Voiding Improvement Program (VIP)
Who we are
The Boston Children's Hospital Voiding Improvement Program (VIP) understands that toilet training and urinary continence are essential aspects of a child's socialization. Urinary issues can:
- create stress, anxiety and embarrassment for children
- keep them from enjoying sleepovers and other typical social activities
- affect a child’s school attendance and performance
- lead to missed work days for parents
Here at Children's, the Voiding Improvement Program uses non-invasive methods, including Biofeedback, to help children and their families overcome a wide variety of urinary issues, including difficulty with toilet training, daytime and nighttime incontinence, and recurrent urinary tract infections.
About urinary issues in children
Children experience many types and degrees of urinary issues. Very often, dysfunctional elimination syndrome is the underlying cause of these issues.
While most children become toilet trained by age 3 or 4, some older children still have trouble achieving dryness, either during the day, at night, or sometimes both. Other children may stay dry for a period of time and then begin wetting again.
Still others experience recurrent urinary tract infections following toilet training, which can be frustrating for families and primary care providers.
How we can help
Our VIP team will first evaluate your child to make sure that a more serious underlying medical or surgical issue is not present. We will then take a comprehensive and holistic approach to treating your child's elimination issues - with a customized treatment plan tailored to the patient's individual needs.
And at every step of the way, our experienced team of pediatric urologists, nurse practitioners and staff will guide your child, and you, through this important process with skill, compassion and empathy.
Conditions we evaluate and treat
- daytime urinary incontinence (enuresis)
- nighttime urinary incontinence (bedwetting/nocturnal enuresis)
- irritative voiding symptoms such as urgency & frequency
- difficulty with toilet training
- recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- voiding dysfunction and dysfunctional elimination syndrome
Our expertise
Our expert clinicians will evaluate your child to assess whether voiding problems are a result of anatomic, medical or behavioral issues.
The tools that we offer for comprehensive evaluation and treatment include:
- A questionnaire specifically designed to identify urinary issues
- Listening carefully to your and your child’s concerns
- Complete physical examination
as well as:
- Acupressure (coming soon!)
- Acupuncture
- Biofeedback training
- Bowel program for constipation
- Reiki therapeutic touch and relaxation
- Urinalysis
- Uroflowmetry (a non-invasive test used to measure pattern and quality of urine flow)
- Ultrasound
- X-rays of the abdomen and pelvis
Now seeing patients in Boston and Waltham
VIP will be even more convenient for families as it expands to Children's Waltham campus. Patients will receive the same high level of care offered in our Boston location, yet with the added convenience of free parking and more spacious facilities.
Request an appointment online or call us at 617-355-7796.
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A medical approach to end wetting?
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