Urinary And Genital Problems

Patient Education

Minor problems or what look like minor problems may be a pointer to major renal anomalies in some children, and unless we thoroughly investigate and follow them up, we are likely to miss them. Which are these problems that require you to show the child to a specialist? Some of them could be like

• Recurrent urinary infections
• Straining to pass urine
• Burning or pain while urinating
• Frequent passing of urine during the day
• Wetting of the under clothes during the day
• Bed wetting at night time
• Fever without a known cause
• Swelling in the groin (male/female) or scrotal region (male)
• Pain, redness, swelling in the scrotum
• Passing blood colored urine - hematuria
• Absence of one or both testes from the scrotum in a boy
• Pain in lower abdomen in midline below umbilicus
• Palpable or visible mass in abdomen
• Abnormal position of the urinary opening (male)
• Abnormal looking external genitals
• Recurrent attacks of loin pain going downwards
• Foul smelling urine frequently
• Frequent touching or pulling at the foreskin of the penis
• Ballooning of the foreskin of penis while passing urine
• Not passing urine for long period of >8-10 hours
• Pus discharge from below the penile foreskin
• Pain and inability to retract the foreskin of the penis

These are some of the complaints or reasons for seeking a specialist's opinion and when necessary getting the relevant investigations done to rule out any major disease or anomaly of the genitourinary system. Many undetected major kidney anomalies may progress with age and could cause total loss of function which could have been avoidable had the child been seen and investigated by the right specialist.

Investigations like an Ultrasound( Sonography) for Kidneys, Ureters, and bladder; CT Urogram or MR Urogram as well as Radio Nuclear Renal scans and MCU( Micturating Cysto Urethrogram) may need to be done for an accurate diagnosis. Based on the results of these investigations an estimate of the damage, the exact problem, and its solution can be arrived at. In many cases, a surgical intervention done at the right time is able to correct the anomaly, prevent further damage as well as regain a part of the loss in function(in some cases).