Bed Wetting
Bed wetting can be very frustrating for a family whose child is otherwise potty trained. You’ve worked so hard to still be woken up in the middle of the night to strip a bed, change PJs, and run a load of laundry. Of course, there are easily addressable causes of bed wetting such as going to bed with an over full bladder. This is often relieved (see what I did there) by stopping any new liquids for 1-2 hours before bed and going potty right before bed. But, unfortunately, most problematic bed wetting is either due to genetics or stressors on the child.
In terms of genetics, bed wetting often runs in the family, especially on the paternal side of genetics. We consider this more heavily in bed wetting that occurs after that age of 6. Often times, after age 6. it is due to the genetics of a person’s sleep cycle. Families with genetically linked bed wetting, nocturnal enuresis as my urology friends say, notice that the bed wetting usually happens during a certain time of the night. Often in the first 1/3 of the night and within the same 15 minutes in relation to bedtime. To help prevent a bed wetting episode, we will still ask the family to limit liquids 1-2 hours before bed and try to pee before bed, but we can also have the child do a pre-awakening. This means that the family will set an alarm, either for themselves to go in and ask the child to go pee in the potty, or for the child to do it themselves, then they go back to sleep (hopefully). This will usually stop the bed wetting episode that may have occurred because we disrupted that part of sleep that triggers the bladder. Some urologists will also advise to try a bed wetting alarm where a sensor is attached to the child’s underwear or sheets and, if it senses liquid, it will ring or vibrate to wake the child. But this often has mixed results-at best. Time is usually what we rely on to stop this nightly disturbance, as it will usually stop around the same time it did for other older kiddos in the family.
But, as the child who wets the bed grows up, it can also add a lot of stress and embarrassment to social activities such as sleep overs or campouts with their friends. In these instances, there is a medicine that a pediatrician can prescribe that can help prevent a bed wetting episode if used infrequently.
Another big cause of a sudden development of bed wetting can be new stressors or fears in children as this will disrupt their sleep and thus their nighttime bladder control. Commonly new moves, starting a new school, or falling out of favor with a friend can be the start of nighttime bed wetting. So, it is important to talk about these stressors and fears with your child to not only help alleviate their worry, but also their nighttime accidents.
If none of that works, or the urine amount and frequency is increasing or accidents start occurring during the day, the pediatrician may order some tests that investigate bladder function, kidney health, and sugar regulation in the body as all of these things can cause increases in urine in the bladder throughout the day and at night.