What is Bedwetting?

Bedwetting

What is bedwetting?

Bedwetting is when your child passes urine at night while asleep.

Bedwetting is common in children age 5 and older.

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

Most children stop wetting the bed eventually without any treatment.

There are two types of bedwetting.

When your child has never been dry at night. This is the most common type.
When your child starts wetting the bed after being dry for a time. This kind of bedwetting isn't so common. It might happen if your child is stressed or fearful. This may be because of bullying at school or problems at home. But often no one knows why it happens.

Most children wet the bed only at night and stay dry during the day. There isn't usually a serious medical reason. But some children have a problem or illness that makes them wet the bed. This might be an

infection
You get an infection when viruses, bacteria, fungi or other tiny organisms get into your body. These bugs are so tiny that you can't see them without a microscope. For example, an infection in your airways causes the common cold. And an infection in your skin can cause rashes such as athlete's foot.

infection or an abnormality in their urinary tract (the part of your body that carries the urine from your

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 through your

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 and out of your body). Or they might have

diabetes
Diabetes is a condition that causes too much sugar to circulate in your blood. It happens when your body stops making a hormone called insulin (type 1 diabetes) or when insulin stops working (type 2 diabetes).

diabetes.

Doctors don't know why many children wet the bed at night. Bedwetting is probably linked to many different things, such as:

Source:
Evans J.
Evidence based management of nocturnal enuresis.
BMJ. 2001; 323: 1167-1169.

The

genes
Your genes are the parts of your cells that contain instructions for how your body works. Genes are housed on chromosomes, structures that sit in the nucleus at the middle of each of your cells. You have 23 pairs of chromosomes in your normal cells, each of which has thousands of genes. You get one set of chromosomes, and all of the genes that are on them, from each of your parents.

genes passed down to a child from their parents (many children who wet the bed have a relative who did so too)
Stressful things happening when your child is very young
Your child's bladder only being able to hold a small amount of urine
Your child maybe not having enough of a

hormones
Hormones are chemicals that are made in certain parts of the body. They travel through the bloodstream and have an effect on other parts of the body. For example, the female sex hormone estrogen is made in a woman's ovaries. Estrogen has many different effects on a woman's body. It makes the breasts grow at puberty and helps control periods. It is also needed to get pregnant.

hormone called antidiuretic hormone (you make more urine if you don't have enough of this hormone)
Your child maybe not recognizing when their bladder is full.

Some things can increase the chance of your child wetting the bed.

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

Feeling stressed. Your child might be feeling stressed due to bullying or other problems at home or at school.
Being constipated. If your child is

constipated
When you're constipated, you have difficulty passing stools (feces). Your bowel movements may be dry and hard. You may have fewer bowel movements than usual, and it may be a strain when you try to go.

constipated, the stools (feces) in their

rectum
The rectum is the last six to eight inches of the large intestine, ending with the anus (where you empty your bowels).

rectum may press on their bladder so that they need to urinate more.
Having drinks and foods that contain caffeine. These include cola, chocolate, tea and coffee. Caffeine causes you to make more urine.

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.

Evans J.Evidence based management of nocturnal enuresis.BMJ. 2001; 323: 1167-1169.

Glazener CM, Evans JH, Peto RE.Alarm 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.
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