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

Bedwetting Cure

Families often struggle to deal with a bedwetting child. The child too can find the going very tough – both physically and emotionally. Frustration, despondency and sometimes anger can all occur in the face of a serious or frequent bedwetting situation. The problem can be eased however if both parents and child can be well enought informed about bedwetting to see things clearly for what they are. Reassurance can go a long way to defusing a fraught situation

Bedwetting children often seem to be deeper sleepers than other children – some also suffer from sleep walking, nightmares or night terrors.

These are some common causes of bedwetting in an older child (remember that bed wetting in a younger child is simply part of normal growing up and does not need specific treatment)

• smaller than average bladder
• over production of urine due to high fluid intake
• physical causes are rare
• spinal cord lesions are very very rare
• congenital malformations of the genitourinary tract can be picked up by special x-rays
• infections of the urinary tract
• diabetes may need to be excluded if the problems persist

The most important aspect of treatment is to reassure the child. Tell them repeatedly that its not their fault and that things will get better with time. There’s some evidence that bedwetting runs in families – perhaps the child can speak to someone else in the family who has dealt with it in the past

Treatments for bedwetting include

• padding at night to allow normal social interactions – sleepovers etc.
• fluid limitation before bedtime
• lifting and toileting before the parents go to bed
• buzzer alarm and pad systems
• hypnosis
• medication

Whatever method you choose to help your child over this hurdle in life, the most important thing to remember is that bedwetting can have a devastating effect on their self-esteem. It is so important to make sure that they know that the fault is not theirs, there isn’t anything that they have done to cause this and that they will grow out of it.

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