5 year old boy peeing every 15 minutes?

[KalamazooMom]

For the last couple weeks my 5 yo DS has been going pee extraordinarily frequently. It started when we were on vacation and I thought he was just doing it for fun because we were in different places and he was with his cousins who usually took him to the bathroom when he said he had to go. But he's still doing it now that we're home. We were at the pool this weekend and he was having lots of fun playing and still he went pee about 4 times an hour, so I really do think he is feeling the need to pee. I've gone with him to the bathroom multiple times and he does pee every time but it's sometimes a really small amount, and sometimes not. I looked up UTI's and I don't know if it's that because he has no other symptoms and is not complaining of any pain or discomfort. If it was a kidney stone or some other blockage there's be pain, right? He is drinking and eating normally, and he is going all night without wetting the bed. No fever, no nausea. I am really stumped on this one. Any thoughts?

[A&A]

If it were me, I'd get him checked for diabetes, just to be on the safe side. (frequent peeing is a symptom.) It could also be a UTI.

[moondiapers]

UTIs don't cause pain for my dd at all. Do you know how to do a clean catch urine sample? It's pretty easy with boys. Just clean his penis off really well with a wipe, then catch some urine in a cup midstream. Then use an OTC UTI test kit. If it's negative take him to the doc to check for other probs, like diabetes. How's his breath? Give it a sniff several times a day. If it smells sweet and fruity when he's not been drinking or eating fruit, that can be an indicator of diabetes as well. It also could just be a habit, he's used to going often now because he did it on purpose during the trip, lol.

[nalo]

My initial reaction is diabetes. I would have him tested.

[widemouthedfrog]

yes, please do have him tested for diabetes and a uti. It is much better to know!

[betterparent]

better safe then sorry! get him to a doctor!

[4evermom]

My ds has gone through this twice! Evidently it is pretty common and can be a hormone/growth spurt sort of thing. I think they lasted 2 or 3 months, fading out gradually. The two times were about 9 months apart, at 5 3/4 and 6 1/4. At first, I thought it may be an allergy because my brother and dad both got urinary frequency as a symptom of food allergies, especially wheat, rice, and oatmeal. So I tried eliminating those with no result. The first time also started on a trip. It made me glad he was a boy on the long car ride home with the frequent need when rest rooms were no where near!

ETA- Frequent thirst is a sign of diabetes which, of course, is related to frequent urinating. So if he isn't drinking more, just urinating more, diabetes may be less likely. I think the thirst thing is related particularly to a dry mouth feeling that diabetics get.

[teachma]

Google pollakiuria.
After ruling out infection and diabetes in my then 4 year old son, we came to this diagnosis. If that's what you think is going on with your son, it is totally nothing to worry about and will pass. And come back. And pass again...My son hasn't experienced it since he was about 5.5 years old, and that was more than 2 years ago.

[fyoosh]

Another possibility could be that your son's bladder is not keeping up with his growth. Did he have a big growth spurt recently? Sometimes this happens, and the bladder will "catch up" soon.

[KalamazooMom]

Thanks everyone. He really isn't drinking more, or even saying he's thirsty. So I am doubtful of diabetes. I did buy a UTI test kit on my way home tonight. We'll try that tomorrow. Thanks for the other suggestions.

[Embee]

Originally Posted by teachma

pollakiuria.

Thanks for posting this teachma. This is my DS and while I'm aware and relaxed about the symptoms/behavior, I didn't know I could put a name to it.

OP, indeed always rule out medical issues first. When DS started peeing frequently at about 4 1/2, I got right off to the doc for a culture. I was fairly sure it wasn't medical per se, not a UTI that is. It wasn't keeping him up nights, and DS had displayed a number of the typical stress behaviors in the past (sleeve chewing and such), and I just sort of knew this was something of that nature but... I knew it was safest to put medical issues to rest. The doc confirmed my suspicions and reassured me that it was actually fairly common for boys this age and would pass.

DS has been going in and out of frequent bouts of peeing since. He is 7 1/2 and just came through another one. *whew* For DS, there are stress factors, but only in the way of "emotional growth spurt." I imagine something probably triggers it, but it's not always clear what that is. In any case, when he emerges from such episodes, he's usually in a better emotional place, more relaxed and perhaps even has made a developmental leap of some type. Recently, he's been more independent and taking care of himself rather than depending on me so...

Honestly, I find this behavior completely annoying, BUT I resolve to bring little attention to it and on the surface, I'm patient, kind and taking it in stride. Not always easy! The few times I've allowed myself to make a comment ("DS, you just went honey, you can't possibly need to again."), they were at DS's expense and only served to intensify the peeing for a time. The peeing went from every 4 minutes to every 2! Whoops!

The good news is that the episodes have become less frequent and shorter in duration over time. I can see when he's winding up though and there really is no stopping it once it's revving up. I just rev up my patience in the meantime.

I hope this helps... and that you find answers and solutions soon.

The best,
Em

[KalamazooMom]

Originally Posted by Embee

Thanks for posting this teachma. This is my DS and while I'm aware and relaxed about the symptoms/behavior, I didn't know I could put a name to it.

