4 Common Reasons Why Children Wet the Bed
Bedwetting is a common problem among children, which may annoy parents. From the day a child is born, some children will have trouble staying dry during the night; other children might not have the similar issue and can go several months or even years without wetting the bed and suddenly the bed wetting will start.
Children under 6 are incredibly likely to wet their bed, but it is also common for them to continue wetting their bed well into their teen years. A million children under age six experience bedwetting, while fewer than 5% of children under age 10 do. Children who wet the bed after 12 still do so 3% of the time. Boys are more likely to suffer from this problem than girls.
Laziness is not the reason for bedwetting, and no one is to blame, not even your child. There might be plenty of reasons why your child is wetting the bed and as children grow, bedwetting usually ends on its own.
A pediatrician can diagnose the problems that are causing your child to wet the bed. They will then develop a treatment plan, and suggest solutions to ensure your child gets a good sleep without wetting the bed.
This guide aims to analyze the most common causes of bedwetting among children comprehensively.
Brain-bladder communication
Normally, when the bladder fills up with urine, it signals the brain to wake up. However, sometimes, the brain cannot send a message back to the bladder to tell it that it can rest quietly and tuck away the urine until morning. The same thing can happen if the bladder signals the brain that it is about to fill up with urine, and the brain does not receive that indication, especially when your child is deep asleep.
The best way to keep your kids from having trouble sleeping and bladder control is to limit their liquid intake before bedtime and make sure they use the restroom before sleep. Pediatric urinary incontinence caused by brain-to-bladder transfer should not be a significant concern for children since it takes some time to learn to control their bladder, especially at night.
Stress or trauma
Stressful or traumatic events in a child’s life, or sickness or constipation, can sometimes cause a child who has never wet their bed to start bed-wetting, disrupting their sleep and causing them to wake up in tears. Children who had a pre-existing bed-wetting problem might start wetting their bed more frequently. And unless they are seen by a pediatrician or mental health expert to treat their trauma, they’ll have a hard time controlling their fears.
Sleep Apnea
The condition of sleep apnea is characterized by repeated stopping and starting of breath while sleeping. The National Library of Medicine conducted a study in which 15.3% of the study subjects had painless nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting, not being able to control your pee), and 47 of these children (30.7%) had Sleep Disordered Breathing problems. Several factors may explain the correlation between bed-wetting and sleep apnea, including bladder pressure, arousal response, and urinary hormones released during sleep.
While sleep apnea is one of the significant risk factors for sleep disorders, it is also common in adults, men, and obese people. The condition of sleep apnea can be managed through breathing assistance devices that can help provide continuous positive airway pressure, sometimes referred to as a CPAP machine.
Hormonal Imbalance
An imbalance in hormones causes bedwetting. ADHs (Antidiuretic Hormones) are brain hormones that inhibit urine production by slowing it down.
In the absence of enough ADH in the brain or a kidney that doesn’t respond to it, more urine is produced, according to the Urology Care Foundation. During the night, incontinence occurs due to an excess of urine.
When the body responds to ADH at a normal level, less urine is produced, allowing the bladder to hold urine into the morning.
What Parents Should Know About Bedwetting?
Parents should know that bedwetting is a common phenomenon and their children can naturally grow out of it. Most of the children wet their bed during their childhood. Statistics further suggest that even 2% of the 16-year-old population wet their bed occasionally. Therefore, parents should understand their children and deal with the situation compassionately. In addition, parents can take some proactive steps to counter this situation such as habituating their child to urinate every two or three hours, using a calendar to track the child’s urinating pattern, and so on.
How Parents Can Help Their Betwetting Child?
Most of the parents shame or blame their children for their bedwetting situation. But they should remember that it can hamper their mental health and rob childhood. Despite that, parents should focus on building better habits that can improve their child’s situation in the long run.
Here are some of the proactive steps that every parent can take to help their bedwetting child:
- Ask to drink plenty of water earlier instead of drinking before bed. Train them to void their bladder twice before going to bed, once one hour before going to bed and a second just before sleeping time.
- As a part of proactive measures, you can track your children’s urination patterns using a tracking calendar and help them build their sense of control over urinating patterns.
- Parents can use bedwetting alarms that ring a bell when their clothes start to get wet. However, initially, you will have to instruct your child about this new way of triggering.
It is suggested to the parents that they should deal with this situation with patience and compassion. However, if the problem persists, never hesitate to take bedwetting treatment to free your child from distress and unnoticed shame.
Visiting the doctor
It is also possible to discuss bedwetting medications with your child’s doctor. Some children respond well to the medication but usually begin wetting the bed once they stop taking it.
Consult Pediatrician if :
- If your child has a relapse and suddenly begins wetting the bed or having daytime bed-wetting accidents, particularly if no recent changes or stressors have occurred.
- The majority of the night, he snores or pauses while breathing or gasps for breath.
- Urination complaints involving pain or a burning sensation.
- Urine leaks from the catheter a lot, indicating that the tube has become blocked.
- You frequently need to pee.
- Foot or ankle swelling.
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Conclusion
The bedwetting problem can be hereditary, and the chances of a child experiencing it are higher if their parents, aunts, uncles, or other family members have experienced similar issues. Remember that it isn’t your child’s fault, so try to support them and get them the help necessary to overcome the issue. Alternatively, if your child is frequenting bedwetting accidents, you may wish to visit child pediatric doctor.
FAQ's
Yes, and it’s more common than most parents expect. If a child has been dry at night for at least 6 months and then starts wetting the bed again, this condition is known as secondary enuresis. It can be triggered by stress, an illness, or an underlying issue like a UTI or constipation. If it persists, it’s worth getting a proper evaluation.
Absolutely. The rectum sits very close to the bladder, and when it’s full, it puts pressure on the bladder. This reduces its capacity and triggers accidents at night. If your child is also struggling with irregular bowel movements, the two issues may be connected. Read more about how constipation affects children.
They can be. The alarm trains the brain over time to respond to a full bladder during sleep. It does require patience and parental involvement, but for many families, it works well without any medication.
There’s a strong genetic link. If one parent wet the bed past age 5, their child has a higher chance of doing the same. So if bedwetting runs in your family, know that your child may simply need more time, and that’s okay.
Yes, small changes can make a real difference. Limiting fluids in the evening, avoiding caffeine, and making sure your child uses the toilet right before bed are excellent starting points. Addressing constipation, which is often an overlooked trigger, can also help significantly.
