Dehydration can affect anyone, including toddlers. Signs of dehydration include less frequent urination, no tears when crying, and cracked lips. Dehydration occurs when the body uses or loses more fluid than it takes in. On most days, people will replace fluids easily by drinking and eating as usual.
Call your doctor if your baby or child has a dry mouth, fewer tears than usual, and no wet diapers or hasn't urinated in more than 6 hours. Get emergency help right away if your child or baby is very sleepy and hard to wake up, or if your baby or child hasn't had any wet diapers or hasn't urinated in 12 or more hours.
However, there are a few instances where decreased urination can indicate an underlying issue, such as inadequate hydration for toddlers. If the child is not urinating for 12 hours, this may be a sign of dehydration. Bladder dysfunction, an infection, or obstruction in the flow can also cause reduced urine output.
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.
A newborn baby usually passes urine for the first time within 12 to 24 hours after birth. Not peeing in the first 24 hours points to some urinary tract problem.
If your child is only urinating two or three times per day, that's not enough. Holding urine too long can cause urinary tract infections, especially in girls. Kids should urinate five or six times per day, she says — about every two to three 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.
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.
Signs of dehydration in kids include: Dry tongue and dry lips. No tears when crying. Fewer than six wet diapers per day (for infants), and no wet diapers or urination for eight hours (in toddlers).
Most toddlers urinate four to eight times each day, usually about every two hours or so. Most toddlers have one or two bowel movements each day, some have three, and others skip a day or two in between movements.
Most kidney diseases may result in low urine output in children. Glomerular conditions or other kidney problems lead to oliguria or decreased urine output. A few drugs or medications also result in oliguria.
The best thing to do to combat this is to schedule bathroom breaks. Ask your child if they feel the urge to pee. Give them verbal reminders and cues, and then tell them it's time to try. Then celebrate their attempt, even if your toddler sits on the potty but doesn't go.
“The most common issue for kids not wanting to release is that they're just not quite ready, physiologically,” she says. Most children will have a “false start” for potty training, where they show interest but don't turn out to be ready after all, she says.
If urine is held too long or is incompletely discharged, bacteria may increase. The high pressure generated by muscles straining against themselves may break down the one-way mechanism of urine flow, which normally prevents urine from going back up into the kidneys from the bladder.
Most children urinate within an hour after having a large drink. Use these times to watch for signals that your child needs to urinate or have a bowel movement. In addition, place your child on the potty at regular intervals. This may be as often as every 1½ to 2 hours.
Severe dehydration
In more severe cases of dehydration, your child might need to go to hospital to catch up on fluid loss. In many cases, the safest and quickest way to do this is by via a small tube that goes into your child's nose and then into their stomach. The rehydrating fluids go through this tube.
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.
Make sure she's comfortable. Kids will withhold if they feel wobbly on an adult-sized toilet or poorly designed potty. Meanwhile, take her in to see her doctor. She may be withholding because she already has a urinary tract infection, and peeing is so painful that she tries to do it as seldom as possible.
Bladder Development
New born babies' bladders hold about 30mls of urine, increasing by 30mls each year. A child's average bladder capacity can be worked out using this equation: age + 1 x 30 = average voided volume. Therefore the bladder capacity for a three year old is: 3+1 x 30= 120mls.
If your baby keeps vomiting, switch to a rehydrating solution that contains sugars and salts. For children six months to 1 year, it's important not to use water. For children older than 1 year, use diluted apple juice or sports drink. Dilute the drink with water, using half water and half drink.
Dehydration: How to Tell
It is a reason to see a doctor right away. Your child may have dehydration if not drinking much fluid and: The urine is dark yellow and has not passed any in more than 8 hours. Inside of the mouth and tongue are dry.
“Let's start with what your kids are drinking,” says Berry. “Your child's body needs to replenish the water being lost through sweat, breathing and urination, and water is absolutely the best fluid for that. Unflavored milk is also good — whole milk for toddlers and skim or 1% for kids older than 2.