4 Ways You and Your Child Can Win the Bedwetting Battle

One of the most delightful milestones in parenting is successfully toilet-training a child. Every experience is different, but in the end when a child finally realizes he can use the toilet instead of his pull-up—the celebration might well go on for days!

As exciting as it is to see your child wearing underpants instead of a diaper, for some kids the triumph is short-lived. Although she is quite capable of using the toilet throughout the day, unfortunately she might not have the same success throughout the night due to a condition simply known as bedwetting.

Bedwetting, also called nocturnal enuresis, is a common condition affecting 20% of 5-year-olds, 10% of 10-year-olds, and 3% of 15-year-olds. There are several medical reasons why this condition occurs, so it’s important to start there in discussing remedies that can help your child (and you as a family) to not let this condition dampen your spirits.

The Mayo Clinic’s article on bedwetting explains this condition to be involuntary urination while asleep after the age at which staying dry at night can be reasonably expected.

Further explained in this article are some of the causes of bedwetting:

No one knows for sure what causes bedwetting, but various factors may play a role:

• A small bladder. Your child's bladder may not be developed enough to hold urine produced during the night.
• Inability to recognize a full bladder. If the nerves that control the bladder are slow to mature, a full bladder may not wake your child—especially if your child is a deep sleeper.
• A hormone imbalance. During childhood, some kids don't produce enough anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) to slow nighttime urine production.
• Urinary tract infection. This infection can make it difficult for your child to control urination. Signs and symptoms may include bedwetting, daytime accidents, frequent urination, red or pink urine, and pain during urination.
• Sleep apnea. Sometimes bedwetting is a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the child's breathing is interrupted during sleep—often due to inflamed or enlarged tonsils or adenoids. Other signs and symptoms may include snoring and daytime drowsiness.
• Diabetes. For a child who's usually dry at night, bedwetting may be the first sign of diabetes. Other signs and symptoms may include passing large amounts of urine at once...

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