to drink lots of fluids.
Getting her to pee at very regular intervals throughout the day is also very important as bacteria will be flushed out through the urine.
This packet of herbs that cleanses the urinary tract system cost RM8 and consists of san soke yee mai (popped barley), sweet corn husk, a kind of bean that resembles red bean, some leaves, twigs and herbs.
The pot of herbs. Thank God Baby has no problem gulping down the herbal water.
I also fed Baby with crushed echinacea (1/2 a tablet divided into 3 feedings a day), which I added into her milk.
On top of all these herbs and anti-UTI supplements, I have also been feeding Baby with Waterfall D-Mannose with 1/2 a teaspoon every 3 hourly. E.Coli bacteria attaches to D-Mannose very well and gets flushed out from the urinary tract system with the urine. However this time as with the previous time, Baby is attacked by Klebsiella. Klebsiella attaches to D-Mannose too though more difficult.
From my observation with Baby for the past 1 week, her urine will be clear and odor-free during the day as she drinks lots of fluids. However at night, her urine will smell a tad foul. The more fluids she drinks, the clearer and lesser odor her urine gets. I had tried to wake Baby up in the wee hours of the morning to drink water but all hell broke loose and nothing would make her open her mouth.
I believe that there is still a little bacteria lurking in Baby's urinary tract system. I have to continue feeding her with the Chinese herbs, coconut water, Refresh and Waterfall D-Mannose. I hope that very soon all the bacteria will be completely flushed out from Baby's urinary tract.
... to be continued.
Today, I boiled another packet of herbs, fed Baby with Refresh from E. Excel (this is also good for the urinary tract) and continued coaxing her to drink lots of fluids.
Getting her to pee at very regular intervals throughout the day is also very important as bacteria will be flushed out through the urine.
This packet of herbs that cleanses the urinary tract system cost RM8 and consists of san soke yee mai (popped barley), sweet corn husk, a kind of bean that resembles red bean, some leaves, twigs and herbs.
The pot of herbs. Thank God Baby has no problem gulping down the herbal water.
I also fed Baby with crushed echinacea (1/2 a tablet divided into 3 feedings a day), which I added into her milk.
On top of all these herbs and anti-UTI supplements, I have also been feeding Baby with Waterfall D-Mannose with 1/2 a teaspoon every 3 hourly. E.Coli bacteria attaches to D-Mannose very well and gets flushed out from the urinary tract system with the urine. However this time as with the previous time, Baby is attacked by Klebsiella. Klebsiella attaches to D-Mannose too though more difficult.
From my observation with Baby for the past 1 week, her urine will be clear and odor-free during the day as she drinks lots of fluids. However at night, her urine will smell a tad foul. The more fluids she drinks, the clearer and lesser odor her urine gets. I had tried to wake Baby up in the wee hours of the morning to drink water but all hell broke loose and nothing would make her open her mouth.
I believe that there is still a little bacteria lurking in Baby's urinary tract system. I have to continue feeding her with the Chinese herbs, coconut water, Refresh and Waterfall D-Mannose. I hope that very soon all the bacteria will be completely flushed out from Baby's urinary tract.
... to be continued.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Bacteria In Urine Again?
It has been a very hectic week for me. This afternoon, I was at the paed’s clinic at PMC with Baby. Her pee smelled a tad foul today and there was a tiny red patch on her down under. You can read more about this in my health blog. I will update it later tonight or tomorrow. I have been forcing Baby to drink lots of barley water, coconut water and Refresh (E.Excel) the whole day today. She’s been drinking water like a camel today and her pee is becoming clearer too with all the water pumped into her body. Hopefully she’ll be A-ok, otherwise we will have to make a trip to Penang during the school hols to pay a visit to Baby’s surgeon.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Baby's 1st Post-Surgery UTI And Needs Hospitalization
...but she's on home leave, which means the doctor has given us consent to bring her home. However, I have to bring Baby to the hospital 3x a day for antibiotics jabs. This is Baby's first UTI since her Ureteral Reimplantation surgery more than 6 months ago. Both the surgeon and I are perplexed as to why Baby would get a UTI since the post-surgery MCUG scan in August 2009 showed that she has no more Kidney Reflux. I am suspecting that the UTI is caused by her swimming in the pool at Hard Rock Hotel Penang 2 weeks ago. Our paed told us that public pools during public holidays / school holidays are the dirtiest as they are flooded with people and the hotel maintenance staffers may not have ample time to clean the pool.
