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General health

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Original poster

DD and her many trips to the loo....

19 replies

Earlybird · 02/05/2006 11:11

For the past week, DD has been in a phase where she runs to the loo constantly, and often once there, doesn't need to go after all. Or, she'll go, and then 5 minutes later decide she needs to go again. I've wondered if it's actually physical (she isn't in pain, and can sleep all night long without getting up), or psychological (anxiety or simply different body awareness).

What could be causing it? Is there anything I can do?

OP posts:

LilacBump · 02/05/2006 11:23

we went through this with DD (nearly 5). she actually complained of pain too and with my history of lots of urine infections as a child, i took her to the doctor. turned out to be all attention seeking! she did it again a while after, but we ignored it mostly then and she got fed up of it after a few days.

Marina · 02/05/2006 11:24

Earlybird, how old is she?
Dd is doing this as she is newly potty-trained, and has twigged it can delay bed-time and disrupt meal-times really amusingly. She is 2 and 3/4.

Original poster

Earlybird · 02/05/2006 11:30

Marina - she's 5. It may be attention seeking as LB suggests, or it may be that she still has the odd night time accident (simply not aware of needing to get up). But, the number/frequency of trips been noticeably more since we got back from Easter break a week ago.

OP posts:

Marina · 02/05/2006 11:34

Hmm, I can see why you are concerned then EB. Hope you get it sorted, I guess you might want to rule out a UTI.

Original poster

Earlybird · 02/05/2006 11:48

Would a UTI be accompanied by other symptoms?

OP posts:

batters · 02/05/2006 11:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

Earlybird · 02/05/2006 11:50

Yes, and she says there's no pain/discomfort. And she does seem to temporarily forget about the urges if she's engaged in something.

OP posts:

Marina · 02/05/2006 11:50

They can be very hard to diagnose in younger girls EB. And yes, sometimes they can be asymptomatic, or very vague symptoms of feeling off-colour, unlike the instant recognisable agony we endure...

Original poster

Earlybird · 02/05/2006 11:53

May wait a few days to see if this continues, and if so, perhaps a trip to the doctor is in order. Thanks for advice everyone.

OP posts:

batters · 02/05/2006 11:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

poppiesinaline · 02/05/2006 12:09

My DD does this ALOT (shes 6) and has done it since potty trained. She goes through bouts. Checked for infections - always comes back negative. We recently saw a paediatric GP because of it. She said it is very common in girls. Sometimes they feel a bit 'uncomfortable' down there - something to do with hormone levels. She said it would sort itself out with age. Also make sure she is drinking enough and steer away from acidy drinks ie orange juice etc cos that can 'irritate'.

I have also noticed that DD does it if she is worried. IE if we are out for the day she continually asks for the toilet. I think it is fear of having an 'accident' and wetting herself in public (not that she ever has!) or if she sleeps in a different bed she will go to the toilet 5 or 6 times before settling down the night.

Dont know if any of that helps!

I would get her checked for an infection though to start with.

LilacBump · 02/05/2006 12:14

i would like to add that i would definitely get it checked to make sure it isn't a UTI. my childhood infection got ignored and i ended up with very scarred kidneys.
also, is she drinking more or something that might make her go more often, like apple juice?

batters · 04/05/2006 08:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

Earlybird · 04/05/2006 10:05

Hi batters - thanks for asking. Not sure what is going on with dd. I asked her teachers to pay attention to loo requests, and they said she asked to go 6 times during school yesterday - which seems alot. But, she slept last night for almost 12 hours without getting up for the bathroom. She also doesn't have any pain when she goes.

So, I'm still on the fence about whether or not a trip to the doctor is needed. Would it be a good idea to try to get her to drink diluted cranberry juice? Any other suggestions?

OP posts:

batters · 04/05/2006 10:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

Earlybird · 04/05/2006 10:35

No, I wouldn't say she holds on to her wee - in fact it may be the other way around....that she's not comfortable holding onto any wee at all so keeps wanting to try to empty her bladder.

I think it's probably a combination of being aware of her body (she thinks about it and wonders/thinks she has to go rather than going when her body demands it), perhaps a bit of attention seeking, and maybe the constant asking is a bit of anxiety/compulsiveness. Who knows if it's physical or psychological, but either way I'd like to address it so it doesn't turn into an issue.

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HullaBalloo · 04/05/2006 11:12

Best to get it checked out to be sure, but I had a similar problem with my ds at around the same age, where he got what we called 'wee-wee feelings'. He would go to the loo but would immediately feel he needed to go again and could be in the loo for ages - got to the point where trips out were a nightmare. But like your dd he went through the night with no problems. In the end after several fruitless trips to the GP where they couldn't find anything wrong, I got a homeopathic remedy called Cantharis, which is used for bladder problems.Have to say I'm a bit sceptical about homeopathy but I felt at worst it wouldn't have any effects at all - but I told him it was to take away the 'wee-wee feelings' and probably just the placebo effect, but it definately helped.

meysey · 04/05/2006 22:57

check for worms.... my DS got referred to a paediatrician for his weeing problems and all UTI tests were negative. unconnectedly we were told a friend of his had worms so dosed him up, and to our surprise the frequent weeing stopped overnight.

it may not be a factor with your DD but bear it in mind!

Original poster

Earlybird · 04/05/2006 23:07

Gosh, meysey - how do I check for worms? And if she's got them, what do I dose her up with?

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