Sleep Disorder Reviews

Now I knew that John and Joan were not expecting another baby but I was a little surprised to see several nappies hanging on their washing line. I needn’t have worried. It turned out that their five year old son Jack was still in the process of bedwetting.  That was embarrassing for him as he was just old enough to be aware of it and bewildering for his parents as to why he should still be doing it.
 

Apparently boys wet the bed more than girls and as my wife and I had three children, two boys and a girl, our own experience seems to confirm this.  We were fortunate in that all three stopped bed wetting quite early in their young lives. Some parents are not so fortunate but may take comfort in the fact that many children begin to have many dry nights soon after the age of five or so.  On the other hand the condition can, in a few cases continue until much later in life, but it is more unusual.

In simple terms bed wetting can be Nocturnal (only during the night) or Diurnal (day and night). There is primary enuresis (bedwetting) where the condition happens from birth and secondary enuresis that can start when the child is a little older.

In Jack’s case his secondary bedwetting could be due to diabetes, a urine infection or some other medical condition that may not be readily apparent. If your child shows behavioural problems like hypersomnia, hyperkinesis, temper tantrums, food fads, nightmares, over eating, lying, stealing, nail biting, thumb sucking or stammering, you must be patient with them and find out what is bothering him/her. Obviously parents will have had this checked out by a doctor. However, normally most cases will become less frequent and stop altogether in time, which is not much comfort to parents in the short term having to contend with the wet bedding most mornings.

So, how do you stop bedwetting or at least reduce the occurrence?

Well, drink more water for a start.

“Drink more to stop bed wetting, you must be joking”?

No, it’s not a joke at all.

Children seldom drink enough PLAIN WATER, they are too busy getting the most fun out of life that they can. When they do remember that they are thirsty and need a drink they rush in and gulp down a drink, often from a can or bottle. These are usually sugary drinks, many of them containing caffeine and whilst they may quench the child’s thirst, do little for their fluid levels as the caffeine makes them want to urinate more. That means that more is coming out than is going in, therefore depleting the body of the fluid it needs.

So, it is a vicious circle. Drink more sugar and caffeine and then excrete more. Then repeat ad infinitum depleting the body of its fluid requirements. The worst time for this to happen is early evening after a day’s strenuous play. Children demand more and more fluids, usually of the wrong sort, as their bodies are calling for more to keep them hydrated. Therefore the kidneys extract the fluids as urine and pass them into the bladder.  But, this can take a few hours so the bladder is still filling up after they have gone to bed and when it’s full – it has to go somewhere. The result – bed wetting.

What is the answer, or at least in part? Get your child to drink plenty of (preferably) plain water all through the day and this gives the body time to regulate the fluid levels. Cut down on the amount they drink later and, providing they drink well during the day their need to drink in the evening should be less.

Now that’s all very well, but have you ever tried to get a child to drink (especially boring old water) when they really don’t want to? It has to start by changing their habits and this needs encouragement from the parent and that means the parent should change their own habits.  Make water drinking a joint affair, put a bottle of water in their bag and encourage them to drink it. Give plenty of praise, but don’t overdo it. Explain why drinking water throughout the day will help ease the bedwetting situation.

The above routine did help with our three children and they all now drink water as a matter of course. However, this is only part of the answer and just one thing that could be tried to ease the problem of bedwetting. Drinking more water has many other benefits to keep children (and adults) in good health so it is a very good habit to adopt.

But this is not the complete answer to a child’s bedwetting; it’s just one part that may help. Always seek more informed assistance from a professional, particularly if the symptoms continue beyond what is considered normal.
 

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• Adult Bedwetting Diapers « brittnyshallenberger

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