constant urge to urinate (4 yr old boy)

[Anonymous]

So my son has been running to the bathroom very frequently for about a week now. Over the past two days it has been almost constant. Sometimes he will go (or rather try to go) within five minutes of having already gone. This may happen a few times in a row. He claims he REALLY needs to go potty!! If we're in the car, even travelling short distances, we need to pull over repeatedly. Sometimes he pees, sometimes not.

I took him to see his Ped. the other day and he does not have a urinary tract infection nor does he seem to have any sort of bowel blockage. Doctor said that this urge to urinate frequently is quite common with boys - that it could be nerves or he could be doing it for attention. I got the impression it could just be a phase he's going through. It's very strange though. Nothing seems to be going on that could be causing him stress and he is otherwise quite happy - singing, playing, engaging in regular activities, eating, sleeping etc. normally. His doctor said to try distracting him, and this seems to work some of the time for a brief period of time.

Has anyone else's son ever had this kind of constant urge to pee (not associated with potty training or an infection)? I'm wondering how common it really is for boys.

[Anonymous]

Frequent urination is also a sign of diabetes (the body tries to get rid of the "extra" sugar that way). Has he lost weight at all? Is he also thirsty all the time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frequent urination is also a sign of diabetes (the body tries to get rid of the "extra" sugar that way). Has he lost weight at all? Is he also thirsty all the time?

Type 1 diabetes, yep.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your response PP. He has not lost any weight nor does he have excessive thirst. In fact, we were out a lot in the heat today and I had to remind him to drink water.

[Anonymous]

I will definitely ask the doctor about the possibility of diabetes and whether he should be tested, although I would say he is experiencing the urge to pee more then the actual ability to do so. The overall quantity of pee seems normal, if that makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Could it be constipation? Slate had an article a few months ago that night time bed wetting might be linked to chronic constipation, constipation so complete that there's enough stool that the child has vowel movements every day. It was the most frightening article I've ever read.

[Anonymous]

Google "pollakiuria." this is a common and benign condition of frequent daytime urination in children (boys >girls) that generally resolves on its own in days or weeks.

[Anonymous]

OP here. It does not seem to be constipation since he is pretty regular. Also, he has not had any accidents at all. He does not get up to pee at night either, although he has an urgent need to go right when he wakes up in the morning. Typically, he would put off using the bathroom in the morning for as long as possible. I usually need to remind him to go. It really does seem like it could be "pollakiuria" but I guess I can't help worrying that something more might be going on medically.

[Anonymous]

Has he been in a situation where he really had to go pee and couldn't? I'm just thinking that maybe he was somewhere and really had to go but wasn't allowed to (i.e. you were in the car and couldn't pull over right away, or he was at a class/activity where the teacher told him to wait, etc.). Maybe that made him anxious, and now he feels the need to go all the time in case he has the urge to go later (like a preventative thing -- "I don't want to start X, Y, or Z until I'm sure I pee because I don't know when I'll have the chance to do it again"). This is a total shot in the dark and probably not the case, but I thought I'd throw it out as a possibility.

[Anonymous]

My son is experiencing this same thing and the drs have no idea what's going on. Did you ever find anything out about this?

[Anonymous]

have you heard of Pollakiuria, my 5 yr old is having his second round. this happened last year around christmas too. I think he gets so excited that it triggers it.

you can google it for more info, but here are the basics


What is Pollakiuria?

Pollakiuria means frequent, abnormal urination during the day.

Symptoms/Frequency Characteristics of Pollakiuria:

A previously toilet trained child suddenly develops frequent daytime urination that may occur as often as every 5-10 minutes. Usually the child urinates 3-4 times per hour, often up to 40 times per day.
The child has no pain with urination.
The child only urinates small amounts of urine at a time.
There is no incontinence (leaking of urine).
The child does not drink excessive amounts of fluids.
The child may urinate at night but not to the extent of the daytime frequency.
There are no changes in bowel behavior.
There is no evidence of infection or any physical cause.
Typically occurs in school-age children.
There may be recurrent cycles over a period of 1-2 years.
What is the cause of pollakiuria and how long will it last?

There is no known cause for pollakiuria, also known as benign idiopathic urinary frequency. In some cases a stressor or trigger factor can be identified, but usually no trigger is identified. Overall, this condition is normally self-limiting and harmless, lasting anywhere from six weeks to six months.

Treatment for pollakiuria:

Reassure the child that he or she is healthy and that there is nothing wrong with the kidneys or bladder. X-rays and other tests are not needed.
Reassure the child that he or she can wait longer to urinate without having an accident.
Be aware of the child's feelings -- ignore the frequency of urination. Don’t comment on it. Be sure that caretakers or teachers are not punishing or criticizing the child about this symptom. Often paying less attention to the frequent urination may enhance its disappearance.
Increase fluids.
Seek follow-up care:

If symptoms change -- for example, the child develops a burning sensation due to with urination, starts to drink excessive amounts of fluid or starts to wet one's self.
For questions or concerns.

[Anonymous]

It’s definitely pollakiuria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could it be constipation? Slate had an article a few months ago that night time bed wetting might be linked to chronic constipation, constipation so complete that there's enough stool that the child has vowel movements every day. It was the most frightening article I've ever read.

You can safely ignore any and everything posted by Slate.

[Anonymous]

My 3 year old daughter went through this recently for about 2 weeks and did not have a UTI. The doctor said it was quite common amongst toddlers.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was having frequent peeing and doc ruled out UTI. She was also having BM‘s regularly. Then about six months later she was having stomach pains, and random bedwetting even though she’s been potty trained since she was 20 months old! They had us go get an x-ray and said she was literally full of poop! Again, she was going to the bathroom regularly but she was just backed up. Got on MiraLAX for a couple months and everything resolved itself.