Patient's question:
My son is 4 years old this year, but recently he has been urinating frequently, and each time he urinates very little, but very often. What is the reason?Doctor's answer:
Hello: Regarding the issue of frequent urination in children, parents should first consider whether the child falls into the first two categories mentioned above, especially conditions such as epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and other central nervous system disorders. If it is a urinary tract infection, factors such as phimosis, balanitis, overactive bladder, urine reflux, and stones should be considered. If all tests for the child show no abnormalities and there are indeed psychological characteristics of frequent urination, then the doctor can cautiously diagnose it as "psychogenic enuresis."a、Causes
Children's psychological development is not yet mature, making them easily influenced by external environments and suggestive language. Their control, stress resistance, and expression abilities are still relatively weak. Therefore, even slight stimuli, including residual urine stimulating the foreskin and genital area, friction from uncomfortable clothing, the sound of flowing water, whistling, and other factors, can trigger a need to urinate in children. Additionally, parental habits and personality traits can also affect children. For example, if adults suffer from frequent urination, parents overly emphasize "not holding urine," or parents frequently anxiously remind children "whether they need to urinate," as well as children experiencing stress from schoolwork, family, and interpersonal relationships, or children having impatient or anxious personalities, all of these can lead to psychogenic enuresis in children.
b、Treatment Methods
The treatment of psychogenic enuresis in children should first be psychological therapy. Therefore, the first step is to understand the cause, followed by behavioral therapy, which is also known as "urinary retention training."
Parents may be puzzled: isn't holding urine unhealthy? Why would we teach children "urinary retention training"?