When kids can’t control their urination (urine/pee) or bowel movements (feces/poop) it’s called "incontinence." Incontinence can happen to children at any age — even teens — and for many reasons. This can be overwhelming for everyone in the family. For kids, it can cause anxiety, depression and social problems like bullying. That’s why we offer special clinics where care teams work together to pinpoint the cause, and to help kids of all ages achieve or regain continence — and confidence. 

At Nemours, we provide services for kids of all ages who are experiencing issues like:

• urinary incontinence (can’t control pee)
• fecal incontinence (can’t control bowel movements or poop)
• failure to toilet (potty) train
• chronic constipation
• problems with urinary frequency and urgency (having to pee suddenly and often, overactive bladder)
• voiding dysfunction (incomplete bladder emptying)
• recurring (ongoing) urinary tract infections (UTIs)

To help kids with continence (gaining control of their bladder and/or bowels), we offer a variety of diagnostic and treatment services. These may vary depending on your child’s situation or the location you visit and may include: 

• behavioral health (if there’s no medical reason for the incontinence, or to manage the social impacts) 
• biofeedback and interactive games (part of behavior therapy that teaches your child to relax and listen to their body’s internal signals)
• gastroenterology (digestive specialists who help with fecal incontinence or constipation that doesn’t respond to the usual treatments)
• medical imaging (to see if there are any conditions causing your child’s incontinence)
• urodynamics studies (tests that show how well the bladder and urethra are storing and releasing urine)
• urology surgery (if there’s a surgical reason for your child’s urinary incontinence)
• voiding cystourethrogram or VCUG (an X-ray exam that checks the bladder and the flow of pee)

At Nemours, our care team members created these coordinated programs so they could help children with the physical, social and emotional issues related to incontinence. In addition to specialized training, many have been part of our bladder or continence clinic teams for more than a decade. 

Regional Highlights of Our Continence (Incontinence) Care

Services, programs, facilities and teams differ at each location. Call for details.