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wetting himself

Question:

Hi there, my little boy has just turned 5, he has trouble making it to the toilet in time, he has been like this for well over a year now, I thought first that he was just too busy to go on time but then he started to wet the bed almost every other night so I then thought that he is drinking too much because he does drink alot he wets and doesn't even wake up, its now causing problems for him and the teacher at school he is having to leave the classroom every 10-20 mins and he does a flood everytime, but now hes got wet trousers everyother day, I mentioned it to thd doc last year but I was judt told that he will just grow out of it, but I dont think so, please can you help him.

Answer(s):

What sort of volumes is he passing when he goes to the toilet? If he is passing small volumes (I would expect him to be able to void around 150ml). Can he delay the urge to go to the toilet if he has to? Is there any constipation – hard to pass firm bowel motions? If he is needing to toilet so often and passing small volumes, I would suspect he has an overactive bladder. If his bladder is not able to hold on during the day, his bladder will probably be too small to contain the urine he makes at night. Try getting him to follow a drinking and toileting schedule. Drink at breakfast, playtime, lunchtime, after school, evening meal time. Toileting should be around these times also, as well as just before bed. If this is difficult for him, I suggest you talk his GP about overactive bladder. There is a medication available to help reduce the strength of the bladder spasms (Oxybutynin) that may help him hold on longer while getting back in to regular toileting and drinking practices. This will over time help his bladder be able to hold the expected volumes, and once this is achieved, he can slowly reduce the medication. The GP should also rule out things that can alter urine production such as diabetes. I hope this information is helpful.