Thanks Embee. That makes me feel better. I've read a little but this morning and I really do think it's pollakiuria. We'll rule out the UTI's and diabetes, but I'm fairly certain this is a stress reaction-- he's had a couple pretty big stresses in his life in the last few weeks. And I think you're right about not getting too bent out of shape about it, it seems to make it worse as you said.

[canadiangranola]

I also went through this with my 4 1/2 yr old son. It appeared suddenly, when his dad went on a trip to Madagascar for three weeks in January, and then when it didn't taper off within about a month of dh's return, I took him to our homeopath. She gave him a remedy combo which slowed the frequency of his peeing down almost back to normal within a couple of days.

A week before our third child was born this June, the peeing stated again, and again I treated him with homeopathy and it slowed down again. I treated more for convenience I have to admit, as there is no associated health risk (diabetes would also probably have shown in weight loss as well as frequency of thirst and urination). For us it was really cutting into fun stuff (like when we went to see a movie DS wanted to see and had to take him to the bathroom no less than 9 times during the movie).

In any case, pretty common, especially in boys aged 4-7, and especially triggered by stress (your trip?). Too bad the first doctor I took him to didn't know that, it would have been helpful at the time to receive some information and compassion.

Anno

[JillChristina]

Originally Posted by teachma

Google pollakiuria.
After ruling out infection and diabetes in my then 4 year old son, we came to this diagnosis. If that's what you think is going on with your son, it is totally nothing to worry about and will pass. And come back. And pass again...My son hasn't experienced it since he was about 5.5 years old, and that was more than 2 years ago.

THANK YOU for posting this!! My dd, almost 6, has been dealing with this for the past 6 months or so. It's completely exasperating, as Embee mentioned. So glad to know it's "normal".

Jill

[veganf]

Originally Posted by 4evermom

My ds has gone through this twice! Evidently it is pretty common and can be a hormone/growth spurt sort of thing. I think they lasted 2 or 3 months, fading out gradually.

Same here! And the first time I did take him in and they asked for a urine sample, but everything was normal. It definitely seems developmental. We've tried reminding him to try hard to get ALL the pee out when he goes, because I think he is often so impatient to pee and get back to what he is doing he isn't waiting until everything is out.

[KalamazooMom]

The UTI test result was negative as I expected. I'm very glad to hear that other people have experienced this too and that it will pass.

[KalamazooMom]

Originally Posted by canadiangranola

I also went through this with my 4 1/2 yr old son. It appeared suddenly, when his dad went on a trip to Madagascar for three weeks in January, and then when it didn't taper off within about a month of dh's return, I took him to our homeopath. She gave him a remedy combo which slowed the frequency of his peeing down almost back to normal within a couple of days.

CanadianGranola, do you have any more info you can share on the homeopathic remedy? I would appreciate it.

[Fairy4tmama]

This happened to my son last year, no pain but frequent frequent need to go now, like please pull over so I can pee. screen for uti and diabities was - ! turned out to be minor infection of his ureathra (can not remember the actual diagnosis) treated with ibprofen to reduce swelling and topical bactraban combined with zinc and aquaphor I think. Things were dramaticly better the next day.

[daisymommy]

My son went through this last year, starting when we were on vacation as well. It kept up after we returned home, so we took him the pediatrician's office. She was a very wise older grandmotherly type that set my mind at ease. She said, "I think I know exactly what is happening here, but we'll run the tests just to be sure everything is okay." They ran the test for a UTI, looked at other things as well, and everything was normal.

She said she sees this alot with little boys, and it usually begins when they are having fun, in a new environment, etc. They are in such a rush to "finish-up" in the bathroom, that they stop the flow of urine before their bladder is totally empty. Then they keep getting the urge to go just a little bit more each time because they were never really finished in the first place. That then trains their body to stop the flow of urine prematurely in the future--even without them thinking about. It becomes the body's automatic response. She said also, if they don't pull their underwear all the way down, and it is putting pressure on their "parts" from underneath, that blocks some of the sensation to tell them their bladder isn't empty yet.

So, her recommendation was a few things:
1) Talk to him about pulling his underwear/shorts all the way down.
2) Show him how to take a deep breath and let it out, to relax him.
3) Try having him sit down on the toilet, as sometimes that helps them to sloooow down long enough to finish.
4) Try having him sing something like the ABC son while he is urinating, and tell him he isn't finished until the end of the song.

After trying her suggestions, the problem totally resolved itself within a week. Good Luck!

[Embee]

Originally Posted by daisymommy

She said she sees this alot with little boys, and it usually begins when they are having fun, in a new environment, etc. They are in such a rush to "finish-up" in the bathroom, that they stop the flow of urine before their bladder is totally empty. Then they keep getting the urge to go just a little bit more each time because they were never really finished in the first place. That then trains their body to stop the flow of urine prematurely in the future--even without them thinking about. It becomes the body's automatic response. She said also, if they don't pull their underwear all the way down, and it is putting pressure on their "parts" from underneath, that blocks some of the sensation to tell them their bladder isn't empty yet.

Indeed, I think this plays a small role with DS, and the "not pulling the underwear all the way down" is something to think about as well as I believe DS does not do this consistently. Thanks for this information.

I'm finding this thread incredibly reassuring. As normal as the doc knew it to be, we're the only family I know (until now that is) that's experienced it. It's just nice to connect with some others who have been through/are going through this.

Thanks for posting Kalamazoomom.

The best,
Em