she won't eat and her pee smells

i don't think these issues are related, but you never know. . .

dd is on a hunger strike. she hasn't really eaten in two days. yesterday she had no breakfast, no lunch, some yogurt for snack and a banana for dinner. the day before she literally didn't eat more than one bite of any meal (like one bite of toast and one bite of eggs for breakfast). dh even brought home these huge frosted snowman cookies (not knowing she wasn't eating) and she didn't even eat that. she is drinking milk at least. but this is a girl who can, and usually does, CHOW. i'm trying not to make a big deal of it, but how long before i should worry or look for a cause?

at the same time - her urine really smells. is this normal? this may be tmi, but i can smell her bottom even before she pees. yuck. again - should i be worried?

 

QUOTE(ruthjulia @ Dec 17 2008, 08:59 AM) [snapback]1113649[/snapback]
i don't think these issues are related, but you never know. . .

dd is on a hunger strike. she hasn't really eaten in two days. yesterday she had no breakfast, no lunch, some yogurt for snack and a banana for dinner. the day before she literally didn't eat more than one bite of any meal (like one bite of toast and one bite of eggs for breakfast). dh even brought home these huge frosted snowman cookies (not knowing she wasn't eating) and she didn't even eat that. she is drinking milk at least. but this is a girl who can, and usually does, CHOW. i'm trying not to make a big deal of it, but how long before i should worry or look for a cause?

at the same time - her urine really smells. is this normal? this may be tmi, but i can smell her bottom even before she pees. yuck. again - should i be worried?


the strong urine smell could be a sign of dehydration. I would call the pedi. have you tried popcicles?

 

I agree it sounds like she is dehydrated. I'd call the pedi and try to get her to drink as much as possible. :hug:

 

Has she had any fever? Could she possibly have a bladder or kidney infection?

 

could be a UTI, a urinary tract infection. makes the pee smell funny because it has an over growth of bacteria init, may or may not come with a fever and will spread to the bladder and kidneys if not treated soon. get her to the dr. asap.

 

Keep us posted - how is she?

 

Don't you just wish there were manuals child specific for that very child. Yes, urine smells when dehydrated, and if all she's doing is drinking, she's still missing some of the liquids from the foods, and may not be drinking as much as normal.

And the question is, why isn't she eating? Is it just that she's not hungry (that happens sometimes out of the blue)? Or does her tummy hurt? And then if her tummy hurts, why? Is it a virus of some kind, or could it be a bladder infection or something? I say, go with your gut. You can always wait a day or two and see what happens, but if she's acting "off" at all (my kids get incredibly ornery when they don't feel well...that's my sign, they don't usually get fevers).

Let us know what happens if you do take her in!

 

yikes! now you guys have me worried. well, she finally ate today - not a ton, but at least she ate. the problem is that i have been working so much that i don't have a good sense of whether she is "off" or not - and our au pair's english skills leave quite a bit to be desired so i don't feel like i have the full story. i'm going to give it another day - if she is eating tomorrow and i don't notice the smell i'll assume all is fine - if i still notice the smell i will definitely call the pedi - i hadn't thought about a uti. but wouldn't she complain about it hurting when she urinates?

thanks for the advice!

 

I was also going to go with dehydration. Is/was the urine really strong colored? Hope she's better!

 

QUOTE(ruthjulia @ Dec 17 2008, 10:07 PM) [snapback]1114817[/snapback]
yikes! now you guys have me worried. well, she finally ate today - not a ton, but at least she ate. the problem is that i have been working so much that i don't have a good sense of whether she is "off" or not - and our au pair's english skills leave quite a bit to be desired so i don't feel like i have the full story. i'm going to give it another day - if she is eating tomorrow and i don't notice the smell i'll assume all is fine - if i still notice the smell i will definitely call the pedi - i hadn't thought about a uti. but wouldn't she complain about it hurting when she urinates?

thanks for the advice!

i was 12 when I was hospitalized with a kidney infection, it was a UTI which I had hid from my mom because I didn't know what it was and I thought I had done something wrong and didn't say anything until I was doubled over in pain and throwing up. Soo, kids are pretty good at hiding pain.

I am not saying at all that you child has a UTI or anything, but kids don't always tell you when something hurts.

 

Ruth, I just had a UTI, and the only symptom I had was blood in the urine. So I probably had it a while, and never noticed, so it is possible to have one without knowing. But the smell sounds more like dehydration to me.

 

My DD has almost chronic UTIs. The smell is awful when she does, but she rarely hurts. It often affects her bladder control, though. I think they affect different people in different ways. I hope you figure it out and she's feeling better soon!