Take your child to a hospital emergency department straight away if they: have symptoms of severe dehydration – they are not urinating, are pale and thin, have sunken eyes, cold hands and feet, and are drowsy or cranky.
Your child may be dehydrated if they are not urinating (peeing) often enough or if they have dark- colored urine. A baby younger than 1 year should have 6 to 8 wet diapers in a 24-hour period. An older child usually urinates every 6 to 8 hours.
Caregivers should take a toddler with any of the following symptoms to see a doctor: no urinating for over 3 hours.
Children with an underactive bladder are able to go for more than 6-8 hours without urinating. These children sometimes have to strain to urinate because the bladder muscle itself can become “weak” from being overstretched and may not respond to the brain's signal that it is time to go.
Voiding dysfunction may be related to urinary tract infections, constipation, stress at school or at home, or drinking caffeine. In most children, overactive bladder improves with age. But in the meantime, try to have your child use the bathroom every two hours whether he or she thinks it's necessary or not.
Though the diaper may not be as wet as usual, as long as your baby is peeing every 3 to 4 hours, there is no cause for concern. If your baby who is in the lactational stage does not pee for more than half a day, it is a cause for concern. Your baby may be suffering from dehydration.
What causes bladder control problems in children? Bathroom habits, such as holding urine too long, and slow physical development cause many of the bladder control problems seen in children.
The best treatment for mild dehydration is to give your child more fluid to drink, such as water or oral rehydration solutions. Gastrolyte, HYDRAlyte, Pedialyte and Repalyte are different types of oral rehydration solutions (fluids) that can be used to replace fluids and body salts.
In severe cases, dehydration can lead to shock or even death. If you or your child is vomiting, has a fever, or is unable to urinate, you should go to the ER right away.
For mild dehydration, have your child rest for 24 hours and keep drinking fluids, even if symptoms get better. Fluid replacement may take up to a day and a half. Continue on your child's regular diet as well. For severe dehydration, the child may need IV fluids in the hospital.
With acute urinary retention, a health care professional will immediately drain the urine from your bladder using a catheter. Removing the urine from the bladder eases your pain and helps prevent your bladder and kidneys from being damaged.
Bladder training
urinating on schedule every 2 to 3 hours, called timed voiding. relaxing the pelvic floor muscles so children can empty the bladder fully. A few sessions of biofeedback can retrain muscles that don't work together in the right order.
Holding is likely to overstretch the bladder, it also makes children more likely to endure a urinary tract infection and also it can lead to kidney damage due to the back pressure. Please be reassured however, that if this issue does not continue for too long, it won't have a long term effect.
Fewer wet diapers
In infants and toddlers, persistently dry diapers are a telltale sign of dehydration. If your baby is younger than 6 months and produces little to no urine in 4 to 6 hours, or if your toddler produces little to no urine in 6 to 8 hours, they may be dehydrated.
Healthy babies pee as little as four to six times a day or as much as every one to three hours. Many healthcare providers want to see at least four to six wet diapers a day, with fewer than that being a reason for concern.
It's common for newborns to go one to three hours without passing a drop of urine. Once your baby gets a bit older, his or her bladder grows, and so does the capacity for bladder control. So, older babies can go four to six hours without urinating.
A number of physical findings together with clinical history can help assess the severity of dehydration. These findings include the child's pulse, blood pressure, skin turgor, increased thirst or lethargy, and decreased urine output.
Give your child small sips of oral rehydration solution as often as possible, about 1 or 2 teaspoons (5 or 10 milliliters) every few minutes. Babies can continue to breastfeed or take formula, as long as they are not vomiting repeatedly. Older children also can have electrolyte ice pops.
Bananas. The classic healthy post-workout snack, bananas are packed with potassium, one of the most important electrolytes. Dehydration can cause an imbalance of electrolytes in the body, so eating potassium-rich foods when you're feeling parched should help stave off the symptoms.
With beginning symptoms of dehydration, you can rehydrate by consuming fluids that contain electrolytes, such as sports drinks or oral rehydration solutions. There are also foods available that have a high water content, such as fruits and vegetables. These will also help with rehydration.