What Causes Sleeplessness In An Infant?

Posted on Tue, 7 Oct 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 7 Oct 2014 Answered on

Thu, 30 Oct 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : hello,
My daughter of 14 months refuses to sleep and hasn't had a dirty diaper since around 10 am today (which is over 12 hours). It doesn't seem to matter how much times I will put her down for her naps or bedtime or how much liquid I give her. She simply refuses to take either. However, she does eat. What should I be doing?

Answered by Dr. Sumanth Amperayani (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
If she's active do not worry

Detailed Answer:
Hi...this could happen if the ambient temperature is high enough not to cause urination. If she is active other wise and her usual self and playing well, you need not worry.

But there is another possibility -
Refusing to sleep could be due to a difficulty to pass urine well - this means that she might be having a burning sensation while passing urine. This could happen in urinary infection, but this is highly unlikely as she is not having any fever or vomiting as such, and moreover she is feeding normally.

So I suggest you to wait for 1-2 days and if she is settling down, you need not worry. If she is still having the same problem, get back to me with a urine routine analysis.
Regards - Dr. Sumanth

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar