# Has anyone had anything like this before?(oil/fat in urine of chlid)



## dk_40207

:help: My son(5 3/4) has been urinating alot for approx 3+ months. I've had his urine tested 2x at the dr office and it comes out clean. I notice that after he urinates in the toilet a few times(I told him to quit flushing every time!)...there appears to be an oil-slick look to the suface of the water. Like a drop of gasoline in a puddle...I didn't notice this before we went to the dr, so I'm calling later...but...anyone here seen this before! I'm freaked out. This has been the worst year(medically) for my family EVER. I know the dr think I'm a hypocondriac...but this is weird.

They tested for UTI and sugar in the urine. He goes constantly during the day...but rarely at night. Every night he says that it feels like he has to go more, but can't. That rarely happens during the day, though.

Otherwise I'd say he is healthy. Drinks a lot, eats plenty, healthy weight etc. The only other thing I can think of is that one of his thighs has been huring on-and-off for a few weeks. Seems more muscular, though.
:help: 

Christina


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## moopups

I would be on the alert for diabetes type 2, but the urine color after excessive uses, without flushes could be deceiving, accumulation can give a false reading, visually. A high golden color is also cause to be alert.

Any accompanied ankle swelling? Mood swings?Excessively sleepy after normal meals? Leg swelling above the socks?


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## dk_40207

His urine isn't excessivly dark. He does drink quite a bit of water. None of the other syptoms, and I have had his urine tested for the routine things. It's this oil-slick appearance that is strange, I think.


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## rb.

Christina, any chance this "oily appearance" is coming from the water in the toilet, or the toilet itself? Could there be cleaner residue of some kind? Are you on a well? Do you have pets that drink from the toilet?

I would think that if there's an oily component to his urine that they would have picked up on it during testing. I'd really think about the urine being contaminated after it leaves his body. You could probably check this out by having the poor dear pee in a paper cup.


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## junie

I had that once, but it turned out to be from the bath oil I was using. Are you putting anything in his bathwater?


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## dk_40207

It appears to only be his urine. I thought of the toilet bowl thing...but I have looked out for the rest of ours looking that way...and it hasn't. It is only his!


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## booklover

Yeah, I'd think about what you're using to clean the toilet.

Barring that, and assuming nobody else notices this phenomenon about their urine in the toilet, I'd think about what shape the pancreas is in. I have a good friend whose husband came down with a bout of pancreatitis and she said that his first symptom (before it became really painful) was that same thing... a greasy look in the toilet after going.

(ETA: Sorry... we posted at the same time, so some of my post is moot.)


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## dk_40207

Forgot to say....no bath oils etc


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## dk_40207

My DH has had pancreatitis several times....the greasy look I think-is for bowl movements for poor absorbtion. He has no pancreas-type pain, though. No stomach pain. Nothing. A bit of constipation, perhaps....


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## susieM

Rheumatic fever. Any other joints hurt? Hs he had any spots on his kegs, recently (purpura)?

My son had it, and it took the doctors a long time to figure it out. He finished with a heart murmur, and we now have to be very careful of when he gets a strep infection, because he gets bright pink with the fever of it.

It may be hereditary, as his grandmother had the same thing as a child, ad also again, as an adult...also finishing with a heart murmur.

My doctor apologised, at the end, and said he didn't know what it was because it was an old-fashioned illness that they no longer see in medical circles. We only figured it out when a doctor friend had a look and rcognized it from when he was a young doctor.


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## dk_40207

I read about rheumatic fever...but he really doesn't have any symptoms. His sister had strep throat all winter...but he NEVER got it?? Can you imagine? They even shared cups.
It is more of his thigh that hurts....not his joint. It seems to be getting better, though.
Did your son have the urinary symptoms? They aren't listed as symptoms of RF.....


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## mwhit

I found this:

Fat in Urine Sediment 
*Origin: renal tissue with lipiduria in nephrotic syndrome, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, or after crush injuries * 
Size: variable - 2 to 50 um diameter 
Appearance: spherical globules, light yellow or brown, highly refractile 
Variable Morphologies: none 
*Normal Range: none * 
Macroscopic Correlations: presence of oval fat bodies, fatty casts, or cholesterol crystals 
Detection Interferences: oil or cream lotion contaminants or microscopic immersion oil can be mistaken for fat 
*Confirmatory Tests: Sudan or Oil Red O staining for triglycerides; polarizing microscopy * 

http://www.irisdiagnostics.com/education/reference/clinsig.shtml

Ask your DR. if he/she has ran these tests and if not suggest he/she does. If he/she will not *find another doctor*. I don't mean to scare you, but the presence of fat in urine is not normal and should be investigated. 

