Weak Bladder - Grand Rapids,MI

Ask the pediatrician they can give you medicine or help. Other than that if she feels the need to go she should go maybe put a pad on her try that a thin always pad.

I would take her to a pediatric urologist. The sooner the better so all of this can be a distant memory to her. Good luck.

Take her to a specialist.
I went to school with a girl who had the same problem and she actually had a surgery to correct it. Not as scary as it sounds. It wasn't super invasive and she bounced right back. A specialist can evaluate her and see where to go from there.

Best wishes.

Have you taught her how to stop her pee midstream to strengthen her pelvic floor muscles? This is the best way to practice strengthening her mucles and stop leaks.

Good Luck

R. Magby

Step 1) Rule out chronic UTI's, bladder infection, and yeast infections.
Step 2) After everything medical has been ruled out, check for psych
Step 3) Ditto after everything medical, start working on strengthening the pelvic floor muscles and sphincter (keigles and stopping the pee midstream).

I'd absolutely agree with Stephanie R who mentioned the pediatric urologist. At least a visit to the pediatrician to find out what's happening. It's not common for a child that age to have issues with leaking, and I can certainly appreciate your concern now that she's beginning to get teasing at school.

Here is what the American Academy of Pediatrics has listed on their parenting website about Urinary Tract issues - I don't know if any of these are worth checking-out, but I'd definitely also look on MayoClinic.com, WebMD.com

The issue, in adults, is very much a weakening of the pelvic wall muscles, hence the need for kegel exercises. But, a 7 year-old shouldn't have that issue. So, good luck figuring out what is causing this.

Besides checking into the medical possibilities, cutting milk (maybe other dairy) out of her diet can help. Bladder issues are VERY common in people who have dairy sensitivites. Try it for a week or so to find out. Lots of people don't have a full-blown allergy to dairy but a sensitivity to it shows in more subtle ways.

If it were only during the nite, I would say it's common. 2 of my girls wet during the nite till puberty, as inconvenient as that was for me. However, I'd consult her pedictrician about a prediatric urologist because there may be something wrong in her urinary tract. I wouldn't let this go any longer. I'm not saying it's something serious, but I'm thinking it's something that needs to be diagnosed and treated. Meantime, if it's not a lot of urine, she could wear some kind of pad and have extras to change to when she's at school. I'd clue her teacher in if you haven't already. I'd be gentle with her. If it's something that's within her control & she isn't taking charge of it, I'd seek counselling for her right away in case something's upsetting her that she hasn't talked to you about.

Take her to a chiropractor. If she is out of alignment, it can effect her bladder and other nerve-impulse issues.

My 4-yo dd leaks when her intestines get "backed up," so to speak. We went to a pediatric urologist who eventually sent us for X-rays and an ultrasound since it had been going on for almost a year. Turns out even though she was going poop somewhat regularly, there was a hardened core of fecal matter that wasn't moving in her intestine. The specialist recommended we have her eat one stone fruit a day (peach, plum, nectarine, etc) and start Miralax. Sure enough, she stopped leaking. We have been weaning her off the Miralax slowly (stopping cold turkey can cause constipation). Miralax is over-the-counter, so no prescription required.

On the other hand, if it is a weak bladder, maybe having her do Kegels to strengthen her pelvic floor muscles will help lessen the leakage. Best of luck to you and your daughter!

First of all thanks for being such a compassionate mom and caring because that is very important! I have a 7yr old daughter as well and kids can be cruel so it's important for parents teach their kids empathy. Teach your kids understanding because no one deserves to be hurt in any way! I would go have a talk with her teacher and tell her the situation, thats assuming she doesn't already know! The teacher should have a talk with her class and explain to them that this is something that she can't help and explain to her peers or maybe just in general that this is more common than not and the effect on her, how sad it makes anyone to have a big problem and for their peers to show some compassion and kindness. Okay now maybe she needs to be checked for juvenile diabetes or type 1, most kids with this do experience a weak bladder and have accidents regularly! Mom, could you maybe sit down with her and have a one on one, just ask her what she thinks? Maybe the both of you together could work this out, maybe shes holding it for to long, maybe she needs an adult to remind her every 11/2 hours- 2 would probably be good. You can ask that her teacher do this and be descreet about it! Maybe she is going through a whole lot more than you know at school, this could be very damaging to her confidence/self esteem and that could be the reason. As a Dr. I can tell you there is NO easy answer for this one mom! What you can do to ensure that she feels great about her and is happy at home and esp. at school is be understanding! It looks like you are already half way there, you seem very loving and understanding. Now you have to make school a pleasant experience as well and I'm telling you this as a mother to a mother. You must make sure that she is not being berated at school and this means the teacher is acting appropriately too! We never like to think that someone in the position a teacher is in would do anything but you can never be to sure! I would ask my daughter if the teacher has been helpful about it and just see that she is acting appropriately! My heart breaks for you, as a mother you want to just keep them safe and away from anything cruel or mean and I'm letting you know it's okay to make sure even at school! You pay her teachers salary and they have a duty to do the right thing, so go to that school and make your wishes known! If you need anything else you can always reach me by email at ____@____.com. I also work the E.R. and I have an office at University of Michigan Hospital and have a private practice in Milan, MI. I would love to see her if you ever need a pediatrician! Hang in there and tell her to definitely hang in there and give her the statistics (3 out of every 10 kids still have accidents) usually by age 10 kids bladders are strong enough to put it behind them. Give her lots of love mom, thats the very best medicine! Good Luck, C. Lynn C., MD. DDS