Urinary urgency 9yr old

[simbatoo]

My daughter has had urinary urgency since January and prior to that has had episodes of it over the past two years, lasting weeks-months. She's doesn't have any wetting day or night and sleeps through the night with no toilet visits. If relaxed at home, she doesn't seem to feel it but as soon as in car/going to school/activity, she feels it and holds her crotch or dances around. At school the teacher lets her visit the toilet whenever she needs and we have never limited her visits. Docs checks so far have just been for UTI and constipation - no sign of these - and they gave some links to CBT-based support tools since the urgency isn't constant and seems linked to worry about situations where she feels she can't use a toilet. This urgency is really eating into my daughters self-esteem and confidence and affecting her and our family life - she basically wants to hide at home and queries any need to go anywhere (where? how far? how long? toilets there?). I'm all for easing any stressors but equally we're an active family with other kids to think of, so can't sit at home and hope this passes. Any advice on next steps? I'm speaking to the GP on Friday and have kept a record of her toileting (frequent) over the weekend to share with them.

[ERIC-Charity Partner]

Hi simbatoo I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's urgency, It's good that a UTI is ruled out. In terms of ruling out constipation, I'd suggest having a read of our advice sheet eric.org.uk/advice-for-chil... just to double check. How much is she drinking? She needs to have 6-8 cups of water, spread evenly throughout the day so that the bladder can learn to stretch fully and relax. Avoid too many trips to the loo. Ideally she would wee between 4-7 times a day. too many toilet trips would mean that the bladder never gets the chance to stretch and learn to hold more wee. Have a look at our wee checker eric.org.uk/wee-checker

It's possible that something is irritating her bladder. What does she drink? Some drinks can irritate the bladder more. Blackcurrant can be an irritant, and for some children orange can be too. Fizzy drinks and caffeine are also on the list.

Strong wee is also an irritant and can make the bladder squeeze when it shouldn't. If you would like more advice, you can contact the helpline or complete a web enquiry form eric.org.uk/helpline, best wishes Sarah

[redbasketball]

Does she ever have accidents or is it just urgency? Would she feel better if she wore a drynite or something like that so that an accident would be less embarrassing if it did happen?

[simbatoo in reply to redbasketball]

Thank you. No, she's never had an accident but perhaps something like this might reduce the worry of an accident. I think it will be some reassurance - for me at least - to have another check for UTI/constipation/other at the doctors (though no obvious signs) and then think about trying to stretch the time between toilet visits.

[redbasketball in reply to simbatoo]

Yeah, checking for a UTI/etc is a good idea. There are waterproof cloth training pants that might work if drynites aren't an option for some reason. You can probably find something that looks more like real underwear than a pull-up, and if she doesn't have accidents you don't have to worry about how much it can hold.