Child Bedwetting - Advice and Help Online
What Causes it and how to Stop it
Child bedwetting is a common ailment affecting millions of children. There are estimated to be five to six million cases of child bedwetting in the United States alone, blowing away the common misconception that it is an uncommon problem. The term bedwetting defines a girl over the age of four and a boy over the age of five who wet the bed.
There are two types of bedwetting (correctly named nocturnal enuresis) – primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) and secondary nocturnal enuresis (SNE). Primary is where the child has never had control of their bladder at night, having wet the bed at least twice a month. Secondary is where the child has had a period of control of their bladder for at least six months, but the bed wetting has started again. While they seem the same, PNE and SNE have different causes and treatments.
Primary Nocturnal Enuresis:
This is the most common type of bedwetting among children, and causes include a small/immature bladder and being a deep sleeper. When a child with this condition sleeps deeply, they do not wake up when their brain tells them that their bladder is full, hence the impending urine release while asleep. It is a condition that is commonly inherited through the family, and also children with ADD or ADHD, allergies or learning problems are more susceptible to bed wetting.
While many children grow out of bedwetting, there are many treatment options available for ones who don’t, including the use of medication and behavior modification and it will be a case of trial and error for many of them.
There are two drugs that can be prescribed by doctors – Imipramine (Tonfranil) and Desmpressin acetate (DDAVP). While they can help in the short time, they only mask the symptoms, and often the symptoms return on the cessation of the drug.
See our section called Stop Bedwetting with the help of drugs for further information.
Behavioral treatment options include the use of alarms, night-lifting and retention control training. Alarms work by sounding when dampness is detected, alerting the child to get up and go to the toilet. Night-lifting involves waking the child throughout the night and walking them to the toilet to urinate, ultimately teaching them to wake up and go themselves. Retention control training works by getting the child to hold-on to urine during the day, and stretching the time out between toilet stops. This supposedly helps expand and strengthen the bladder, but should only be done on the advice of your doctor.
For more in-depth information on treatment options, see Bedwetting Products: How effective are they? Our visit our Bedwetting Shop.
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Secondary Nocturnal Enuresis:
This type of child bed wetting is related to stress in the child’s life, such as hospital trips, starting school, and family related stress (such as alcoholism, abuse or neglect). It can also be related to a physical problem with the child, such as a urinary tract infection. Parents can try the above suggestions for trying to stop the bed wetting, and in any case, if the problem persists, then a doctor should be consulted.
Next >> Five tips to help your child stop bedwetting
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