BEDWETTING

• What is the scientific term for Bedwetting ?

• What is the medical basis for Bedwetting ?

• What can I do for it ?

• What can I do for his bedwetting ?

What is the scientific term for Bedwetting ?

Nocturnal Enuresis

What is the medical basis for Bedwetting ?

There is an area in the Brain that controls the activities of a human while he is asleep . This complex area is called the Reticular Activating System ( RAS ) and controls such vegetative functions ( functions that do not involve conscious perception and conscious control such as speaking , walking , use of the limbs and so on ) as respiration , heart beating and control of urination.
When the RAS is out of synchronization for some complex reasons – the control on urination gets disturbed – hence Bedwetting.

What can I do for it ?

This is one childhood problem that is a  concern for many parents and  causes significant distress to the parents and child alike.
There are several causes for Bedwetting and mostly it is purely psychological in origin.
The occasional child may be under some disease and the role of your Pediatrician is first to rule out any of these disease processes. Once he is through with this aspect , he shall be counseling the child , you and others in the family.
These diseases involve Diabetes Insipidus ( entirely different from the sugar related  Diabetes that you may have heard of – that is Diabetes Mellitus ) , Urinary Bladder Function Disorders , neurological disorders and a variety of other diseases / disorders. These are best addressed by your Pediatrician and it may not help you at all to jump to conclusions and cultivate apprehensions on your own.
It is common to find the onset of a previously  continent child ( one who is able to control his urge for urination and indicate it ) soon after the birth of a second child ( see the section on Sibling Jealousy – PROVIDE A HYPERLINK HERE ) . The element of jealousy  may be obvious in the child’s behavioral pattern or may be more subtle so as to be missed altogether. Speaking to the child in confidence , alleviating any apprehensions and  misconceptions and a discussion with your Pediatrician may often make a difference.
Other psychological elements may include schooling problems:  maladjustment at school , change of school , change to grade/class at school , a perceived poor performance at school. Again , the ball may often lie in your court insofar as to identify the problem and address it to your best. A discussion at School and the teachers involved may help.

Some other factors at play may include :

• Disturbed home environment

• Stresses between parents and between the child and either parent

• Change of residence

• Grief or loss of a family member or a pet

• Such trivia which you may not perceive as significant changes in your life may mean a lot to the child – a person to person talk  often brings to surface these matters.

   

  

What can I do for his bedwetting ?

There are non medical measures and there are medical measures.
The non medical measures may have surfaced in your discussion with fellow parents and you may try them out so long as they are not likely to harm the child.

A few things are ABSOLUTELY not done :

• Reproach / scolding

• Using negative incentives ( punishment )

• Making the child even more self conscious of himself – especially in a group of his peers or your family / friends’ presence. Believe it , he is already painfully aware of his problem – such comments , even though you may have made them lightly ( or in the belief that they may make him “ wiser to it “ ) hurt him . Announcing a problem to a person who knows he has no control over it has never really worked. How often do you think Thumb Suckers have been  chastised by  this -  ask any mother !

A few things may work :

• Discouraging  fluids ( especially  aerated drinks , water melon , lime juice ) late in the evening.

• Making sure the child goes to the toilet before he goes to bed

• Over time you may have sensed his body clock and may have an intuitive idea about when he may wet his bed. If you have the stamina and courage left after a day’s work – try out taking him to the toilet around this time at night. This often gets very “ painful” for parents and the drop out proportions are high. It works nevertheless. Interestingly ( excuse the tongue in cheek expression ! ) there is often some friction between the parents on “ whose turn it is tonight” – you have to work out your own solution on this !