Nine Year old boy feels need to urinate frequently

[Momtothree369]

My nine yr old son has complained since he was four or five off and on about his "stupid penis!"  He goes through bouts a few times a year when he will feel an urgent need to pee, but doesn't really need to.  This is very bothersome to him.  He has no leakage and has literally never wet the bed, so I don't feel like it is overactive bladder.  This happens more frequently in the evening and seems to be relieved by a warm bath.  Any ideas?  

[HockeyMomof4]

My oldest son also had the writhing in the back seat because of his need to urinate; it would come on quickly with no warning and all of a sudden he had to go.  We discovered (because his 3 year old sister had UTI's and UTI's before the age of 4 are a sign that something is wrong) that he had Vesicoureteral Reflux.  He had the surgery when he was 12 to fix the problem and has been fine since.  His sister also had the surgery, if it hadn't been for her we would have missed this....the pediatrician said he had an over active bladder.  He has one kidney that will always be smaller than it should be because of the damage that was done during the first 12 years of his life.  I hope this helps.

[Dr J Singh]

Hello,
Juvenile diabetes or Type 1 diabetes is commonly detected at an early age and is found in young children. So with frequent urination, the first possibility is that. He might be suffering from a stone in the urinary tract and the presence of stone can give rise to this feeling of passing urine without actually passing urine. This is known as strangury. I’ll suggest you to get an ultrasound of the urinary tract and rule out any stones.

Other causes may be glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis(inflammation of the kidneys),urinary tract infection, hypercalcemia, hypokalemia(low potassium), hyperthyroidism and hyperparathyroidism. Please consult a pediatric urologist who can do all the investigations and guide you in a better way. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care.

[Momtothree369]

I think he would label it discomfort rather than pain.  I have tested his sugar before about thirty minutes after eating and it was under 100 so I don't think DM is the issue.  Is this normal for some little boys? He is so bothered by it and really gets worked up about the constant urge.  Today, in fact, he made us pull into a convenient store writhing as one does when they really need to urinate, and I went into the restroom with him and he barely passed any urine.  The sensation passed about 15 minutes later.  If this is normal, I will stop worrying, but I want to be sure there isn't something I am missing...My pediatrician isn't concerned about it, but I hate how worked up he gets.  Sorry to pester, but this is my boy! Thanks so much, Erin

[Dr J Singh]

Hi,
If he has any pain along with the urgent need to pee, then he might need further investigations like an ultrasound examination to rule out the presence of a stone in the urinary tract. However, if not, then I don’t think you need to worry. In case, he frequently goes to pass urine or what we call as polyuria, then diabetes needs to be ruled out by getting a blood sugar done. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care.