Can GP prescribe nappies?

[user49753267547005]

Dc's nappies are constantly leaking. I've tried more brands and types than I can think to name. I have no idea what to do anymore.

I put sanitary pads in the nappies and they still leak.

Can the GP prescribe incontinence nappies?

DC is 4.5yo

Have a look on incontinence choice........they sell nappies for older kids and adults much cheaper than some places. Fledglings are good too.....if your son has SN then yes, he will be supplied through your hv but I think the amount is 3 per day. I'm pretty sure they don't for NT kids tho.

And for the twats saying it isn't normal, the fact most shops sell bed wetting pants for up to an we 15 says otherwise. 🙄

(They did offer advice on how to achieve continence; but I told them it would never work for DD, as she’s unconscious when she wets herself)

I also have a green rubber type mattress cover, like they have in hospitals, for the bed; and a waterproof car seat cover, which we also use on chairs in public places, like cinemas and restaurants.

I agree, it just seems that wains are in nappies at night much later now.

Are there problems with them leaking during the day or just at night? If it's nighttime only until you get advice or find the right thing, have you tried lifting him before you go to bed? I used to carry DD to the loo, plonk her on and put her back to bed where she would go straight back to sleep as she wasn't properly awake when I took her. It would cut down the volume the nappy has to hold overnight.

I’ve had 2 boys it was usual for both of mine overnight until almost the end of reception year at school! They both slept deeply and soundly all night and so didn’t seem to wake for wees. The downside I suppose to having kids that sleep through for 12 hours plus from about 9 months old! Absolutely not strange or late or anything else derogatory you can think to say about them, boys are often later to be reliably dry at night and it’s not their choice it’s when their bodies produce the hormone needed for this they can’t control it!

Similar to what others have said it will vary a bit from area to area but I used to work with the continence team in school nursing and our pathway was that you would get advice and support first- a lot of the info us on the ERIC website - and then you would need to fill in some charts to see what's going on . This would help to do an assessment and you may then get specialist support which may mean a prescription for nappies- very rare to get pull ups. The prescription would only be given if there were no improvements with the advice and support and if the pads were needed day and night. It's rare that a child with no additional needs would get a prescription to be honest .
A lot of parents had very good results by following the ERIC advice- simple things like increasing fluid intake and reducing toilet visits (this increases bladder capacity and helps the body to recognise when to go to the loo)

For all those saying a 4 year old in nighttime nappies isn’t normal, around 20% of four year olds still wet the bed and 5-10% of 7-year-olds so even if the majority of children don’t it’s certainly not that unusual! Boys also tend to by dry at night later than girls.

@SueVineer @chazlive
It is totally normal.

DS2 wet the bed until he was around 8. I asked to be referred when he was 7. The paediatrician said he’d grow out of it, and he did- when his body was ready. There are a lot of different reasons why bed wetting happens but it is more common than you might think. Posters asserting, ‘That’s not normal’ doesn’t help and is also inaccurate.

I think the children in my school (special school) get them from the age of 5. You do have to get a referral to the continence team.

Actually it can make a difference..

A child with SEN can be entitled to nappies however a child that does not have a compelling reason that they are still in nappies at that age may not.

my profession is early years and I would be flagging nappies in the day at this age as a concern and delay in development.

But the OP hasn’t specified it’s at night, even when asked, so posters assume she means it’s during the day. Yes, it’s reasonably common for 4-year-olds to need nappies at night. It’s not during the day.

Not rude at all.

It’s not within the remit of the GP to prescribe nappies. If you suspect there may be a problem beyond age appropriate soiling your GP can refer you to your local incontinence team. If they assess a medical need they will then send you around four months supply at a time and a receipt with a reference number, telephone number and a date at which you are authorised to ring and order more. Our NHS trust uses Tena products, but beware. They will put you through the wringer suggesting alternative methods that you can try, before they will prescribe, and then it will be the cheapest product, so you might find they don’t solve the problem. I care for my elderly mum who has urinary incontinence as a result of breast cancer and she wets the bed at night. They wouldn’t prescribe anything for her until I had tried several methods of keeping her dry, including limiting fluid intake after a certain time and stopping any alcohol. I went through a series of call backs and when I’d exhausted their suggestions they finally prescribed pads. Which leak !!