Also, fatty casts in the urine are generally the result of:
Nephrotic syndrome (with high proteinuria)
Hyperlipidemia
Crush trauma injury
Diabetes
Toxic episodes

Michelle


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## susieM

dk_40207 said:


> I read about rheumatic fever...but he really doesn't have any symptoms. His sister had strep throat all winter...but he NEVER got it?? Can you imagine? They even shared cups.
> It is more of his thigh that hurts....not his joint. It seems to be getting better, though.
> Did your son have the urinary symptoms? They aren't listed as symptoms of RF.....


Keoni, my son, had funny little bruises on his legs for a time, and sore joints AND sore legs. Plus, he thought he had to go pee all the time, and then...nothing.

I thought it was just because he was growing fast and playing rough and tumble outside. His teacher wondered why he was forever asking to go to the toilet. The final dignosis was Purpura Rheumatoid..of course, that's in French, but I would think it translates to the same thing.

He never was sick, or at least I never noticed. It was only after, that whenever he gets sick he turns bright flourescent pink and needs antibiotics. The heart murmur didn't come til later, either, after a cold.

I blame myself, I didn't know.

Might it be possible to go and ask your doctor to look at Purpura Rheumatism and related illnesses, and check for it being in our son's system? As I said, it was only luck that we figured it out, and it can get very dangerous, once you've had it and get a strp infection afterwards.

Our own doctor actuall took my son around to see other doctors in order to look at his unusual case, as they'd never seen it before. He said it is a really old-fashioned thing (of course, he said that when my daughter got whooping cough at three weeks, too).

One other thing....we have had several cases of meningitis in this area, and a few years ago, the government decided to vaccinate all children against this disease. Keoni wasn't allowed to have the jabs, because of his previous rheumatism problems...they were afraid that the innoculations would provoke meningitis, as it seems the illnesses are related.

My Mom had Rheumatic fever twice, as I've said. But she never had the Purpura kind, as far as she can remember (she was a child of six, the first time). The symptoms might vary from typ to type...I guess that's part of the reason that my local doctor didn't know what he was looking at.


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## dk_40207

This is going to sound weird...but would "crush injury" be consistant with a little boy squeezing a little too hard or something? I ask because he had an episode where his "weenie" hurt for about two days...this was in early may. He was doing the frequent urination before it happened...but it just occured to me.....

I saw the above information, as I have searched about this. It just seemed that they would be able to test for fatty casts in routine tests...as they are indicative of several things(of which he has no other sypmtoms). 

I've been having him go in a jar today. It seems that he goes as soon as he feels something in hos bladder..seems to be about 2 tbsp per bathroom visit. I'm keeping it n the jar all day to have a look at it over time to see if I notice the oil-look or anything else.


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## mwhit

Suzie,

Purpura is the result of low blood platelets-- it would be the term used for the 'funny little bruises' on your sons legs. I assume the term rheumatoid is their way of describing what we call idiopathic (or immune) thrombocytic purpura. This is because the immune system is attacking itself like it does in rheumatoid diseases. This would not cause fat in the urine.


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## Rocky Fields

Hey.

He may of had a urinary infection...could be dead cells floating on urine.

RF


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## susieM

mwhit said:


> Suzie,
> 
> Purpura is the result of low blood platelets-- it would be the term used for the 'funny little bruises' on your sons legs. I assume the term rheumatoid is their way of describing what we call idiopathic (or immune) thrombocytic purpura. This is because the immune system is attacking itself like it does in rheumatoid diseases. This would not cause fat in the urine.


I was thinking more like urine in an unflushed toilet DOES get an 'oily' look to it...I know ours does (we live in a house where it is 'if it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down').

It was the other comments and symptoms that got me concerned.


