It may be difficult to recognise a UTI because the symptoms can be vague, especially in babies and young children.

Common UTI symptoms in babies and young children include:

• Fever (temperature over 38ºC)
• Being sick (vomiting)
• Feeling tired (lethargy)
• Being irritable
• Poor feeding

Common symptoms and signs in older children include:

• Pain or a stinging/burning feeling when passing urine (dysuria)
• Going to the toilet more often than usual (increased frequency) or holding on because it is painful to go
• Wetting the bed more often than usual or wetting themselves during the day because they cannot get to the toilet in time.

Rare but serious symptoms include:

• Fever (temperature over 38ºC) that is constantly spiking (keeps going up) in spite of giving medicines such as paracetamol (including Calpol®)
• Shaking or shivering (rigor), sometimes with a fever
• Signs of dehydration (not enough water in the body) – children may be thirstier than usual, and babies may have a soft sunken spot (fontanelle) on their head
• Pain in the back
• Blood in the urine (haematuria) – sometimes the urine is coloured red or dark brown
• Cloudy urine
• Yellowing of the skin (jaundice) in babies – this is a very rare symptom

If you think that your child may have a UTI, contact your doctor. If you cannot reach your doctor straight away, contact NHS 111 or your local out-of-hours GP service.