Running out of patience!

[Mumof1son]

Hi, bit desperate for advice & just joined. Really struggling with a 4 1/2 year old & day time wetting, (still not currently dry & night & to be honest haven’t tried as day time is a battle in itself)

My son was dry for the last 4 months after a few months of day-time wetting & now we are back to the same, especially bad at home, has even just sat on the sofa watching tv & wet himself, to start it was just little patches but now we are going through to trousers. If he is busy or engrossed in something he would rather just wet himself than go. He has started school & has come out wet also. If I try and get him to go he will now just refuse!

I am really struggling on what to do for the best!

[Helen36]

Hiya - this might come as a bit of a surprise but the most common cause of daytime wetting in children is actually constipation. Before you say he’s definitely not constipated, this can be true even for children who seem to do lots of big poos. Have a look on the ERIC website about the information on daytime wetting and then talk to your GP about it. Even if your GP can’t feel an impaction (stuck poo) in his tummy, the clinical pathway is to treat for it with something that helps to soften to poo in there (usually called Movicol or laxido). Your GP might also be able to refer you on to a specialist paediatric continence team of nurses who will definitely be able to help xxx

[Sarah01234]

Hi,

I’m just writing to agree with the previous reply. My son was exactly the same at 4 1/2. I tried everything: ignoring, getting cross, not getting cross, rewards etc but the only thing that made a difference was when I went to the doctors and got laxatives. I was hugely sceptical as I didn’t relieve he was constipated, but it turns out he was and although it took some months to solve his problem, it completely worked. He still doesn’t get too much warning and when he needs to go, he needs to go, but we don’t get accidents anymore and he’s better at holding it for a few more minutes until he can get to a toilet. This really is a surprisingly common problem but people don’t seem to talk about it - I know I was at my wits’ end and totally fed up of taking spare trousers with me everywhere! Make an appointment to see your GP. Good luck!!