r/girlmom • u/BrilliantEast1709 • Mar 06 '26
Hygiene for girls with sensory issues need help please!
Has anyone dealt with a girl who is very sensitive with sensory stuff? My daughter's been potty trained since 2.5 but I continued wiping her. All was well. She recently turned 4 and very suddenly decided she didn't like how I wiped and that it wasn't dry enough. But when she wipes herself she takes maybe 10+ passes. She wipes so much and so hard she leaves behind bits of tp fibers that irritate her down there and then have to be very carefully cleaned out. Bathing/rinsing isn't always enough. I repeatedly show her how to wipe properly, but it doesn't help. She's also lately become really sensitive about how clothes feel and her hair touching her. I feel like all of this is pointing to ASD but we haven't tested yet and haven't had any other signs. Mainly looking for ways to make the bathroom easier and not have her wiping with a whole roll of tp for 20 minutes every time she pees. Thanks for any help.
2
u/kls987 Mar 06 '26
We've gone through something similar. Here's my post about it: Almost 5 year daughter complains of feeling wet after urinating, has meltdowns. I have run out of things to try/say/do. : r/Preschoolers
The thing that helped the most in terms of the wiping issue is getting the pediatrician to check her out, make sure she didn't have a UI, and then give some guidelines on how to wipe and how many times. Our pediatrician is great, and very gently explained technique and then gave her a "you can wipe three times, and after that, you're done" which gave my daughter some good boundaries. We did therapy, but she mostly fixed the issue herself. She is almost 7 now, and still has some physical sensations, but they no longer cause meltdowns and affect our lives.
She's neurotypical, just very sensitive, both about feelings and her own body.