Chris wrote:
> That's fine by me, but definitely not my preferred method. I'm more
> inclined to work with my child to get to the bottom of an issue and
> therefore ask pertinent questions for either case - medical or
> behavioral. A 6-year-old is fully capable of answering some pointed
> questions honestly if not lead into a certain direction -- if she
> doesn't feel she can help it or change the problem, then medical
> evaluation should be pursued. I will avoid submitting my child for
> some painful, humiliating, invasive tests if at all possible. So, no,
> you don't have to automatically run to the doctor in every
> cir***stance. I can't imagine running my daughter into the office for
> unnecessary tests when I know full well what she is doing is
> behavioral.
I disagree in this case. Just getting a urine sample
is not painful, invasive or humiliating, and UTIs can be fairly
silent (especially to a young child not all that in tune with
her body yet) and can be indicative of problems that you need
to get on top of ASAP. It's quick and easy to rule out an UTI,
at which point you have the leisure to pursue the behavioral
issues without running the risk of causing kidney damage.
I'm probably the last person on earth to run to the
doctor for every little thing, but unless I had some pretty
strong clues that the issue was behavioral (e.g., starting
to have accidents again right after the arrival of a new
sibling, or something like that), I think a trip to rule out
a UTI is entirely appropriate. If there *is* a UTI, then
further testing might be warranted and you'll need to make
a judicious decision then, but you'll at least know that
there definitely is a physical issue at that point.
Best wishes,
Ericka
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