5 Yo Frequent Urination

Thinking his bladder just has to 'catch up' with the rest of him.

My son, who is almost 5, had this problem earlier this year. Everything checked out fine at the doctor, so they said his body had probably just grown a little faster than his bladder and it just needed a little time to catch up. And sure enough, within a few weeks, it had resolved itself.

So if I were your friend I would definitely keep an eye on him, but maybe wait a little bit to see if he outgrows it before seeking more medical testing/advice.

I don't have an answer, but my 4 yr old boy has been doing the same thing & even having trouble getting there on time, which hasn't been a problem until now. I just wanted to send my support & see what advice you get, because I'd like to know also. Maybe I need to have him checked for an infection... Just wanted to let you know your not alone on this one!

We just went through this with our youngest and it turned out it was a full colon that kept pushing on the bladder. She has pooping problems though. But when is the last time he went number two. ??? hmmm

I never thought of this, until asked by my doctor once. Does he drink more water than other beverages? I average about 8/8oz. glasses of water a day. My daughters probably have between 4 and 6 glasses of water a day. The majority of mine is in the morning and early afternoon. We all urinate more frequently than a person who gets less water and more of other beverages. Water moves through a person a lot faster than juice or milk. If it's only at home that he's urinating frequently (not an issue at school), then I might lean towards that he has easier access to water at home than school - and enjoys that!

IF he drinks a lot of liquids, it is completely normal. :)

If he is taking in more water, he will pee it out. ('The more you drink the more you pee' is what we tell our son). If there is a lot of salty food in the diet, this may not occur so much (i.e. pizza). I would personally keep an eye on it or watch for other symptoms as frequent urination is a symptom of many issues from bladder, kidney and urinary track infections to diabetes.

*I'm not sure if I am overly doing it, but I only give my son the choice of milk (at breakfast, lunch or dinner) and as much water for the rest of the day. I very seldom give juice and we never give pop unless it is a sip at the Zoo on a very hot day as a treat. But that is just us~ :)

At the end of 1st grade and all year in 2nd grade, my son had the same problem. What they finally diagnosed him with was overactive bladder. He was on that Detrol LA for it. He had to have the liquid for a while, because he couldn't take pills, but then got to a point where he could take the pills. I think that he only took the meds for about a year, if I remember correctly. He had to have an ultrasound on his kidneys and had to have a test called a VCUG done also to see if his bladder was emptying all the way. This is a VERY tramatic test. They have to be in a hospital gown and lay on a table with a catheter. There are a lot of people in the room (nurses, radiologists, etc.). Then the put a liquid with a dye in it into the bladder and continue to do this until the child feels like the have to "go". Then the child has to "go" on the table so they can watch the bladder empty on the tv screen! It took a long time to get my son to go to the bathroom after that because he thought that it was going to hurt, because of the catheter.
It is a pretty wicked test for the child to go through, but it does give the dr. good info to help rule things out. The hospital that we went to, had a lady that came and talked to him before the test to let him know about it and what was going to happen. That was nice.
My son is 15 now and he hasn't had that problem in several years, probably since 4th or 5th grade. He only has to "go" a lot now when he drinks pop with caffeine in it and then it's like all the time.
I hope this helps, but if you or your friend have any other questions, feel free to ask! Good luck!