HELP With My Almost 10 Year Old and Her Bathroom Problems

Are you sure there isn't something physically wrong with her? I had to have surgery at age 8 to correct a misshapen bladder. My bladder was shaped like a football and I was unable to control my urination. It was a very difficult time for me and it took several doctors to find the issue. After the surgery, I never had another problem.

It is just something you may need to have checked.

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I wonder if requiring a shower, clean hair, brushed teeth, etc, before she can go anywhere (including sleepovers) would give her some incentive. Get her some maxipads with wings and make her wear them so that she isn't tinkling in her pants.

I would definitely talk to a counselor about this. If she doesn't know she is tinkling, there's a real problem. If she knows and won't talk about it, that's a problem too. A counselor could help you both, I think.

Good luck,
D.

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instead of the baby wipes, try the feminine wipes now available. They're flushable & fresh-scented. & I agree...it's time for counseling.

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Hey There,

I am a mom of all boys, and although none of mine have had a problem like this - I would suggest maybe taking her to a counselor? At 10 I would assume (and I could very easily be wrong!! but I'm just throwing in my 2 cents..) ...I would think that at the age of 10 a girl would be much more self conscious about herself, especially regarding a bathroom issue and showering.

Maybe there is an underlying issue here that needs to be brought up? Perhaps not - but you never know until you know.

I hope you get lots of responses, I'm sitting here myself wondering what I'd do!

Hang in there - you'll come up with something!

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When I was in my 20's I had cronic UTI's. The medication didn't seem to help. One thing that did help was taking frequent baths (no bubbles), with a shower (especially for a young girl) her private area aren't getting clean.

Just a few other thoughts and suggestions...
Encourage her to wipe herself with a baby wipe after urinating. I know it's propably like talking to a wall.
She's probably used to the smell so it's not bothering her.
Maybe during the day, you could get her to wear pantiliners.

I know this probably doesn't help alot, but I can offer from experience that as they get older, their hygeniene habits do improve... or maybe it's just that they get tired of hearing me nag.

Good luck.

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I too think it may be something a counselor should bee seen about it. I wish I had some great parental advice. They do have medication for bladder control, maybe she needs that? What if you got her some lotions or spray from bath and body works, at least she won't smell like pee...

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Wow, this sounds exactly like my niece. She is 8. She always "leaks" and the smell is horrible. When she comes to my house (which is a lot) I have her wear some type of pad b/c the pee will leak through her clothes and she just sits in it. I don't understand it either. I have her shower/bath twice and she still smells. I know she is clean so the smell is her pee. It is very strong. Her mom took her to the doc and said she needed to drink more water. I think she was supposed to go back for more tests or something but hasn't gone back yet. I do have her use a wipe after using the bathroom and that does help some, but if I am not on top of her making sure she is doing all this, she smells like pee. I don;t have any more suggestions, but just know you are not alone.

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I'm surprised that no one has really mentioned that she may have an issue with her sense of smell and might not be able to recognize that there is a scent that is abnormal.

Yes, all the other advice is completely good.

My personal opinion is that it's likely more of a medical issue, but I do believe there is considerable merit in seeing counseling as well.

Good luck!

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The bladder is a muscle, as is the urethra, which is the opening from the bladder to the outside, is short, sometimes bacteria can get pushed into the urethra causing UTI's. Be sure that when she wipes after going to the bathroom, wipe from FRONT to BACK, so as not to pull fece's into the area of the urethra.
I just talked to a friend in Ohio last week, whose 11 year old daughter has bed wetting, foul odorous urine, frequent UTI's and she got her on a special nutritional supplement (food product) and in two W., was having great improvement in the issue, odor significantly decreased as well. A weakness in the muscles can be contributing.
If you send a private message, I could get you in touch with the lady and find out what she did for her daughter. I have talked with others who have had similar issues and gotten better, without any surgery or medication.

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My sister's son has bladder issues and he's 12. He only has problems at night. She wakes him up at midnight and to go and then he might have a chance (he's a very sound sleeper) I'm working on this problem with my son who is 6. Do you constantly remind her. Before you go to school, before you eat your lunch, and also have her teacher remind her.
I'm starting to say, "If you come home dry three days in a row then I'll take you to the movie." He really wants to see a certain movie but it could be anything she's passionate about. My son gives me the blank stare too and turns off. I hope this helps, hang in there, I guess that's all we can do.

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My 5 year old granddaughter went to the doctor for a totally unrelated problem and they found that she was very constipated and gave her an enema at the hospital. I'm telling you this because she had started having problems telling when she needed to urinate and had several accidents in the W. leading up to finding this out, she even had daily bowel movements, two W. before she had a bowel accident, the only one. It could be that she's constipated. Increasing fruit juice and water could help, they have her taking Miralax daily (half the usual dose), she hasn't had an accident since her enema two W. ago. Just another idea.

please don't get upset with what iam going to say..please,,,,have you checked to see if she has I hate to say this been touched..she could be acting out because of this..she may feel it bothers others maybe it will stop..check for other symptoms, mood swings, crying, going to room, embarresed of body, not eating, bad at school, pay attention to every detail..

Along with the moist wipes, have her drink 100% cranberry juice. It is really good for the bladder. If it is a problem of "leaking" she may have a medical issue and can't help it. I see a few people in my office with a condition called spastic bladder. They have gone to lots of Dr's. The one thing that has worked for them is from Anabolic Laborotories. They take 1 Cran-Max a day (cranberries in capsule form) and 1 Tri-adrenopan. Talk to your chiropractor about it or call Anabolic Labs. They have great nutritionists on staff. They are people with Phd's in human nutrition.