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## mwhit

dk_40207 said:


> This is going to sound weird...but would "crush injury" be consistant with a little boy squeezing a little too hard or something? I ask because he had an episode where his "weenie" hurt for about two days...this was in early may. He was doing the frequent urination before it happened...but it just occured to me.....
> 
> I saw the above information, as I have searched about this. It just seemed that they would be able to test for fatty casts in routine tests...as they are indicative of several things(of which he has no other sypmtoms).
> 
> I've been having him go in a jar today. It seems that he goes as soon as he feels something in hos bladder..seems to be about 2 tbsp per bathroom visit. I'm keeping it n the jar all day to have a look at it over time to see if I notice the oil-look or anything else.


I don't know if squeezing too hard would be considered a crush injury, but is there any chance he injured himself some other way to cause his weenie to hurt?? It's my understanding that casts in the urine may be absent or very few even in severe disease (not saying your little guy has a severe disease) because they are shed intermittently.


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## dk_40207

susieM said:


> I was thinking more like urine in an unflushed toilet DOES get an 'oily' look to it...I know ours does


Oh. See....that is kinda what I am wondering. Is this normal...but I didn't notice it before because of all of hte flushing going on? Protective...overanxious mother hen syndrome? I've been known to have it.


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## MarleneS

You might want to think about what you are teaching your child when you require him to do things that aren't going to tell you anything until you have a medical degree. 

Just a thought,
Marlene


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## dk_40207

mwhit said:


> I don't know if squeezing too hard would be considered a crush injury, but is there any chance he injured himself some other way to cause his weenie to hurt??


No. and it only hurt for 1 1/2 days, really. It just popped into my head. He is almost 6....always holding himself


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## dk_40207

MarleneS said:


> You might want to think about what you are teaching your child when you require him to do things that aren't going to tell you anything until you have a medical degree.
> 
> Just a thought,
> Marlene



:shrug: :shrug: :shrug:


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## mwhit

dk_40207 said:


> Oh. See....that is kinda what I am wondering. Is this normal...but I didn't notice it before because of all of hte flushing going on? Protective...overanxious mother hen syndrome? I've been known to have it.


I've seen a lot of urine in toilets and I've never seen fatty/oily looking pee. I'd have it checked by a doctor or maybe ask Jenn here what she suggests.

Michelle


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## Jolly

Ok....if the child has had two urinalysis tests in recent months, all you have to do is ask whether a microscopic component was part of the test. The reason I ask, is that urines are normally tested with a 10 test component strip, and if the strip is negative, most of the time a microscpic is not done.

But there are two reasons I don't think you are seeing fat.

1. I would think that a glomerulus (sp?) that would pass fat molecules would also be leaky enough to pass albumin, thus leading to a positive protein on the dispstix. If the protein is positive, I feel pretty sure that a microscopic was done.

2. Fat globules are pretty easy to spot in a microscopic exam, and would have been noted. They're pretty durn rare, as are fatty casts.


Lastly, if you feel your child has a voiding problem, seek referral to a urologist. There are reasons urology residents have to do a 6-year residency...it's a tough specialty.


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## susieM

Does he wet the bed? Does he get up at night to pee?


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## elliemaeg

This is more than likely not the case with your son and please don't think I am making light of his symptoms but just thought I would throw this in. Once many years ago, I had what looked like oil in my urine and I believe it was because I was eating popcorn with an excess of oil. When i quit eating the popcorn in the evenings it cleared up.


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## Jenn

1- crush injury would be of the kidney area [eta or other large areas], not the 'tallywhacker'

2- new abnormality in urine warrants a new urine test

3- I am stumped- haven't double checked mwhit's research but only thing else I would think of is to do urinalysis including microscopic, wonder if child had oil on his privates/hands (boys' hands get involved in urine unlike girls'), if it were me (but your doctor may be smarter than I and not need to do this) ask hospital pediatrician or nephrologist (adult nephrologist would know as well) if I am missing anything. Dunno if I'd do any bloodwork- probably but can't off top of my head guess which ones. urine test most important.

4- also can't connect thigh ache with this


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## dk_40207

I'm taking him to do a microscopic tomorrow. They don't do it at his drs office, but said that anything abnormal *should* have been picked up in the 2 urinalysis. Thanks for the replies. I'll let you know.


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