May 30, 2006
Other
Question from Tennessee:
My 11 year old son has type 1 diabetes, diagnosed in September 2003. I took him to the pediatrician for what I thought was a bladder/urinary tract infection, but this turned out not to be the case. My son was using the restroom a lot and had a lot of burning while urinating. Now, at night, he is having trouble controlling his bladder. He wet the bed one night and the other two times he has put his underwear in the trash cans. When I asked him about it, he said he couldn’t help it. What should I do? Do you think that the diabetes and bed wetting/controlling of urine is related? Do I need to be concerned? I have e-mailed our endocrinologist four times and haven’t heard from him. I have also called and always get the answering service.
Answer:
I would start with your pediatrician. Certainly a bladder infection can cause urinary accidents. This can be worse if blood sugar control is not optimal. High blood sugars cause a child to produce additional urine and if this is happening through the night, your child may have more accidents at night. The urinary accidents may, in that way, be related to diabetes. Anytime there is a change in your child’s condition such as new onset bladder control problems, you should review that with your pediatrician.
MSB
