Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now! That was our family phrase of the past month. As they say, “accidents happen.” But when they happen four, five, six, seven times a day….well, the underwear drawer empties pretty quickly and Mom’s doing a lot of laundry.
This is the tale of a preschool girl who went wee, wee, wee all the way home. The first few accidents threw me and Matt for a loop. Ella hadn’t had an accident (during the daytime hours) for at least six or seven months. But after Christmas break, the hits kept coming. The incidents were very inconsistent at first so we were chalking it up to Ella’s laziness and not acting quick enough to get to the bathroom. So what did we do? We got mad…and frustrated.
“Why was she doing this?” I wondered. Even Ella said it was because she didn’t want to stop playing. But then the accidents started happening at school. As week two of these charades came to a close, the next step was obvious—time to see the pediatrician. Much to our relief, Ella wasn’t just being lazy; she indeed had a bladder infection.
Being the inquisitive parent that I am, I wanted to know how she could have gotten it in the first place. In my research and in talking with her doctor, I learned that girls are more prone to them than boys (joy), and they could come back again (double joy).
According to sources on WebMD, about 8 out of 100 girls and about 2 out of 100 boys will have a bladder infection or urinary tract infection (UTI) as a child. Many factors contribute to children contracting a UTI.
• Not wiping properly, especially after a bowel movement – “repeat after me, front to back”
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Constipation
• Not emptying the bladder completely
I could check everything but constipation for Ella, so I knew we’d need to have several talks about proper bathroom habits.
So why didn’t I know sooner? Ella wasn’t showing many of the tell-tale signs other than having numerous accidents. She didn’t have a fever, lack of appetite or pain when urinating—all classic symptoms.
Watch your child! If she’s having accidents out of the blue, chances are there’s more to it than just laziness. Hold off on digging out the potty-training sticker chart and take her to the pediatrician for a simple urine test. Pees be with you.
Any tips on how to prevent such bladder matters? I'm all ears.
