bladder concern in 5 yr old ds - update- went to ped

[seemfrog]

Would this warrent a doc visit for any of you?

DS seems to be needing to pee frequently lately, his teacher even mentioned it to us.
I have repeatedly asked him if it is uncomfortable at all, hurt, etc and he always says no.

Yesterday and today I observed him while he urinated a few times and I don't know if he only had a dribble to go, but it was only coming out in dribbles, like stop and go dribbles.

I can't say for sure that he isn't able to completely empty his bladder for some reason or if because he is heading to the toilet so frequently he only has dribbles.

thanks for the thoughts/ideas!

[kjbrown92]

I'd get it checked. It could be a UTI. That could be ruled out by going to the drug store and getting test strips (Azo is a regular drugstore brand, 3 strips for $10). But frequent urination is also a symptom of diabetes (though it is usually accompanied by an increase in thirst). For my daughter, frequent peeing happens to be a sign of food intolerance. Is he wetting the bed?

[seemfrog]

well, I took him to the ped... no UTI, checked the urine, no evidence of sugar (? is that what they would look for if diabetes?).  The ped also briefly checked his uncircumsized foreskin to make sure it hadn't tightened (said he has seen where this happens although not commonly).  Checked his abdomen for evidence of constipation...

nothing.

He thought it was likely not having good potty habits, that many kids this age will wait till the last minute until its urgent, and/or they eliminate only enough to take off the pressure and go back to playing and it can mess up the bladder.  I don't really think this is the case with ds1, but I don't know what it could be.

He just seems to want to go frequently, like he feels the urge but there isn't much in there.  He hasn't wet the bed, and when we go on a car ride he hasn't needed to pull over before we reach our destination (no long trips as of late though).

I asked the ped about food intolerances and he said he hasn't seen this affecting frequency.

anyone have any  other thoughts???

[teachma]

Google pollakiuria. That is what it's been for my son, sporadically over the last 5 yrs. See if it makes sense for yours.

[ameliabedelia]

I was thinking pollakuria or overactive bladder as well.  My (adult) sister was diagnosed with this.  There are drugs that can help, but with my sister all she needed to do was re-train herself to NOT pee everytime she had the urge and hold it for increasingly longer periods of time.  For example. if he's going every 30 minutes, try to have him hold it for 45 minutes, then an hour, then 1 hr 15 min, etc. etc.

[kjbrown92]

For what it's worth, most doctors don't see any connection of symptoms to any food intolerance. They think eczema happens just because, and some kids are just always constipated, and some wet the bed forever, etc.