Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
What Does Frequent Urination In A 5 Year Old Indicate?
Question: Hi. My 5 year old developed frequent urination out of the blue 2 weeks ago. She is peeing every 5-10 minutes. I took her into an urgent care and they dipped her urine and said it was positive for a uti and put her on antibiotics. 2 days later they called us and said the culture on her urine came back fine. so I took her in to a new pediatrician who diagnosed her with volvovaginitis. She said use uristat a half tablet 2x a day for 2 days and put neosporin in her private parts. Also give her a bath with baking soday. We did all the above and nothing was helping. After a few days I took her into the emergency room at a nearby hospital because she was on and off the toilet every 30 sec. They ran blood tests and ran urine samples which all came back negative for diabetes and uti etc. she started drinking excessively which was freaking me out. In this whole time she has had no pain at all or burning etc. Nothing besides urinating a lot. 2 days later she is crying because she keeps peeing during the day. by the way she never goes potty at night. So I take her back into the hospital and they ran another blood test checking for leukemia. It came back negative so now all tests look good. They sent me home saying polydipsia. So I returned to our pediatrician the next day. The pediatrician said nothing is wrong. My child slept for 14 hours the other night which she never does and fell asleep during the day which she never does and went to bed tonight on her own which she never does. Her tummy looks bloated but she says nothing is wrong. She is still urinating but maybe 4x an hour or maybe 5 times an hour now. I am really worried maybe something can be wrong and everyone is missing it.Could this be something that needs and xray or an ultrasound? this is my mother instinct feeling they are missing something. Please help me :(
Brief Answer:
POSSIBILITIES SUGGETED BELOW
Detailed Answer:
Hi... I have gone through your query in detail. I don't think that this is urinary tract infection as the tests and culture have come back as negative.
Possibilities -
1. Diabetes insipidus.
2. Unexplained polydypsia causing excessive urine.
3. Voiding dysfunction
I will discuss each on by one.
1. Diabetes insipidus - In this case the kidneys or the brain lose the capacity to retain salt and hence in the process of loosing salt the body tends to lose more water too in the form of high urine out put and this in turn makes the body to consume more water. But as you say the quantity is less with each urination, this is unlikely possibility - but nevertheless worth ruling out.
2. Unexplained polydypsia causing excessive urine - some times, the for no valid reason tend to drink more and urinate more and this is called pollakiuria and this is self limiting. So do not worry.
3. Voiding dysfunction - In this case due to the initial habit of retaining urine even when the bladder is full, the bladder gradually becomes hyperactive and i turn starts contracting to even very small amount so urine accumulation in it. So this is the reason for urgency and more number of times urination. This is can be diagnosed objectively by doing an ultrasound scan of the abdomen where in bladder wall thickness would be increased.
Hope my answer was helpful for you. I am happy to help any time. Further clarifications and consultations on Health care magic are welcome. If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer. Wish your kid good health.
Dr. Sumanth MBBS., DCH., DNB (Paed).,
POSSIBILITIES SUGGETED BELOW
Detailed Answer:
Hi... I have gone through your query in detail. I don't think that this is urinary tract infection as the tests and culture have come back as negative.
Possibilities -
1. Diabetes insipidus.
2. Unexplained polydypsia causing excessive urine.
3. Voiding dysfunction
I will discuss each on by one.
1. Diabetes insipidus - In this case the kidneys or the brain lose the capacity to retain salt and hence in the process of loosing salt the body tends to lose more water too in the form of high urine out put and this in turn makes the body to consume more water. But as you say the quantity is less with each urination, this is unlikely possibility - but nevertheless worth ruling out.
2. Unexplained polydypsia causing excessive urine - some times, the for no valid reason tend to drink more and urinate more and this is called pollakiuria and this is self limiting. So do not worry.
3. Voiding dysfunction - In this case due to the initial habit of retaining urine even when the bladder is full, the bladder gradually becomes hyperactive and i turn starts contracting to even very small amount so urine accumulation in it. So this is the reason for urgency and more number of times urination. This is can be diagnosed objectively by doing an ultrasound scan of the abdomen where in bladder wall thickness would be increased.
Hope my answer was helpful for you. I am happy to help any time. Further clarifications and consultations on Health care magic are welcome. If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer. Wish your kid good health.
Dr. Sumanth MBBS., DCH., DNB (Paed).,
Note: Consult a Urologist online for consultation about prostate and bladder problems, sexual dysfunction, kidney stones, prostate enlargement, urinary incontinence, impotence and erectile dysfunction - Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
