Question
What are the causes of frequent urination in young girls?
Answer
My daughter is 12 years old and has recently been saying that she wants to go to the bathroom, but each time she only pees a little. The time between her bathroom visits during the day is generally not more than an hour, but at night, she sleeps soundly until dawn without wetting the bed. The only issue is that she can’t control her urge to urinate during the day, saying she “can’t hold it in,” and sometimes she ends up wetting her pants. We have taken her to the hospital for checks, and the tests did not show any urinary tract infection. I am worried that during this time, her mother has been frequently urging her to go to the bathroom, even every ten to twenty minutes, each time peeing a little. I am concerned whether this behavior has caused psychological stress on the child? Can you speculate on what the cause might be? Are there any methods to correct it? Frequent urination in children is often due to inflammatory stimulation or other reasons such as neurogenic frequency. Clinically, it is necessary to carefully differentiate these causes. If there is redness and swelling at the urethral opening or excessive secretion, it is likely due to inflammation. Neurogenic frequency is characterized by frequent urination with small amounts of urine. It often occurs before going to bed and stops during sleep. Firstly, do not pay excessive attention or impose blame; do not scold or reprimand. Encourage children to shorten the interval between their bathroom visits as much as possible, and provide additional rewards if there is improvement. This can be achieved through guidance alone. Patients can take some oral medications, complemented by vitamins, and pay attention to personal hygiene, eat appropriately, avoid cold foods. It is hoped that young girls with frequent urination can recover quickly.