Health Guide©

BEDWETTING (Enuresis)

Bedwetting is one of the common concerns of parents who have toddlers who often bedwet at night. Some parents just punish the child without knowing and understanding when a child normally develops its toilet training. Parents should know that kids as early as 18 months start to develop its bladder control. Having enough knowledge about this concern may help the parents understand and pacify them about why their children are bedwetting at night.

Bedwetting is the involuntary urination during sleep. It affects many children as well as teenagers and even some adults. As a rule, bedwetting does not require investigation until after the age of five. In rare cases, bedwetting is associated with a medical condition. Even after good control is achieved, occasional bedwetting may occur. However, this should not be a cause for concern, in most cases, is just a temporary phase. Bedwetting in teenagers and adults are often due to emotional problems.

Causes:

• Poor bladder control.
• Fatigue.
• Emotional upset.
• Over vigorous and premature attempt at toilet training.
• Urinary infection.

What you can do:

• Do not be over-anxious nor make undue fuss.
• Encouragement, not shaming, scolding or punishment, is the best treatment.
• Restrict fluids two hours before bedtime.
• Remind the child up to urinate before going to bed.
• Wake the child up to urinate before you go to bed.
• Consult a doctor if the person is an older child, a teenager or an adult.

What a doctor can do for you:

• Perform a physical examination and tests to rule out medical causes and treat emotional causes, if any.