Bedwetting Treatment
Wet the bed?
Bedwetting Treatments
Bedwetting Tablet
New research has moved us closer to discovering the true cause of bedwetting and thus to providing a more effective treatment.
It used to be thought that bedwetting at night was caused by having too small a bladder. Old fashioned treatments included stretching the bladder by "bladder retraining" techniques. These treatments for bedwetting did not work well.
We now know that bedwetting is not caused by having a small bladder. The problem often truly relates to the fact that some children produce too little of a hormone called ADH or anti-diuretic hormone. ADH is produced by the brain at night to shut down the kidneys and lessens the flow of urine. Children with too little ADH will produce too much night time urine.
A nasal spray or tablet called Desmopressin helps resolve this ADH problem.
Desmopressin can also treat many men who urinate frequently at night, and do not have a prostate infection or cancer. Lack of antidiuretic hormone is genetic because fathers and mothers have children who also are bed wetters.
Wetting the bed is very common in children up to eight years old and most children who wet the bed develop into entirely healthy adults who have no such problems.
Children who are still wetting the bed after age five should see a doctor for some tests. They need to be checked for kidney infection or for kidney abnormalities. Sometimes other tests are required. No cause is found in most cases. There is no good evidence that bedwetting is related to emotional or behaviour problems
Research has shown that desmopressin spray is effective for bed wetting but the most recent studies point towards the fact that the desmopressin tablets are even more effective
If your child is a bedwetter then you should discuss these options with your doctor
