Bedwetting advice
A multinational survey in 1998 found that 15% (one in seven) of
seven-year olds are regular bedwetters and that the number is
slightly higher in boys than in girls
More than half-a-million under 16s in the UK wet the bed
regularly, and up to 2% of over-16s continue to wet the bed on a
semi-regular basis
What are possible causes? Very often the
problem is due to slow development of the regulatory system that
allows the bladder to gradually distend over many hours without
emptying. This slow development can be hereditary so it is not
unusual to find that a parent also used to wet the bed after
reaching toddler age Fairly rarely,
bedwetting can be a sign of an underlying medical problem, such
as urinary infection, diabetes, kidney disease or a congenital
abnormality of the urinary tract. In these cases, you might
often (although not always) expect to find difficulties with
bladder function in the daytime as well as at night
Because of possible medical problems it is a good idea to check
things out with your GP in order to exclude medical problems,
even though this is a rare occurrence
Where children have been dry at night for some time before
starting to wet the bed, there is almost always some underlying
emotional stress or anxiety. The following are very frequent
background issues in cases of anxiety: a new baby, problems at
school, upset in a friendship, bullying, family difficulties,
death of a family member or friend or even a pet, a house or
school move. In fact anything which disrupts the child's
emotional stability can be the cause or an exacerbating factor
What can be done? Play detective: try to
discover any pattern which is related. Are there more or fewer
wet beds if there has been a difficulty at school, or if one
parent rather than another puts them to bed, if they go to bed
earlier or later, if they wet at night or the early morning, for
example. The more information you have, the easier to know the
next step Try not to make an issue of it,
since your child is not doing it on purpose and will be at least
as disturbed by it as you are, even though in some cases they
may seem not to be bothered Understand
that by getting angry, shouting or complaining or suggesting
that they do it on purpose will surely make matters worse since
their anxiety levels will be increased by this response
Certainly, NEVER punish them
What options are there?
An
enuresis alarm which makes a noise and wakes the child as soon
as they start to wet the bed. The most commonly used type has a
sensor that is placed between the bottom sheet and the mattress.
Success rates vary wildly with these
Medication Desmopressin is a drug which can be given to
children aged five or over as a tablet or in the form of
DesmoMelts which dissolve under the tongue. This acts by
reducing the amount of urine that is produced overnight. This
has a success rate of around 70%, and works pretty well
immediately if it's going to work at all. Treatment is usually
continued for three months, and then is stopped to see if the
problem has resolved. There are possible side-effects (headache,
stomach ache and feeling sick) but they are not that often
experienced
Hypnotherapy this works
exceptionally well where anxiety and stress are either causal or
exacerbating factors. Where cases are more severe, I see people
in person but a remarkable number of children respond to a
specially written CD. I have produced two CDs, one for age group
6-9 years and one for age group 10-15 years and these are
available from our websites
www.firstwayforward.com/childcds or
www.firstwayforwardcds.com. Remember that childrens
maturity varies tremendously, so check the description for
content. The advantage of this method is that they are
completely natural and safe, no drugs are involved and children
enjoy listening to them as they drift off to sleep
Useful tips
Use a mattress protector rather than protective pants. The
problem with protective pants is that they keep the body so
comfortable that the child is unaware if they are wet or dry.
If they are wearing snug protection they will not be aware
when the bladder first starts to release and won't learn to be
able to control it at this stage Check
that they are not constipated, since a full bowel can press on
the bladder and increase the urge to urinate
Check that they drink a lot of water during the day and
restrict fluids after their evening meal. Offer just sips of
water if they are still thirsty Avoid
caffeine-containing drinks such as tea, coffee or fizzy drinks
Ensure that the child goes to the toilet very last thing
before sleep. Sometimes they might go to bed early and read but
they should be encouraged to go just before they settle down for
sleep It is often helpful to take them
to the toilet when you go to bed yourself. This is very rarely
really disturbing since they do it almost as if in a dream and
drift off to sleep again as soon as their head hits the pillow
Leave a light on if there is the slightest anxiety concerning
the dark so that they can get up to go to the toilet easily
during the night. (Remember that your child may sometimes deny
they are scared of the dark for reasons of saving face)
Encourage them to help with changing the sheets to the degree
that this is suitable for their age and capabilities BUT DO NOT
MAKE IT SEEM LIKE A PUNISHMENT. They will feel more involved in
trying to help with the problem and be less likely to think that
you are annoyed with them because of all the extra work they are
causing you Some people use gold star
progress charts which can work well if there are some dry nights
but are quite discouraging if there are either none or very few
A useful website:
www.eric.org.uk
This organisation gives practical
advice to families who have a bedwetting or daytime wetting
child or teenager. They are also helpful with advice for special
needs children. You can get advice over the phone, and/or buy
relevant products, such as bed protection. They also recommend
the CDs I'm
Dry at Night and
Control your Bladder - Good Morning which were
featured in an article in Woman
magazine in October 2005. Check out our
Media Coverage page Our specially-written CDs
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Im dry at night
Younger child bedwetting
Age 6-9
CD price: £12.95
(plus handling and postage)
This CD has been created to help children overcome the
problem of bedwetting and enjoy waking up to a dry bed. It
also contains suggestions to increase self esteem and the
more often it is listened to, the more the child can begin
to take control. Often listening to the CD is enough but if
the problem should persist, a face to face session can be
very beneficial. You can contact us via this page or
telephone 020 8402 1928
On line payment
options: Credit Card / Debit Card /
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Telephone orders:
020 8402 1928 (+44[0]20 8402 1928 outside the UK) and pay by credit
/ debit card. Our office hours are 0900-1900 GMT/BST Monday to
Saturday
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