Some posters were saying it’s not normal for four year olds to be in night nappies. But if the child needs nappies in the day it’s highly likely the child has additional needs, a health condition or a physical disability. Why would anybody come on to a thread and point out to a parent that their child is ‘not normal.’ Would somebody do the same for someone asking for recommendations for a good wheelchair, say, ‘why can’t your child walk? That’s not normal at 4 years old.’ Should posters have to post their child’s entire medial history to get non-judgemental advise? It’s rude for people to come on here and infer there is something wrong with a child when a parent is looking for advice or expect a parent to justify why they need something.

Because night nappies and day nappies are different. Night nappies need to hold more and to account for a sleeping position and an unconscious child, etc. All the OP needed to say was whether she meant for night use or day/night/both.

We have just received prescription nappies for my daughter this week. She was referred by my HV to continence service and after phone consultation my daughter will receive nappies every 8 weeks on prescription delivered to our house.

Excuse me? Delay in development! I don't think you're qualified to comment on the development of my DS (11) who has epilepsy and at times of cluster seizures needs protection during the day and at night i.e.right now as he's in the middle of a huge cluster this weekend.

For your information, he's very bright. He has ASD/ ADHD too and no professionals (he sees many) have ever said he's developmentally delayed. I'm also a teacher, so know a thing or two myself.

Stop with the unqualified judgement.

www.pampers.co.uk/offers/free-ninjamas-coupon

Pampers have got a new range called ninjamas. They're very similar to Huggies drynites in feel although I've not had as many leaks in these as compared to the drynites. I've added a link as you can get a coupon for a free pack to try. Hope this helps.

Overnight it is.

My DD is still in pull ups overnight at 4.5 years old. Some of my friends DDs are/have been in pull ups overnight until age 6. Boys it is has been a year or so later. None of them have a disability or SEN.

Some kids who are developmentally delayed will still need to be in pull ups at night until they are much old.

They are just not producing any/enough ADH (antidiuretic hormone) so wet themselves at night. Once you produce enough then you stop. Unfortunately some people never produce enough.

If your child is not dry before school age then they either have a medical problem or a parenting problem.

It might be common to you/people you know but it is not fair on a child who is about to/has started school if this is not thoroughly investigated to rule out a medical problem.

It stops them having valuable time learning at school if they're needing assistance regularly from teaching staff to change leaking nappies.

So in answer to your question, your GP can refer your child to an incontinence team to learn the true nature of them still not being dry and an assessment can be made on what incontinence nappies are effective for your child.

This referral will also mean you can declare this to the school so that they can put in extra staffing/assess the best way to support your child to maximise their time learning at school.

That's interesting as I found the Ninjamas far more leaky than the Huggies Dry Nites. Great design though!

Funny how the shape/ body of the child is so significant.

Most children learn how to stay dry at night when they are between three and five years old NCT disagree with you

There's some really good cloth nappies that hold a lot and you can add boosters.

Try www.thenappylady.co.uk/ they have a free advice service.

Being dry at night relies on a hormone being produced, this usually happens later in boys anyway but additional needs delays it further, hence why people asked the question. My son wasn't reliably dry until 10 and even now at nearly 12 can be wet occasionally and he has no additional needs at all. We were referred to the continence service by our GP when he was 5 and basically told to use big bed pants and the bed pads. Weirdly not to stop him drinking getting towards bedtime as that doesn't help, neither will lifting him for a wee at bed time. My advice is buy a waterproof mattress and wait it out, you won't get nappies in the NHS unless your son has additional needs.

Sorry just seen you already use cloth. We find the motherease duo with a microfibre booster hold huge amounts.