Healthy Bladder Clinic

The Healthy Bladder Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s is staffed by nurse practitioners, who have a great deal of experience in caring for children with bladder and urinary tract concerns. They collaborate with pediatric urologists at Cincinnati Children’s to provide excellent, personalized care. Your child’s treatment plan may include behavioral changes, bowel management, biofeedback, medication and other proven strategies.

Conditions We Treat

• Bed-wetting
• Daytime wetting
• Dysuria (painful or difficult urination)
• Having to urinate frequently or urgently
• Overactive bladder
• Urinary tract infections
• Other bladder-related concerns

Making an Appointment

If your child is experiencing bladder-related problems, talk to your pediatrician first. The pediatrician may order tests to help diagnose the problem, and may be able to treat your child effectively. If the problem does not resolve and your child needs more specialized care, you are welcome to make an appointment with the Healthy Bladder Clinic by contacting us.

Preparing For Your Child's First Appointment

Before your child’s first appointment, we will mail you two diaries to complete at home. One is to record your child’s drinking and voiding (urination) activity for two days, and the other is to record your child’s bowel habits for one week. These diaries provide very helpful information that will allow us to diagnose and treat your child more quickly. If you are unable to complete the diaries before your child’s first appointment, we will ask you to do it afterward.

Your Child's First Clinic Visit

Your child’s first appointment will be with one of our experienced nurse practitioners. These nurses have advanced training to help children with bladder-related issues, and take time during the appointment to answer questions and provide extensive education.

During the first appointment, the nurse practitioner will take a complete medical history and do a physical exam. The team also may test your child’s urine for signs of infection, and perform a “post-void ultrasound,” which shows how much urine is left in the bladder after your child urinates. These tests can take place in the clinic, and no special preparation is needed. If your child needs additional testing, the nurse practitioner will let you know.

During your child’s first appointment, the nurse practitioner will provide treatment recommendations based on your child’s unique needs. Treatment may include: 

• Behavior changes, such as not drinking any liquid after a certain time 
• Biofeedback/pelvic floor exercises, which teach your child how to relax her pelvic floor muscles so that she can empty her bladder completely while on the toilet
• Bowel management, since constipation is a common cause of bladder problems
• A bedwetting alarm
• Medications
• Positive reinforcement, such as a reward for staying dry during the day

The nurse practitioner may want to schedule a follow-up appointment to see how your child is responding to treatment. Our team is available to answer questions by phone as well.