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ERIC / Daytime Wetting / Info for Teens /

Info for Teens

Lots of teenagers have wetting accidents in the day. Wetting can happen for all sorts of reasons and if you are worried about wettng in the day it is best to speak to you your school nurse, doctor or clinic about it so that something can be done to help the problem.

Why do teenagers wet in the day?

There are lots of reasons why teenagers may wet in the day and some of the most common reasons are listed below. For most teenagers something can be done to help or overcome the problem of daytime wetting.

An overactive bladder

When your bladder fills up it sends a signal to your brain that it is time to go for a wee. For some teenagers the message from the bladder gets mixed up and it sends the signal too quickly and before the bladder has filled up properly.

This means that you get a really strong urge to wee and you have to try really hard to stop yourself wetting before needing to rush to the toilet. Sometimes you just can’t hold it all in and you get wet or damp pants

Most teenagers with this problem will want to go to the toilet more than 8 times a day. This is a lot more each day than teenagers without daytime wetting problems – they only need to go between 4 and 7 times a day.

An overactive bladder can be helped by going to the toilet regularly every 1½ - 2 hours fits in well with school breaks - and drinking well through the day (see the drinking chart below).

Your doctor can sometimes prescribe medication to help stop the really strong feeling of needing to go wee quickly.

Constipation

Most teenagers go to poo everyday and some go every other day. If you don’t go poo for three days it means you are probably constipated.

This means that poo stays in your bowel for too long and it gets hard and difficult and uncomfortable to pass. When your bowel is full it can squeeze against your bladder and make you feel like you need to keep on having a wee.

Being busy

teenagers Are you sometimes so busy doing something that you forget to listen to your bladder telling you to go to the toilet?

Or maybe you leave having a wee because you don’t want to disturb what you are doing? So that by the time you rush to the toilet it can be a little bit too late?

It’s best to listen to your bladder and respond to the signal even if you really don’t want to disturb what you are doing.

Perhaps you could try going to the toilet before you start doing something and then you will know you won’t have to stop whatever you are doing to go to the toilet and you won’t have to spend time cleaning yourself and changing your wet clothes.

If you need a reminder to go to the toilet regularly you can set an alarm on your phone or watch.

Leaving wet pants on after you have had an accident can cause an infection, so it’s best to change out of wet pants as soon as possible.

Infections

Some teenagers get an infection in their bladder – this is known as a urinary tract infection (UTI). It can make you feel like you need to keep having a wee.

If you get a stinging feeling when you wee and your wee smells fishy it may mean you have an infection.

Your doctor can prescribe medication to clear the infection.

Drinks

To stay healthy your bladder needs you to drink properly and it is best to try to drink regularly through the day, everyday – that means you can have a drink every 1½ - 2 hours.

	Female	Male
9 - 13 years	1200 - 2100 ml	1400 - 2300 ml
14 - 18 years	1400 - 2500 ml	2100 - 3200 ml

Some drinks can make you want to wee more often. Lots of teenagers find that drinking fizzy drinks makes them need to rush to the toilet quite soon after drinking.

Other drinks that can have the same effect are blackcurrant squash, tea, coffee and some fruit juices.

You can work out whether any drinks cause this reaction in you by making a chart of all the drinks you normally drink. Then you can stop one drink at a time for a few days and see if it helps you stop needing to rush to the toilet so much. If it doesn’t make any difference then you can have that drink again.

Check out the colour of your wee

Is it light, almost like water? If it is, that means you are drinking well.

Is it a dark yellow colour? If it is, that means that you are probably not drinking enough and need to drink some more everyday. See the chart above for the recommended daily fluid intake.

To check the colour of your wee and to download a free Pee-o-meter from Yorkshire Water click here.

Using the toilet

Girls

Girls need to make sure they always sit on the toilet with feet on the floor.

Sit with a straight back and bend slightly forward, relax and let the wee flow out until it has completely finished.

If you have daytime wetting problems try to have a wee every 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Boys

Boys need to stand with their feet apart and relax and let the wee flow out.

If you have daytime wetting problems try to have a wee every 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Away from home

If you have problems wetting away from home, perhaps when at school, it can be useful to carry a clean-up bag with you every day so you can wipe yourself and change your pants if you are damp or wet. Staying in damp or wet underwear can cause an infection so it is always best to change as soon as possible.

In the clean-up bag you can put:

A clean pair of pants

A pack of wet wipes

A small plastic bag to put your wet pants in

There are a range of pads and panty liners available to buy which have been specially developed for daytime wetting problems. They are very thin and other people won't notice them through your clothes. You can change them and dispose of them easily. They can be helpful in making sure your clothes don't get wet, help you avoid infections and stop your clothes smelling.

If you have problems with wetting in the day it is always best to make an appointment with your school nurse, doctor or clinic to check why the wetting is happening and to get the right treatment to help stop it.