Things parents should know about bedwetting
They should know what?
First, parents should know that bedwetting or nocturnal enuresis is very common among children. This is the case where your child may experience wetness during the night. To some parents, this may be a cause of worry but take note that this is just a part of your child’s developmental stage; most children who bed wet overcome this condition without any need for treatment as they grow older. There is no cause for alarm unless your child still suffers this at the age of seven and above.
When your child is at age 3, you already expect that he or she can already control bladder activity. You might also think that it is time to save some money because the child no longer needs a nappy at night. It is still common though that some still needs nappies before going to bed. Every child, however, has a unique development and parents should respect that their child may still be bedwetting when others his or her age have already passed this stage. Boys commonly wet bed than girls.
Some Causes of Bedwetting
To expand parents’ understanding on bedwetting, some of its causes based on theories may be carefully studied so that the next time your child will be soaking wet in his or her bed, you know what to do and how exactly to react.
Stress. Children who have engaged in a very active daytime like being involved in many school activities, getting overwhelmed by meeting new acquaintances, getting overjoyed by a new toy or present, and an engaging playtime may experience bedwetting. Adults also experience this and in most cases triggered by a dream.
Undeveloped bladder. A young may not be able to control the activities of its bladder particularly urinating. The bladder, being not yet fully developed, may not have enough capacity to hold urine that results in wetting. While your child grows, this may be developed and bedwetting should no longer be a problem. Children also do not normally wake up in the middle of the night when their bladder is already full.
Hormonal imbalance. One theory on why children wet the bed at night is that they do not have enough production of anti-diuretic hormone or ADH at night. ADH helps reduce urine secretion. Like the previous theory, this will develop as your child matures.
Feeling constipated. Studies show that children who suffer from persistent constipation would also likely to wet bed. The hard stool is what may irritate the bladder. If your child complains of stomach pain and is feeling like bowel has not been completely emptied, he is likely to be suffering from constipation.
Reaction to food. Caffeinated drinks like coffee, soda, and tea pumps the production of urine in the kidneys. Avoid giving your child these bedwetting inducers.
Hereditary. Bedwetting among children may be caused by some factors that are genetically-linked. Statistics show 1 out of 7 children who has late development in bladder control have siblings or other close relative who suffered nocturnal enuresis.
Parents should be knowledgeable about bedwetting and its causes; these are important for them to help their children cope with this development stage in their life.