Children as young as 13 are getting ketamine bladder damage — SkimNews
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Alder Hey Hospital opened a dedicated NHS ketamine bladder clinic in May 2024 and has received 100+ referrals — escalating from one patient in 2023, to nine in 2024, to a "rapid escalation" in 2025, with roughly one new referral per week
- Prof Rachel Isba, who runs the clinic, said children describe urinating "over broken glass" and passing shed bladder lining they liken to "peeing a jellyfish"
- Of the first 60 patients, 43 were girls, and many had used ketamine for over a year — meaning some likely started at age 12 or younger, the BBC reports
- Prolonged damage can cause incontinence, kidney failure, and in severe cases require surgical bladder repair or removal; stopping use sometimes reverses the harm
- The British Association of Urological Surgeons estimates roughly 3 in 10 frequent ketamine users develop bladder issues
- Children under 16 who want to quit cannot access inpatient detox stays that would be offered to them at 18 — a gap Prof Isba called "unfair" for patients ready to stop
Why it matters: Girls account for 43 of the clinic's first 60 patients, and the UK currently has no inpatient detox pathway for under-16 ketamine users — meaning the most motivated young patients have no medically supervised withdrawal option even when they ask for help, while damage from a "pocket-money" priced drug can require bladder removal.
Ask SkimNews
