Issues Related To Wetting The Bed

Wetting the bed at night is typical for young children, but as they grow older, they normally gain more bladder control. Adults who occasionally have accidents at night are generally upset, and there is more concern about this happening to them, especially before they’ve reached their senior years. With young children, it is normal to have accidents, but if they continue to have accidents at night beyond the age of six, then parents and the child do become concerned.

If a child has been bed wetting at night from the start, then their condition is known as primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE). This is where the body has never learned how to exercise control over the bladder. Once the bladder is full, a signal is released to the brain to rid the body of the urine. Normally, we learn how to train our body so that we can hold the bladder full, so that release can occur in the toilet when we wake up, yet for some this ability takes more time.

In some cases, children learn how to stop waking up to a wet bed but the problem returns. This condition is called secondary enuresis. If it happens during the day, then it is called diurnal enuresis, and of course this is even a greater concern for children in school and of course for adults. Generally, a minimum of six months has to have elapsed from when control over the bladder is achieved until control is lost, in order for the condition to be considered secondary enuresis.

When looking at why children or adults are wetting the bed at night, these two conditions are considered. PNE is not a major concern for most doctors, as statistically speaking most children will eventually gain control over their bladder as they get older. It is the secondary form that is usually the concern, as the sudden loss of the ability to control one’s bladder is usually linked to some kind of event. This could be a physical or mental occurrence or development within the body, or it could be due to some external factor.

If you are an adult wetting the bed at night, then you should definitely speak to your doctor to identify the reasons why this is occurring. If it is your child and he or she has always had problems controlling their bladder, then it is unlikely that any doctor’s assistance is needed. Instead, training and steps to minimize the discomfort and inconvenience should be taken. Once the type of problem has been identified, it is far easier to determine the best course of action.

Click here to read about the different types of bedwetting alarms, and which is best for your needs.

Bed Wetting Solutions Common Causes Of Bed Wetting

Bed wetting is something that many parents will confront at some time or another since it is a very common happening among children up to the age of about 5 or 6. Although you may think this would make it simple to talk about, many parents still feel anxious discussing this subject and consequently the child is left to think about the reason that this is happening to them.

In many cases if you don’t speak to your child about the problem they can be self-conscious and lonely with the belief that they are the only one with this sort of problem. Nothing could be further from the reality and as a parent you want to help your child understand what is happening to them and what might be the cause of the problem.

The best way to help your child is for you to get a basic understanding so I have outlined some of the most common causes for enuresis or bed wetting as it is more commonly known.

Basically one of most common causes is that your child’s bladder muscles have not yet finished developing so they have not yet gained control of the bladder. Another may be that your child had some control at one time but somehow at some time lost it. This is more widespread in boys than in girls but it can happen to any child.

While bed wetting is common among millions of children, many of them will simply out grow the problem by the age of 6. However for some it seems as if it will be a never ending battle and I know first hand that the embarrassment as you get older becomes even harder to overcome.

While there has been extensive research into what the actual cause for bed wetting is, there is still no conclusive evidence for why some children experience this while others seem to never have any problems at all.

One of the causes could be psychological, such as low self esteem or anxiety but since children from all walks of life can experience this difficulty this is not a definite cause. In fact, I do believe that low self esteem can be attributed to bed wetting as the child gets older and it is for this reason I encourage you as a parent to talk openly with your child about what might be causing this and try to find bed wetting solutions that fit your child’s needs depending on the severity of the problem and the age of your child.

There may perhaps also be physical reasons such as constipation or even bladder or kidney infections. If you believe your child might have a physical condition, you seriously should check with your doctor particularly if you have already tried some of the more common bed wetting solutions available.

Another thing to consider is that perhaps the child was pushed to be potty trained too early and is really not ready psychologically. Is your child showing any signs of stress? Perhaps you recently had a loss in your family, moved to a new school district, or maybe even a new sibling could be causing some distress in your child?

One of the most common factors among bed wetters is that either one or both parents (possibly even grandparents) had a problem with bed wetting as a child. I understand the frustration both as a parent of children who wet the bed and as a child who endured the humiliation and embarrassment of having this problem.

So I encourage you to always be tolerant with your child and to help them to appreciate that it is not their fault. These children do not do this on purpose and unless you give your child the love and support they need, they will be stressed about going to sleep and they will have very low self esteem or self confidence.

In fact, if you happened to have the same problem when you were a child, one of the greatest things you can do is to talk to your child so they understand that they are not alone. Learning that you went through a similar situation can give them the confidence they need to realize that they will ultimately out grow the problem.

In the mean time, you might want to do all you can to find the best bed wetting solutions available for you and your child. Pull ups can help to keep your child dry at night and when used with a bed wetting alarm it can the perfect solution to helping your child start to take control of getting up while learning to control their bladder on their own.

I sincerely hope I have given you some good ideas on how to deal with the problem that wetting the bed can cause and also how to be more understanding and patient while your child gets through this.

Remember too, that almost all children will have out grown this problem by the age of 9-10 at the latest and while this may seem to be a long time to wait, these are precious years and they will go by before you know it.

Stop by Kimberly Aita’s site where you can find out all about how to stop bed wetting and how you can help your child.