As I mentioned in my previous blog post, the kid got sick during Easter weekend and developed a significant fever. We took her to the doctor on Monday. I was very concerned about a possible kidney infection. She has been peeing very frequently (and when I say frequently, sometimes it's as little as fifteen minutes from her last trip to the loo). It's not constant (seems to come and go), but has been worrisome all the same. I was hospitalized for a kidney infection as a small child, so I know how quickly a kid can go from not feeling great to being dangerously ill. The doctor ran two urinalyses over the past month and both came back negative. Her pediatrician suggested we have her drink cranberry juice. This is easier said than done. "It tastes like I'm swallowing smoke!" she keeps saying. We have no idea what that means. She is never around smoke or smokers as far as I know. Again, it's one of those things you hope your child doesn't repeat at school ("my parents make me drink smoke!"). The other day I was turning on a kids' tv show for my daughter and she said, "I hope it's inappropriate!"
Anyway, we were sitting in the doctor's office on Monday and I was ready for battle. I felt like I'd been blown off and not taken seriously on previous visits. In the meantime, A had developed a slightly stuffy nose. I was worried that the doctor would focus too much on this, when I was certain it was a red herring of sorts. Before I knew it, he'd jabbed a swab stick into her mouth, tested it, and announced that the kid has strep throat (even though her throat is not sore), is highly contagious, and must stay home from school on Tuesday. So, this was the source of the fever. All of it is unrelated to the urinary issues.
As for the pee problem, we were told that it is probably something called pollakiuria. The doctor gave us a handout on the topic. Honestly, the symptoms fit A to a tee: extremely frequent urination but without pain or burning, happens mostly in girls in preschool and Kindergarten, and typically goes away on its own after 6-8 weeks. The diagnosis is a little vague for my liking, though. I suspected maybe it was something the clinic hands out in order to shut up crazed, overbearing mothers. But, we'll see. The kid is on a ten-day course of antibiotics for the strep, and we'll see how she's doing after that. If the pee problems persist, we're planning to take her to a pediatric urologist.P spent the last two days at home with her (since he has sick days out the wazoo). Actually I guess that'd be four days if you include the weekend. I think he has a whole new appreciation for stay-at-home moms. When he drops her off at Kindercare tomorrow morning, I think there is a good chance he may not even come to a complete stop. A is excited to go back to school tomorrow (Friday was a holiday, so she's been out since last Thursday). She said that everyone will ask where she was. I suggested she simply say, "I was on sabbatical." Sounds more exotic that way.