frequent urination in kids

[beerlover]

Early in the week, maybe Tuesday, DS's aftercare provider made a comment about how many times he went to the bathroom that afternoon (like 4 times in the 1.5 hours he's there). She made a comment about him always hurrying though, and possibly not fully emptying his bladder, so I kind of brushed it off.

I got a call from school this morning (he's in K) from the nurse, that he wasn't feeling well, his stomach hurt, and he was frequently using the bathroom. She wasn't sure if it was diarrhea or not, but said this was unusual for him so I said I'd go get him. I go to get him, and he seems completely fine. He said that he did not have diarrhea and just had to pee a lot. He's definitely not experiencing any stomach issues.

I had to swing by his aftercare to drop off her check, and chatted with her a little about having to pick him up early, and she noted that he's been going to the bathroom a lot and its been an issue basically every day since he got back from winter break, so about 2-3 weeks.

This is not something I have noticed at home, though I wouldn't say I'm really paying close attention to how often he's going. I watched him pee when we got home and he did note that it hurt a little and pointed to his testicles. But seemed fine after he went. I'm going to start keeping track of how often he is going now.

I struggle with anxiety, so of course I'm freaking out that something serious is wrong with him.  Please tell me its probably just a UTI or something (how is that even diagnosed?) What else could it be? I will call his doctor, but I'm not likely getting an appointment on a Friday afternoon.  I emailed his K teacher first to see how often he's going at school too so that I could have all the info before I call. 

Before anyone asks there are no poop issues so I don't think the frequent peeing is tied to constipation.

Thanks for reading this long lol.

[nicolewi]

Is he unusually thirsty?

[icedcoffee]

It could just be he's bored and wants to get out of class a lot, but I would for sure get him a UTI test. They'll probably have him pee in a cup and then test it. A UTI can turn bad so I'd try to get him in today or tomorrow.

ETA:  It's almost certainly not anything you should lose sleep over. <3

[purplepenguin7]

my daughter (4) is going through this now. The pediatrician said it was normal and they see it a lot. He said sometimes a virus (like cold or something) can cause bladder irritation and make them have to urinate more. They did test her urine for a UTI, sugars and more and confirmed there was no sign of infection.  I would bring him in to confirm no UTI or the like, but definitely don't panic over it.

[beerlover]

nicolewi, he's not unusually thirsty.

icedcoffee, could be boredom, but if he's doing it at aftercare too while he's just playing with friends, I don't know. I'm going to call his doctor and if they can't see him, head over to the urgent care probably. But is it normal to have a UTI for a couple weeks?

If these are the dumbest questions ever I apologize, but my kid is never sick.

[mcsangel2]

UTIs don't go away by themselves, as far as I've ever heard. It's an infection that needs to be treated with antibiotics.

[cap]

I think that generally with a UTI if it's not treated within a few days, you'll end up with a kidney infection. That said, it's an easy test so I'd make sure he's seen today.

[dale]

How has his appetite been?

[gummybear]

Has he lost any weight?

[bittybomb]

I'd take him in so his urine can be tested. I don't want to alarm you, but when my then 9 year old was peeing a lot I took her to urgent care for what I thought would be a quick UTI diagnosis. She was ultimately diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and retrospectively exhibited classic symtoms in addition to frequent urination (she did also have excessive thirst and frequent stomachaches).

Good luck.

[mcppalmbeach]

Don’t panic, but definitely bring him in and just get a quick pee in a cup test to make sure he doesn’t have a UTI. I’d never heard the above about infection, but that’s interesting.

My youngest and middle have both gone through spurts where they have weird peeing behaviors. I don’t really pay attention at home either, but like my in-laws were in town over the holidays and we were at dinner and my kindergartener had to get up to pee like 5 times in the course of dinner. And he’s done something similar other times. I pay attention for a few days and it’s isolated so I assume it’s boredom, attention seeking, etc. I also volunteer in a k classroom and those kids pee all the time I think just because.

[beerlover]

Appetite is fine and he has not lost any weight.

I did call his dr. and left a message. If I can't get an appointment today I'll take him to urgent care when I get done, I believe they're open until 9.

Sorry to hear that bittybomb, I hope your daughter is doing ok!

[bittybomb]

Jan 20, 2023 13:33:18 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Appetite is fine and he has not lost any weight.

I did call his dr. and left a message. If I can't get an appointment today I'll take him to urgent care when I get done, I believe they're open until 9.

Sorry to hear that bittybomb , I hope your daughter is doing ok!

Thank you!  It sucks for sure, but she's managing it as best she can and is thriving.  She's 12 now.

[mala]

When my 4 year old started this we took her in ASAP for a UTI check. She'd been drinking a lot of water for a solid week before we noticed a change in her bathroom trips (she had 4 accidents in 12 hours, which hadn't happened since the first day we started potty training). It wasn't a UTI, but was something else that was throwing her all out of whack.

