Mary Poppins once sang, “Just a Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down”.  Now there is a new all-natural “healthy sugar” alternative to antibiotics for dealing with urinary tract infections (UTIs) in kids.  It’s called D-Mannose and you need to know about it.

UTIs Are A Larger Threat To Kids Than You Think

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are an infection in the urinary system, involving kidneys, ureter, bladder, or the urethra.  While more common in older adults, kids can get them too.

What’s most surprising is that young children have a greater risk of kidney damage linked to UTIs than older children or adults.

This condition is not often discussed when the topic of childhood medical problems comes up, but it does pose a significant danger to younger children and teens.  That’s because it often occurs without any symptoms, or they may have difficulty describing them.  If left undetected and untreated, a simple UTI can become a serious kidney infection or even sepsis.

They Can’t Always Tell You What’s Wrong

When symptoms occur in very young children, they may be very general, including: fever, irritability, vomiting and diarrhea.

Those who can explain their symptoms complain about pelvic pain, pressure to urinate, or pain while urinating.  Blood in the urine can also be an indication that a child has a UTI.

These symptoms that last for up to 6 weeks.

Causes of UTIs In Kids

Research has shown that UTIs occur in kids more frequently in summertime.

Wet bathing suits, playing in hot tubs and dehydration can are the key culprits.

Other risk factors for a UTI include:

  1. A problem in the urinary tract (for example, a blockage somewhere along the tract of normal urine flow);
  2. An abnormal backward flow (reflux) of urine from the bladder up the ureters and toward the kidneys. This is known as vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), and many kids with a UTI are found to have it;
  3. Poor toilet and hygiene habits; and
  4. Family history of UTIs.

Here are some simple things you can do to prevent UTIs in your children:

  1. Keep them hydrated; the more your child drinks, the more they will urinate and flush out harmful bacteria
  2. No hot tubs or bubble baths
  3. Don’t let them linger in a wet bathing suit too long
  4. Have them wear cotton underwear and avoid tight-fitted clothing
  5. Change diapers frequently

Treating UTIs in Children: Antibiotics Are No Longer The Right Solution

The most frequently recommended treatment for UTIs in kids is antibiotics.  But side effects can occur in 1 out of every 10 children who take an antibiotic, including: rashes, allergic reactions and stomach problems.  Because antibiotics kill all of the good bacteria in the gut, 1 out of every 3 children will experience diarrhea either while they are taking the antibiotic, or up to eight weeks after they have finished it.

And worse, many kids are now developing “antibiotic resistance” because doctors are have been over-prescribing these drugs, which means that the UTI will likely come back again within a few weeks.

The New Alternative Way To Clear UTIs in Kids: D-Mannose

Moms, who have experienced all of these problems themselves, have started to share information about an all-natural supplement, known as D-Mannose, which is proven to be is safer and more effective than antibiotics in clearing UTIs in children and teenagers.

D-Mannose is a simple sugar, a close cousin of glucose.  It is extracted from fruits (such as cranberries, blueberries, peaches, apples and oranges) and converted into a white powder form.  It is most effective with E Coli bacterial infections, which represent 85% of all UTIs.

When mixed with water or juice, D-Mannose completely dissolves and has no taste, making it easy to get children to take.  It goes directly to the bladder where the sugar molecules bind to the E Coli bacteria and flush them out with the urine.  Relief from active UTI symptoms is fast, typically within a few hours.

For an active UTI, the children’s daily dose is one-half teaspoonful of D-Mannose in 8 ounces of water three times a day, for two days.  If symptoms still persist, continue with one-half teaspoonful daily.

Recommended By Naturopathic MD’s For Decades

D-Mannose has been recommended by naturopathic doctors for years as an alternative to antibiotics for children. Below is an excerpt from an article by Doctor Jonathan Wright at the Tacoma Clinic in WA that illustrates the safety and effectiveness of D-Mannose for children.

“D-Mannose self-treatment for urinary tract infections started in the 1980s with a girl less than 10 years old who had been suffering from recurrent kidney infections for most of her then-short life. Even though these infections were successfully treated with antibiotics, her parents had been warned that she might need a kidney transplant in the future—maybe when she was a teenager—as her kidneys were beginning to show signs of damage from so many infections and treatments.

Not only that, but the doctor also warned that they were “running out of effective antibiotics” against the E Coli her daughter had. Her mother was determined to avoid even a small possibility of a kidney transplant, so she and her husband brought their daughter to my Tahoma Clinic for another opinion.

(After my recommendation to try D-Mannose) Mother, father, or daughter weren’t seen in person about this problem after that; however, Mother called—very excited of course—after her daughter’s next urinary tract infection was cleared in “just a little over 24 hours” with the help of D-Mannose.

She had also decided to give her daughter a dose of D-mannose every day to prevent the infections, which she continued to do until her daughter went through puberty, when—with the help of ovarian hormones—the tissues apparently became strong enough to “fight off” the E Coli on their own.”

Not All D-Mannose Products Will Work- What to Look For

D-Mannose is the most widely recognized and proven non-antibiotic therapy for E. Coli UTIs available today.  But not all brands of D-Mannose are alike.  Here’s what to look for when purchasing this supplement:

1) Only buy 100% pure D-Mannose.  You don’t want to dilute the effectiveness of this product with additives such as cranberry, vitamin C or hibiscus.

2) Buy it in powder form, not capsules.  The powder goes right to the bladder where it is needed, unlike capsules which need to first be digested in your stomach and are not as effective.

3) Make sure it’s manufactured by a trusted source.  Many D-Mannose products which are being heavily advertised do not disclose where the product is made or who’s making it.   Look for a professional endorsement from pharmacists or doctors, and find out if it is made in an FDA-certified manufacturing facility.