Share to ClassroomKetamine Hurts Children as Young as 13
Children as young as 13 are getting serious bladder damage from the drug ketamine, say doctors at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. The bladder holds urine in the body. The hospital has Britain's first special clinic for young people with this problem. A study of the first 60 patients found that their average age was 14. About two-thirds were girls, and many came from poor areas. The illness is called ketamine bladder. People with it must use the toilet very often, and there can be blood in their urine.
Doctors use ketamine to stop pain during operations, but some people take it as an illegal drug. It is very cheap. Professor Rachel Isba runs the clinic. She says it is probably now the third most popular drug among young people. The hospital saw one young patient in 2023, but many more came in 2025, so it opened the clinic that May. Many of the children have had difficult lives.
Harriet Corbett, a doctor at the hospital, says the damage can be very bad and may never go away. In the worst cases, patients need a big operation. Some say using the toilet feels like broken glass. Stopping ketamine can help, and the clinic supports young people without judging them. Corbett says the problem can be prevented.
