New Zealand Continence Awareness Week plans underway
The New Zealand Continence Association is preparing for their national annual awareness week to be run from the 24th to
the 30th of June this year.
Awareness week is run as a part of World Continence Awareness Week and this year is promoting “good bowel and bladder
habits for everyone” with an additional focus on primary aged children with incontinence issues.
“The issue of continence in children has received little attention in the past and parents and teachers are often
confused at what age the child should be when they seek help,” says CEO of the New Zealand Continence Association, Jan
Zander.
The approach of awareness week will be to promote good bladder and bowel habits for every age group across New Zealand
through education and by making people aware of free continence services available.
The NZ Continence Association will offer a ‘Toilet Tactics’ kit to all primary schools in New Zealand. This will raise
awareness of healthy bladder and bowel habits and help to improve the standard of school toilets across NZ.
This kit provides useful information that teachers can incorporate into classroom activities for health education.
The Association will promote two books they have created with child continence nurse, Jacqueline Brown, which will be
launched during awareness week titled ‘A Wee Secret’ and ‘Poo Hoo’. These high quality cartoon style storybooks will
provide an opportunity for children to discuss these sensitive issues along with a section of parent information.
With good bladder and bowel health information large numbers of people could be spared continence problems in the future
that cause embarrassment and tend to take control of a person’s life.
What are the warning signs of bladder control problems?
- Wet yourself when you cough, laugh or sneeze (even tiny amounts)
- An urgent need to pass urine, being unable to hold or get to the toilet on time
- Go to the toilet more than 5-8 times in 24 hours
- Get up more than once at night
- Go to the toilet ‘just in case’
- Wet the bed after the age of 7 yrs
- Difficulty starting or stopping the stream of urine or when it stops and starts
- Straining to start urine
- A feeling that the bladder is not empty once urine is passed
- A burning discomfort while passing urine
- Pushing or staining to pass a bowel motion or any change in your regular pattern that causes concern.
- Unable to control wind