[mel]

Like bittybomb, I don't want to alarm you but this was the tell-tale sign for DS2's Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis. Once we read more about symptoms of T1D, other little things we shrugged off as growing/puberty started to fall in to place as symptoms of T1D.

Bring him into the pedi and have them check for a UTI and to check his urine for sugar.

[beerlover]

This is all ironic because I have to pee ALL THE TIME and nothing has ever been wrong w/ me and I've never had a UTI, lol.

[icedcoffee]

Jan 20, 2023 14:07:20 GMT -5 beerlover said:

This is all ironic because I have to pee ALL THE TIME and nothing has ever been wrong w/ me and I've never had a UTI, lol.

Same.  And normally I'd ignore, but in this case there are 2 people who are pointing out a change.  In all likelihood, it's probably nothing, but you don't want to ignore it.

[krystee]

When my 6YO son was doing this, we found out it was because he made bathroom rendezvous times with his friend from another classroom so they could see each other since they didn’t have classes or recess together. Of course he didn’t tell me this until AFTER I tested him for diabetes and UTI…

[yellow23]

All 3 of my kids did this in kindergarten. They all started the year scared of going to bathroom at school and once they finally decided it was ok they went all the time until the teacher started to ask about it. One always went multiple times during math because she “didn’t have to do the work if she was in the bathroom”. My youngest “almost” had an accident one day at school because she didn’t like using the bathroom. She was upset about it so I told her not to hold it so long that she might have an accident. That led to her going constantly for a few weeks until her teacher mentioned she was spending a lot of time in the bathroom.
Of course, it’s a good idea to get him checked by the doctor, but it could be nothing.

[meganew]

My kid goes through phases like this and I have at least one student per year (in K) who experiences it as well. Pediatrician told us it’s a pretty common problem for 5/6 year olds and it sometimes lasts a few weeks, sometimes a few months. I would still have her checked out in case it’s something else.

[waverly]

DS has done this several times. Once, we were on vacation and I thought he had diabetes based on how much he was peeing until I realized he was accidentally drinking all the pool water.

DS still will go multiple times but its usually when I find a full water bottle in his room, so I know he is just doing the drinking/ peeing cycle.

I would get it checked out, but I wouldn't stress about it. And yes UTI's can last until an antibiotic gets rid of them, so they can definitely linger if it is a UTI.

[sparty04]

My oldest gets like this occasionally when he's anxious about something. It usually lasts a few days to a week, but it's been happening since he was probably 5 (10 now).

[dcn]

My older kid did the same In kindergarten. I had him checked out for uti and constipation, I think he was just bored. Also when my kids go through growth spurts they drink more and therefore pee more frequently.

[beerlover]

More confounding details lol. So his teacher replied to my email and said he doesn't ask to go to the bathroom more than normal at school (they go about every 1-1.5 hours). She then said that upon exiting the bus to come in the building today, DS left his backpack on his bus seat, and had to go back to his seat to get it. He told his teacher all the kids laughed when he had to go back and get it. She was wondering if that could have upset him enough that he felt sick. He also told her that he didn't want milk at lunch or to go out for recess because he was afraid he was going to get sick.

That doesn't explain the frequent peeing at daycare/aftercare, of course. But I feel like that could be for a lot of reasons- he's playing and gets too worked up, etc. And like I said, I haven't noticed it at home.

Pediatrician still hasn't called me back yet. They close at 4. I can just take him to urgent care when I get off work at 4, but now I'm not sure if I'm overreacting and maybe some of this is an anxiety thing? Ugh. He seems completely fine right now and has gone to the bathroom maybe twice since we've been home.

[waverly]

beerlover, if your urgent care is open both Sat/ Sun, it is definitely something that you can do a watch and wait and see how he is all weekend since you have the options to go in this weekend or even Monday to the pedi. Also since he mentioned pain..., something to note while you are watching.

[joy]

Constipation causes frequent urination. It would also cause stomach aches and possible nausea/vomiting. It would creep up and then last until dealt with.

[followyourarrow]

This was the first sign of a friend’s daughter being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Her teacher noticed it. So I’d get it checked out, just in case.

[thebreakfastclub]

From time to time, this happened to my son. We did test for a UTI once. Another time we followed up with the Dr about frequency and he said barring a UTI, it's just developmental.

[beerlover]

waverly, it is open until 9 tonight, and then on Sat/Sunday thankfully. I think I am going to wait a bit. I'll be done with work at 4 and I can sit with him downstairs and keep a better eye on how much he is going. He says he is not in any pain, and it did not hurt the last time he had to go.

Kids, man.

[Roc A Bee]

This is something I’d keep an eye on but probably not go to urgent care today. The people I know who were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes were starting to have accidents in the middle of the night and other signs.

Idk if a UTI is different for a boy, but when I’ve had them, I constantly feel the urge to pee and it can burn. I’d ask if he always feels the need to pee.

Good luck! Kids man!