Bed Wetting Concerns

Bed wetting is simply wetting the bed while you are asleep in your bed. The scientific name for bed wetting is nocturnal enuresis or sometimes it is simply called enuresis. Some people also refer to it as sleep wetting. Bed wetting is very common among children, boys more so than girls. It is believed that approximately five to seven million children experience this problem. Doctors classify bed wetters as girls who are older than four years and boys who are over five years who chronically wet their beds during sleep. The tendency to wet the bed however does decrease as a child gets older.

Studies have shown that approximately ten percent of six-year-old youngsters wet their beds routinely while this number decreases to three percent for fourteen year olds. It is rare but it does happen that bed wetting contuse to plague both older teenagers and even adults. This problem can be very minor to serious and cause a great deal of distress and embarrassment for the person involved.

There are believed to be a number of causes for primary nocturnal enuresis. There appears to be a genetic link when it comes to bed wetting. If a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle had the same problem as a child then you are more likely to develop the problem. Many children have very deep sleeping patterns and don’t awaken when their bladder relays the message to the brain that it needs to be emptied. Some children have a central nervous system that develops slower than normal and therefore interferes with bladder functions. Some children simply have a smaller than average bladder that requires that it be emptied more often than most people’s. A bladder infection that has gone undiagnosed and untreated can also be the cause of primary nocturnal bed wetting, as can abnormalities that exist in the urethra in males and females and for boys it can sometimes be problems with their urethral valves. Children who suffer from chronic allergies, attention deficit disorder (ADD) or a variety of learning disabilities appear to have a higher incidence of bed wetting problems than do other children.

Secondary nocturnal enuresis is most often related to a build up of stress that is occurring in a child’s life at any given time. Most often once the source of stress has passed in the child’s life, the bed-wetting then becomes a thing of the past. The three most common stress triggers for secondary bed wetting in children include starting school for the first time, being hospitalized or seeing a parent who must stay in the hospital for a few days and the birth of a new brother or sister. Although these events can be exciting many children are also frightened and therefore develop secondary problems as a result, thus the name, secondary nocturnal bed wetting. Problems that exist in a family can also trigger bed wetting. These problems might include abuse, neglect, and constant fighting between parents, divorce, alcoholism and financial worries.

Primary Enuresis

Primary enuresis or primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) is when a child has easily developed the ability to control their bladder during the daytime but still after a six month period cannot control their bladder at nigh while they sleep. Bed wetting affects approximately five to seven million children every year, more of these boys than girls. Primary enuresis is particularly common in children who are six years and younger and in most cases it is something that children will outgrow. Studies have shown that approximately every fifteen out of one hundred children who are chronic bed wetters simply stop doing the behavior and do not require a visit to the doctors or any form of treatment whatsoever.

Most children who suffer from this chronic problem are embarrassed and troubled by it. It is important to reassure children who suffer from this chronic problem that this is a problem that will go away in time. Also make your child aware that bed wetting does not mean that he or she is strange or abnormal in any way, not physically and not psychologically. For some children it is a natural part of their development and bladder control is not achieved at the same age for every child.

Be aware that primary enuresis is often believed to happen for one of two reasons. First the child has an immature bladder either in a physical sense or a neurological one and secondly, the child falls into a very deep sleep and is unaware that the bladder has sent a message to the brain that it is full and needs to be emptied. As well primary enuresis is believed to have a genetic link and may not be something a person can help.

Primary enuresis or primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) is when a child has easily developed the ability to control their bladder during the daytime but still after a six month period cannot control their bladder at nigh while they sleep. Bed wetting affects approximately five to seven million children every year, more of these boys than girls. Primary enuresis is particularly common in children who are six years and younger and in most cases it is something that children will outgrow. Studies have shown that approximately every fifteen out of one hundred children who are chronic bed wetters simply stop doing the behavior and do not require a visit to the doctors or any form of treatment whatsoever.

Most children who suffer from this chronic problem are embarrassed and troubled by it. It is important to reassure children who suffer from this chronic problem that this is a problem that will go away in time. Also make your child aware that bed wetting does not mean that he or she is strange or abnormal in any way, not physically and not psychologically. For some children it is a natural part of their development and bladder control is not achieved at the same age for every child.

Be aware that primary enuresis is often believed to happen for one of two reasons. First the child has an immature bladder either in a physical sense or a neurological one and secondly, the child falls into a very deep sleep and is unaware that the bladder has sent a message to the brain that it is full and needs to be emptied. As well primary enuresis is believed to have a genetic link and may not be something a person can help.