Please tell me what to do about my son's constant wetting (he is seven)

[colnelcustard]

My son wets himself six or seven times a day.

It is gradually getting worse and worse. I have spoken to his teacher about it and she has said that she has not noticed anything (its just a bit in his pants).

However at home, he wets himself constantly. He wets himself when he plays football on a Saturday, he wets the bed every night. He wets himself just sitting in front of the television.

I am at the end of my tether. I have not put him a pull up at night as I don't know whether this just encourages him to be lazy but I don't know what to do.

I have spoken to the doctor and we have been referred but I fear this appointment will take months.
I am beginning to lose my rag with him and his constnat hiding clothes. I told him I won't be angry with him but he needs to give me the clothes so I can wash them. Just now I have found three pairs of trousers hidden behind his bed which now stinks.

Bless him, he must feel embarrassed, ashamed, worried about it to hide his clothes.

You need that appointment bringing forward, if at all possible. Ring the Docs and see if they can prioritise you.

You could try speaking to the Health visitor? We did about my DS, and she suggested he wasn't getting ENOUGH to drink, so his bladder wasn't being stretched - hence he wet himself easier.

My son (6.5) is like this, but not as embarrassed about it. My HV told me not to give him blackcurrant drinks, as blackcurrant can irritate the bladder. My son used to love Ribena, but I've got rid of all of it now and am waiting to see if things improve.

Message withdrawn

You have my sympathy cm as does your poor DS. We had a similar situation with DS although only involving bedwetting and we were advised to steer well clear of drinks with sodium benzoate in as this is a natural diuretic and can make the problem worse.

Have you asked your DS if he would like a pull up at night? I'd probably go with what he would like to do at this stage, until you find out if it is a physical problem that is out of his control or an emotional one. Could you perhaps give him a special laundry basket in his room that is just for his 'damp' clothes? Could he be embarrassed to put them in the family laundry basket for fear of teasing from his brothers/sisters?

Have you searched the internet for any tips?

Poor boy, he's old enough to be embarrassed by it but I'm sure he'll be fine.
My DS1 was exactly the same. He was a nightmare to potty train, wet at night until 6 years old and at 7 was just as you have described - he wet himself constantly during the day. Mostly it was more of a leak than a full scale accident but he was damp and whiffy all the time.
I was never cross and he knew that he just had to go and change his clothes and put the wet ones in the wash. I used to send spares to school though he didn't use them. I never felt there was anything wrong with him other than a poor brain to bladder signal. He grew out of it with no medical intervention. Gradually there were longer gaps between wets although he still did wet himself occasionally up to about 10 or 11.
So I can't give you advice but just reassurance that it will pass.

Lots of good advice from ERIC.
Get an appointment with the children's continence advisor or health visitor through your GP practice.

I know it sounds silly, but there is a connection between not getting enough sleep and bladder control. Make sure he gets all the sleep he needs, it might help and will cert not hurt.