Long story cut short, Baby was braver this time. She screamed and bawled for a short while when the paed inserted the IV line on her left hand. It was quite a fast one and took under 15 minutes for everything to be completed - finding the vein, IV line inserted and hand bandaged. In the past, her doctors needed at least half an hour to over an hour to fix the line. Baby even allowed the doctor to carry her after the procedure, which was very, very uncommon of her to allow a doctor / nurse to carry her, what more the doctor who had just poked her, swaddled her so tightly with a cloth and caused her so much pain. I guess preparing her mentally before the procedure helped.
Before she went into the procedures room, while we were waiting in our room for the doctor to arrive, I told her this "Baby, the doctor will give you an injection on your hand. There will be very little pain, please don't cry ok? Mummy will wait for you outside the room. Mummy can't go in. You don't cry ok? Mummy loves you" Baby nodded her head and smiled!
Baby has to be in the hospital again for her 2nd antibiotics jab for today. She needs another jab at 10:30pm tonight.
Long story cut short, Baby was braver this time. She screamed and bawled for a short while when the paed inserted the IV line on her left hand. It was quite a fast one and took under 15 minutes for everything to be completed - finding the vein, IV line inserted and hand bandaged. In the past, her doctors needed at least half an hour to over an hour to fix the line. Baby even allowed the doctor to carry her after the procedure, which was very, very uncommon of her to allow a doctor / nurse to carry her, what more the doctor who had just poked her, swaddled her so tightly with a cloth and caused her so much pain. I guess preparing her mentally before the procedure helped.
Before she went into the procedures room, while we were waiting in our room for the doctor to arrive, I told her this "Baby, the doctor will give you an injection on your hand. There will be very little pain, please don't cry ok? Mummy will wait for you outside the room. Mummy can't go in. You don't cry ok? Mummy loves you" Baby nodded her head and smiled!
Baby has to be in the hospital again for her 2nd antibiotics jab for today. She needs another jab at 10:30pm tonight.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Updates On Baby C’s 1st Post-Surgery Ultrasound Scan
Baby had her first post-surgery ultrasound scan of her kidneys today. She is required to have an ultrasound scan every 6 monthly for the first 2 years after the surgery and thereafter once a year until she turns 12 years old! What a loooooong time! She is also required to have a DMSA scan of her right kidney in 1.5 year’s time to check the function of her right duplex kidneys. Anyway, the ultrasound scan today showed that the muscles surrounding her right duplex kidneys look good. This normally suggests that the kidneys are growing and our doctor was optimistic on the pictures of the scan.
As regards her weight, which I had highlighed to the doctor as I have been quite worried that her weight seems to be climbing up pretty slowly, our surgeon is not at all concerned. Baby only weighs a pathetic 9kg at 20 months old. He reassured us that Baby is thriving as she looks pinkish and healthy. He said that I cannot expect her to be ‘big’ as both hubby and I are not ‘big’, especially me. After what she had gone through for the first 14 months of her life, I cannot expect her to be chubby. He would prefer Baby to be petite than ‘big’ and obese.
I was really amazed that Baby could remember the X-ray department vividly though her traumatic experience had past 6 months. She was bubbly and cheery the whole day but the moment we brought her to the X-ray department, especially the dimly lit ultrasound scan room, she freaked out, whimpered and ran away. From a bubbly, active child, she instantly transformed into a passive, frightened child who clung on to me like a koala bear, refusing to let go an inch. She had an expressionless look on her face and nothing we did could bring a smile on her face. She was paralyzed with fear and looked exactly like how she looked like during her 3 weeks nightmarish stay in the hospital in May this year.
My poor frightened Baby, with her head on daddy’s shoulder. She was so petrified that she fell asleep on my shoulders.
Before the ultrasound scan started, she was yelling away the moment I tried to place her on the examination bed in the ultrasound scan room. I knew she would resist, so I asked the doctor if I could hold her. Thankfully the doctor said yes and I carried her. When I placed her on my lap, Baby pulled my blouse down and wanted to nurse! I asked the doctor if it was ok to nurse her and she said yes. And so the procedure went quite smoothly with Baby latched on lol… and all the nurses were staring at me lol!
Back at the surgeon’s office, Baby again refused to be placed on the examination bed, so Daddy had to carry her whilst the doctor checked her wounds…. and mummy was busy at work… snapping pix away like a papparazi.
As regards her weight, which I had highlighed to the doctor as I have been quite worried that her weight seems to be climbing up pretty slowly, our surgeon is not at all concerned. Baby only weighs a pathetic 9kg at 20 months old. He reassured us that Baby is thriving as she looks pinkish and healthy. He said that I cannot expect her to be ‘big’ as both hubby and I are not ‘big’, especially me. After what she had gone through for the first 14 months of her life, I cannot expect her to be chubby. He would prefer Baby to be petite than ‘big’ and obese.
