Dr Catherine
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Girl
4-7 years

5yrs old girl at school. Increased frequency and urgency with urine. Day and night time wetting. Any advice or tips? We have tried pretty much everything and seen GP, Paediatrician and urologists with no improvements. Afraid she will be teased at school as kids become more aware as she gets older if it’s not improving

While it is quite common for children to continue to experience nighttime incontinence at age 5, regular daytime accidents are less common and should be investigated further. It is not clear from your question whether the medical practitioners you have seen have identified an underlying medical cause? Most children your daughter’s age will show a strong desire to be dry during the day so it is highly unlikely that she is doing this on purpose. Regular drinks of water throughout the day, along with a diet high in fibre will help reduce the chance of constipation, a contributing factor to daytime accidents. Help her to identify those common signals indicating she needs to empty her bladder. These are often ignored by children, particularly when there are so many other wonderful things to do in their day. If you are dissatisfied with the approach taken thus far you can request a referral to another specialist. In the meantime I would recommend that you use DryNites during the day – these will be more comfortable for your daughter to wear and are less prone to leakage. Daytime wetting can be incredibly upsetting for children so it is important that you continue to be as patient as possible, celebrating all small successes, while ignoring failures (as difficult as this may be). Kind Regards, Dr Cathrine