Daytime urine control

Pediatrics for Parents, Oct, 2003

There are few things more embarrassing for school-aged children that daytime wetting--loss of urine control. It usually occurs in children who have attained good control. One often overlooked cause in girls is urethrovaginal reflux.

When urethrovaginal reflux occurs, voided urine seeps back into the vagina rather than being completely expelled. The urine may pool in the vagina only to leak out later on. Although different from true incontinence (loss of bladder control), the end result is the same--moist or wet clothing.

In a Swedish study of 169 girls seven to fifteen years old referred to a specialist for daytime wetting, 23 were found to have urethrovaginal reflux. They all had a typical history of a daytime leakage of a small amount of urine five to ten minutes after voiding. None of the girls had any structural problems or significant infections.

The treatment consisted of training the girls in proper voiding techniques. They were followed for an average of two year--and all maintained daytime dryness.