I was really amazed that Baby could remember the X-ray department vividly though her traumatic experience had past 6 months. She was bubbly and cheery the whole day but the moment we brought her to the X-ray department, especially the dimly lit ultrasound scan room, she freaked out, whimpered and ran away. From a bubbly, active child, she instantly transformed into a passive, frightened child who clung on to me like a koala bear, refusing to let go an inch. She had an expressionless look on her face and nothing we did could bring a smile on her face. She was paralyzed with fear and looked exactly like how she looked like during her 3 weeks nightmarish stay in the hospital in May this year.
My poor frightened Baby, with her head on daddy’s shoulder. She was so petrified that she fell asleep on my shoulders.
Before the ultrasound scan started, she was yelling away the moment I tried to place her on the examination bed in the ultrasound scan room. I knew she would resist, so I asked the doctor if I could hold her. Thankfully the doctor said yes and I carried her. When I placed her on my lap, Baby pulled my blouse down and wanted to nurse! I asked the doctor if it was ok to nurse her and she said yes. And so the procedure went quite smoothly with Baby latched on lol… and all the nurses were staring at me lol!
Back at the surgeon’s office, Baby again refused to be placed on the examination bed, so Daddy had to carry her whilst the doctor checked her wounds…. and mummy was busy at work… snapping pix away like a papparazi.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
My Baby Is Now Free From Kidney Reflux!
My 16 month old toddler went for an MCUG scan 3 weeks ago in August. As expected, Baby remembered the procedures room in the pediatric ward - wailed the second she was placed on the bed. She also remembered the X-ray room super vividly. The moment we stepped into the cold room with ginormous machines, she bawled!
At the procedures room in the pediatric ward, it was yet another traumatic moment for Baby when the doctor inserted the IV line onto her hand for the antibiotics jab to be administered. She screamed her lungs and throat out when the doctor inserted the catheter into her down under. Baby clung on to daddy and me like a koala bear each time we carried her. She looked exactly like how she looked like when she was hospitalized after her surgery in May - a face that was paralyzed with fear, eyes red and swollen and a face devoid of a smile.
In the X-ray room, she struggled. Good thing this hospital allowed me to be with her in the X-ray room and procedures room, unlike other hospitals that have rules of not allowing the mother/father in. My presence, singing and talking to Baby throughout her ordeal did help allay Baby’s fears.
After 2 hours of anxious waiting, I finally heard the best piece of news from Baby’s surgeon thus far. When he told me “the result is fantastic”, I could not believe those words. In fact, the good news still hasn’t sank inside me yet. Praise the Lord Jesus, He is really great. After going through 14 months of agony and nightmare with Baby, it feels surreal that Baby is finally well now. I think I need time to accept the good news LOL! I can’t believe that from today onwards, I don’t have to go through the gruelling process of feeding Baby her prophylactics antibiotics anymore every night. I hope that Baby will not get anymore UTI attacks ever again, ever. Our next appointment with the surgeon and for Baby to do an untrasound scan (to monitor her kidney) is in December this year.
At the procedures room in the pediatric ward, it was yet another traumatic moment for Baby when the doctor inserted the IV line onto her hand for the antibiotics jab to be administered. She screamed her lungs and throat out when the doctor inserted the catheter into her down under. Baby clung on to daddy and me like a koala bear each time we carried her. She looked exactly like how she looked like when she was hospitalized after her surgery in May - a face that was paralyzed with fear, eyes red and swollen and a face devoid of a smile.
In the X-ray room, she struggled. Good thing this hospital allowed me to be with her in the X-ray room and procedures room, unlike other hospitals that have rules of not allowing the mother/father in. My presence, singing and talking to Baby throughout her ordeal did help allay Baby’s fears.
After 2 hours of anxious waiting, I finally heard the best piece of news from Baby’s surgeon thus far. When he told me “the result is fantastic”, I could not believe those words. In fact, the good news still hasn’t sank inside me yet. Praise the Lord Jesus, He is really great. After going through 14 months of agony and nightmare with Baby, it feels surreal that Baby is finally well now. I think I need time to accept the good news LOL! I can’t believe that from today onwards, I don’t have to go through the gruelling process of feeding Baby her prophylactics antibiotics anymore every night. I hope that Baby will not get anymore UTI attacks ever again, ever. Our next appointment with the surgeon and for Baby to do an untrasound scan (to monitor her kidney) is in December this year.
