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It is a term associated with describing the condition of abnormal urination and frequent visits to the bathroom during the day.
Children often face pollakiuria and an overactive bladder, causing an urgent need to urinate, numerous visits to the bathroom, and not being able to control urine for even a few seconds.
Polaquiuria, a word derived from the Greek word, Pollakis, literally means “often.” This condition is prevalent and not a threat to the human body.
Pediatricians worldwide come across several cases of pollakiuria in a year and claim that it is as common as bladder infections.
Frequency is considered more common in children between the ages of four and ten. The condition may also be referred to as ‘extraordinary daytime urinary frequency’ or ‘simulated urinary tract infection.’
What are the symptoms of frequency?
Frequent daytime urination
Several symptoms and characteristics are associated with frequency, and these symptoms are prevalent. Children suffering from frequency may be subject to the development of frequent urination during the day suddenly.
Even children who have been toilet trained will see this symptom develop and will be faced with the frequent urge to urinate, leading to the bathroom every five to ten minutes.
A child can be expected to urinate three to four times an hour or up to forty times a day.
Urinate a little at a time
Another standard frequency feature is that you have no pain associated with it. Thus, the child is pain-free during urination.
It is also observed that although the child visits the toilet several times, he will urinate only a small amount of urine at each visit. Remember that the child will not face any incidents of urine leakage unless his visit to the bathroom is delayed.
Decreased fluid intake
If your child shows a sudden decrease in fluid intake, it may be a sign of frequency. Although the frequency of urination during the day increases, the child will also experience nocturnal urination to a lesser extent.
School-age children are more prone to frequency and may be inclined to recur frequency cycles, stretching throughout one to two years.
Doctors have not been able to identify alterations in intestinal behavior or any indication of infection in the child.
What causes frequency?
It is essential to understand the causes of frequency in children. Children who face the problem of an overactive bladder, which leads them to urinate frequently, usually have uncontrollable spasms in the bladder muscles.
The bladder muscles present around the urethra prevent urine from leaving the body at the wrong time. However, these muscles can be affected if the bladder faces a muscular contraction.
Urinary tract infection
Any urinary tract infection can cause the urinary tract to become inflamed, causing severe discomfort. This swelling and pain lead to the need to urinate frequently.
It should be noted that certain neurological conditions can lead to these urinary tract changes.
Stress
Another condition that can lead to an overactive bladder is stress. Doctors believe that stress is the leading cause of frequency which causes frequent urination during the day. Take children to urinate very often.
Pollakiuria can occur during the hours when the child is awake and healthy. The frequency caused by stress usually ends in two to three weeks without treatment.
Other factors
There are several other frequency causes, including increased caffeine intake that increases urine output and spasms in the bladder muscle.
There are also different ingredients or foods which can cause allergies in children, along with anxiety and stress, which will make children hold their urine for a more extended period and thus put pressure on the bladder.
This, in turn, will create a decreased ability of the bladder to hold urine and can even cause constipation.
How to treat frequency
Overcome frequency naturally
Most of the time, children can outgrow frequency as their overactive bladder becomes normal after 2-3 weeks. After your child turns 5, his chances of having an overactive bladder decrease by 15% each year.
Your child begins to learn to respond to changes in his body and changes in his bladder capacity. Also, if your child is under stress, they may experience an overactive bladder, but this problem will resolve as soon as the stressful incident is over.
Bladder training
On the other hand, if your child’s frequency cannot subside, you need to treat him accordingly. This may include giving you bladder training to teach you how to control your bladder.
Your child will be taught various exercises to help strengthen his urethra and establish coordination between the bladder and urethra muscles to control the sudden urge to urinate frequently during the day.
These exercises teach you to control urination when you do not have access to a toilet.
Maintain a healthy lifestyle
Apart from that, other techniques can help your child mitigate this condition. For example, you are taught to control your caffeine intake and caffeine-rich foods, such as coffee. He has to avoid eating foods that can result in any allergies.
Also, it would help if you established a urination routine to help you control abnormal urination.
You will also need to improve your hygiene and adopt healthy urination habits, including urinating correctly when you feel the urge to urinate and relaxing your muscles.
Medicines
In addition to these techniques, some medications can help your child fight an overactive bladder and frequency. Oxybutynin is a medicine that helps control the urge to urinate.
It also treats different bladder infections. It relaxes the muscles of the bladder and therefore prevents disorders and conditions that affect the urinary tract.
Your child’s healthcare provider may prescribe antibiotics if they have a urinary tract infection that has resulted in an overactive bladder.
Preventive measures and tips available to help manage the problem of frequency
Prevention is always the best option, and in this case, several steps can be taken to prevent your child from developing OAB.
Here are some tips:
- It would help if you dedicated yourself to building your children’s confidence that they are healthy and thus helping to reduce the anxiety and stress on their minds.
- You don’t have to consider having X-rays, and you should prevent your children from being scared by the additional tests.
- You should also help your child understand that they can wait a more extended period to urinate and that there will not be an incident of urine leakage. The more confidence develops in children’s minds, the better the bladder control will be.
- Work to increase your child’s fluid intake and make sure no one is making fun of his frequent urination condition.
- Proper hygiene is essential, not only in the case of OAB but also in many other urinary infections.
- Educating children on the proper way to wash after a bowel movement is essential.
- Teaching girls to squat while urinating can help prevent getting infected with UTIs while using public restrooms.
- The use of harsh chemicals and soaps on the genitals is not advisable.
- Kegel exercises can help improve muscle strength and improve the urge to urinate frequently.
- Motivational therapy is an excellent option to encourage your child to stick to a proper bathroom schedule and stick to it. Rewarding good behavior will reinforce it and help your child stick to the plan.
- Reassure your child that he is healthy and that this condition will pass and that they should not worry. Help your child relax if they feel stressed or stressed. Make sure your child has plenty of free time and structured playtime.
If your child experiences abnormal symptoms, it is best to visit a doctor.
Are there home remedies to treat frequent urination in children?
Sometimes simple home remedies can be beneficial in helping your child deal with frequent urination. Following a proper time for the child to urinate and rewarding positive reactions is an incentive that can make a difference.
Give bladder-friendly foods and drinks like curd, water, and fiber, and avoid irritating foods like chocolate, caffeinated beverages, etc.
In general, frequent urination in children can be exhausting for both the child and the parents. The condition itself is treatable and harmless.
Following preventive measures can also help children avoid developing an overactive bladder and frequent urination.
As the child grows and can have better control of the muscles of his intestine, this condition will decrease and disappear.
