Help - so Mr 5 almost 6 is needing to go to the toilet to urinate a lot! Like every 5-10 minutes he is saying he needs to go the toilet. However it sounds like an effort on occasions and it doesn’t appear he is weeing much of at all (toilet is next to loungeroom in our tiny home - I’m trying not to make a big deal about it)
We have been to GP no signs of infection...
He has recently started school.. is this a stress/anxiety thing?
He sleeps all night and never wets the bed. No accidents or incontinence issues at all.
3 Replies
Has he been checked for diabetes? Although I'm not sure if only a little bit of wee fits it is worth ruling out. The other thing I have heard is drinking more water, actually measuring how much they are drinking and getting them to drink the recommended amount for their size. The bladder gets used to the 'full' feeling and will only send messages to the brain when bladder is full. If they aren't drinking enough and the bladder is never really full it sends signals to the brain for only small amounts
Thank you. No I hadn’t considered Diabetes. But will def rule it out!
I am def guilty of not monitoring his water intake so will start to check that too..
18 months ago my then 10 year old son was going to the toilet frequently, as in at least 6-7 times during the 6 hours he was at school. I was able to organise an earlier appointment with his general paediatrician but still had to wait several weeks. In the meantime I took him to the GP who said to measure liquids in and out for 24 hours. I bought a very cheap measuring jug for him to pee into, then, one weekend when we had nothing on, every time he went to the toilet we recorded the volume. His water and other drinks were measured before he drank, then the volume recorded. For my son, the liquids in and out were comparable. BUT! The volume out each time he peed was not typical for a child his age. My son only has one kidney so he was sent for a renal ultrasound and severalurine tests. While we were waiting for the ultrasound my son was made to wait, initially for 5-10 minutes then increasing the wait time, before being allowed to go to the toilet. By the time we went back to the paediatrician for the ultrasound results the classroom teacher and I had worked out he was using going to the toilet as an excuse to get out of doing his work.
It could be stress/anxiety issues surrounding school. My recommendation is to measure liquid in and out for 24 hours on a weekend when you have nothing on. If the overall volumes in and out are much the same, then at least you’ll know he’s not drinking too much or too little. If there is a big difference then go back to your GP for further testing and advice. Start making him wait before going to the toilet, just a few minutes to start with, then increase the wait time when he is able to hold on. If he starts having some leakage when waiting go straight back to your GP with your liquids in and out record and push for a renal ultrasound. Also, speak to his teacher. Is he going as frequently at school? If he is, get them to make him wait as well. Let them know how long he needs to wait before going, so that it is consistent at home and at school.