UTI Preventive Measures
1. Drink plenty of fresh clean water and barley water, up to 10 glasses a day if you can. Drinking plenty of water will flush out the bacteria and other micro-organisms which can cause bladder cystitis and chronic UTI. Barley water is very good in cleansing the bladder. My baby drinks barley water everyday after her Ureteral Reimplantation surgery and thank God, she has not gotten any UTI attacks.
2. Don’t resist or ignore the need to urinate! If you need to go - then go! Holding it back can lead to Urinary Tract Infection symptoms. Potty training your baby/toddler at an early age will help reduce the risk of UTI. Also train your child to 'double pee' or double micturition each time he/she pees. The lesser the urine in the bladder, the lesser the risk for bacteria to breed.
3. (Ladies in particular) Avoid douching with scented sprays which irritate and lead to recurrent bladder infections. Do not use baby bath / shampoo to wash your baby's / kids' genitals. The chemicals in the shampoo will irritate the genitals. Also try to avoid using wet wipes on your child's genitals.
4. Wash your genital area before and (particularly) after sex. Also try to urinate before and after. This can avoid the transfer of UTI bacteria between partners and could flush out any bladder cystitis bugs that got through
5. (Ladies in particular) Take a shower instead of a bath, this prevents the possible entry of bacteria into the urethra (a cause of Chronic UTI / Cystitus)
6. (Ladies in particular) After a bowel movement, always wipe yourself from front to back, this prevents the entry of bacteria from the anus into the vagina and thence into the urethra.
7. (Ladies in particular) Avoid tight, thick underwear, as this creates the perfect hot and humid atmosphere which bladder cystitis bacteria need in order to breed.
8. Avoid known bladder irritants such as citrus fruits and juice, tomatoes, mature cheese, chocolate, spicy foods, alcohol or nicotine. These are all known irritants.
9. Avoid caffeine - most commonly found in coffee, tea, carbonated drinks, chocolates etc…
10. If you feel the onset of urinary tract infection symptoms or bladder cystitis, take vitamin C as a drink or a tablet. This increases the level of acidity in the urine, which some urinary experts believe helps in reducing the number of chronic uti bacteria in the urinary tract.
11. If you have a painful urinary tract infection or chronic cystitis infection, and cannot immediately obtain urinary tract infection treatment, you can ease the pain by applying a hot-pad, a hot water bottle, or something similar to your abdomen.
12. Spices like cinnamon or juniper can act as natural UTI antibiotics for a mild bladder infection, and can also help to flush out a urine infection from kidneys and bladder.
2. Don’t resist or ignore the need to urinate! If you need to go - then go! Holding it back can lead to Urinary Tract Infection symptoms. Potty training your baby/toddler at an early age will help reduce the risk of UTI. Also train your child to 'double pee' or double micturition each time he/she pees. The lesser the urine in the bladder, the lesser the risk for bacteria to breed.
3. (Ladies in particular) Avoid douching with scented sprays which irritate and lead to recurrent bladder infections. Do not use baby bath / shampoo to wash your baby's / kids' genitals. The chemicals in the shampoo will irritate the genitals. Also try to avoid using wet wipes on your child's genitals.
4. Wash your genital area before and (particularly) after sex. Also try to urinate before and after. This can avoid the transfer of UTI bacteria between partners and could flush out any bladder cystitis bugs that got through
5. (Ladies in particular) Take a shower instead of a bath, this prevents the possible entry of bacteria into the urethra (a cause of Chronic UTI / Cystitus)
6. (Ladies in particular) After a bowel movement, always wipe yourself from front to back, this prevents the entry of bacteria from the anus into the vagina and thence into the urethra.
7. (Ladies in particular) Avoid tight, thick underwear, as this creates the perfect hot and humid atmosphere which bladder cystitis bacteria need in order to breed.
8. Avoid known bladder irritants such as citrus fruits and juice, tomatoes, mature cheese, chocolate, spicy foods, alcohol or nicotine. These are all known irritants.
9. Avoid caffeine - most commonly found in coffee, tea, carbonated drinks, chocolates etc…
10. If you feel the onset of urinary tract infection symptoms or bladder cystitis, take vitamin C as a drink or a tablet. This increases the level of acidity in the urine, which some urinary experts believe helps in reducing the number of chronic uti bacteria in the urinary tract.
11. If you have a painful urinary tract infection or chronic cystitis infection, and cannot immediately obtain urinary tract infection treatment, you can ease the pain by applying a hot-pad, a hot water bottle, or something similar to your abdomen.
12. Spices like cinnamon or juniper can act as natural UTI antibiotics for a mild bladder infection, and can also help to flush out a urine infection from kidneys and bladder.
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