Learn about Bedwetting symptoms from Consumer Reports Health.

Bedwetting

What are the symptoms of bedwetting?

Most children who wet the bed at night don't have any other symptoms. But as your child gets older, bedwetting may make them distressed and anxious.

Almost 9 in 10 children who wet the bed only do so at night.

Source:
Forsythe WI, Butler R.
50 years of enuretic alarms; a review of the literature.
Archives of Disease in Childhood. 1991; 64: 879-885.

¹ If your child is also wetting themselves during the day, there is probably a more serious medical reason for their bedwetting.

If your child is older and wets the bed, they may:

Feel anxious and embarrassed about joining in certain activities, such as sleepovers

Source:
Glazener CM, Evans JH, Peto RE.
Complex behavioural and educational interventions for nocturnal enuresis in children (Cochrane review).
In: The Cochrane Library. Wiley, Chichester, UK.

²
Get bullied or teased by their brothers and sisters
Feel bad about themselves.

The work and stress of caring for a child who wets the bed can also make parents anxious.

You can take your child to your doctor if they are bedwetting. The doctor will:

Ask you some questions about your child's symptoms
Usually examine your child
Order a urine test to find out if there is some cause for your child's symptoms.

Sometimes your child may have more tests to check for rare

bladder
Your bladder is the hollow organ at the top of your pelvis that stores urine. It is similar to a balloon, only with stronger walls. It fills up with urine until you go to the bathroom.

bladder problems. Your child might have an

ultrasound
Ultrasound is a tool doctors use to create images of the inside of your body. The ultrasound machine sends out high-frequency sound waves, which are directed at an area of your body through a device such as a probe. The waves reflect off parts of your body to create a picture. Ultrasound is often used to see a developing baby inside a woman's womb.

ultrasound scan of their

kidney
Your kidneys are organs that filter your blood to make urine. You have two of them, on either side of your abdominal cavity, toward your back.

kidneys and urinary tract (the part of your body that carries the urine from your kidneys through your bladder and out of your body). But this is only done if your child is wetting themselves during the day or they haven't gotten better after trying different treatments.

Sources for the information on this page:

Forsythe WI, Butler R.50 years of enuretic alarms; a review of the literature.Archives of Disease in Childhood. 1991; 64: 879-885.

Glazener CM, Evans JH, Peto RE.Complex behavioural and educational interventions for nocturnal enuresis in children (Cochrane review).In: The Cochrane Library. Wiley, Chichester, UK.

This information was last updated on Dec 04, 2008

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

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