Bladder Problems in Kids

Bladder problems among children are common. There are three types of interrelated problems: Daytime incontinence, nighttime incontinence and urinary tract infections. Children are often embarrassed by these problems and attempt to cover them up. Bladder problems could also be a sign of other conditions.

Causes

• Daytime and nighttime incontinence also known as enuresis in children is typically related to growing and bathroom habits. On the other hand, urinary tract infections could be caused when children avoid bathroom trips. They hold their urine and fail to empty the bladder completely. The good news is that children's bladder problems typically go away by the time they reach adulthood.

Daytime Urinary Incontinence

• Daytime incontinence occurs more in girls than boys. It typically occurs because of bathroom habits. Children urinate more often than adults do. Some children may attempt to suppress urination by using behaviors like jumping around or crossing their legs. If you are unaware of the underlying cause of your child's incontinence, a diary of bathroom habits can be helpful to identify the trigger. Encouraging frequent bathroom trips may help as well.

Nighttime Urinary Incontinence

• Nighttime incontinence occurs more in boys. The National Kidney Foundation says: "5 to 7 million children in the U.S. ages six and over wet their beds at night." While sometimes, bed-wetting can be a sign of a psychological condition like stress and anxiety, nighttime incontinence could occur because it's difficult to wake a child up while asleep. It also could be due to the small size of a child's bladder. To reduce bedtime wetting, avoid giving children liquids within an hour of bedtime. It'll also help to wake your child up throughout the night (every two to three hours) and escort them to the bathroom.

Urinary Tract Infections

• Those children who practice bathroom avoidance habits like holding their urine are more likely to develop urinary tract infections. To prevent this, it's important to make sure your child urinates frequently and empties his bladder. Holding urine in the bladder promotes the growth of bacteria. Signs to watch for are unusual smelling urine, cloudy urine, complaints of pain around the abdomen and more frequent urination. Like when treating incontinence, encouraging frequent emptying of the bladder could reduce the risk of urinary tract infections in children.

Considerations

• Children with diabetes are more likely to develop incontinence. Constipation can also be a cause of both incontinence and urinary tract infections. Nighttime incontinence could also be a sign of sleep apnea.