Some parents may feel that this is very stressful, but it is more stressful on the child. It is not a child’s dream to wake up in the middle of night in wet pyjamas and soaking sheets. Understand that your child is not doing this to rebel or go against you. Over reacting about the incidents would only make the situation and the problem worse.

Here are some things that parents should say or do when dealing with their bed wetting kids.

1. Reassurance is important. Children may be disappointed when they cannot control their pee. They may feel frustrated since they think that they are the only ones who are still wetting their bed. Bed wetting children may feel isolated at times, since they could not go to sleepovers or camps because of their bed wetting. Make your child understand on how common bed wetting is among children; it is just that most children are embarrassed to talk about it. You could even share a story of another bedwetter of the family who was able to get over it.

Maintain communication with your kid

2. Keep your child’s self-image intact. During this stage, your child may feel that he has disappointed you and himself. Keep the accidental night time wetting in perspective. Motivate your kid to do better.

3. You could do some motivational peeing. This would involve your child visualizing himself getting up in the middle of the night and relieving himself. Cheer him up, you could drop a kiss and a word motivating him to stay dry through the night.

4. You could also play pretend. There are some children who do not bed wet when they are sleeping in other homes which mean that they cannot achieve the deep sleep in sleepovers. You could ask your child to pretend that they are sleeping in other people’s house and imagine that they would be dry in the morning. Eventually, the child would have dry nights at home when his mind and body connection matures.

5. Never fall into the bad patterns. Avoid nagging your child about bed wetting.

6. Having your child participate in sheet changing could surely make the process faster, however do not make sheet changing a sentence or a punishment. You could still involve then with sheet changing as long as they are up for it.

7. Do not punish. Treat bed wetting as a no-big-deal. Do not scold or ground him from any activities. Kids would mature and eventually outgrow bed wetting. Just make sure that you make your child understand that you are meant on helping him stay dry.

8. Maintain communication with your child. You may even be looking for a possibility of emotional stress as a cause of bed wetting.

Bed wetting, also known as nocturnal enuresis or simply enuresis, is a condition wherein bedwetter – children and even some adults have the inability to control urination while in their sleep. The result is that bedwetters end up wetting their bed and only realize that it has happened after they wake up in the morning. It is actually a common problem among children three years old and below.

Enuresis - common problem among children

After that time, kids develop the ability to control their urination and sometime even wake up in the middle of the night every time they feel like urinating. But unfortunately, there are other kids who may not be as lucky. They may still experience the inability to control or even feel that they are urinating during their sleep. Around 15 percent of kids may still experience bed wetting after the age of three.

Studies have shown that boys are more likely to wet their beds than girls. Enuresis has also been found to run in the family. Bedwetters who have parents with a previous history of bed wetting when they were young are more likely to also develop the problem. Bed wetting usually stops by the time children reach the age of puberty.

In kids, bed wetting rarely is associated with a kidney or bladder problem. The usual case is that some kids may develop bladder control at a slower pace than normal. But there might be possibilities that some cases may be caused by certain infections. That is why it may also be a good suggestion to consult with a doctor to determine the actual cause of bed wetting in kids just to make sure.

Some doctors also believe that certain cases of bed wetting may be rooted in certain emotional or psychological issues. A kid suddenly experiencing bed wetting after a certain period of dryness mat be a reflection of certain new fears and insecurities that the child may have. Certain situations such as moving into a new home, the parents undergoing divorce, or losing a loved one may sometimes affect children in such a way as to cause them to wet their beds at night.

It is also important to note that making children feel embarrassed or shameful with their bed wetting experience would not be an effective way to help them stop the habit. What it may do is developing certain insecurities as well as makes kids feel bad about themselves for bed wetting. Bear in mind that children do not wet their beds on purpose.

Instead of making their children feel ashamed and embarrassed, parents should try to encourage and express confidence in their children that they will eventually out grow this condition. Positive reinforcement would usually work better in trying to stop bed wetting in children.

Of course, adult enuresis is very embarrassing. It is enough reason to get teased by friends and colleagues and to shun friendships, relationships, and enjoyable activities in life. However, adult bedwetters must recognize the fact that they have the condition and need to seek medical help.

The first step in properly dealing with adult enuresis is determining its possible causes.

Adult enuresis is very embarrassing

Stress
Stressful situations and emotional struggles may cause a person to pee during his sleep. There are ways to manage stress and control enuresis. These include listening to music, performing relaxation and breathing techniques, or engaging in sports and physically challenging activities.

Natural aging process
As people age, their body deteriorates. This leads to slower movements and reflexes. Thus, the older an adult gets, his urinary control decreases.

Fluid intake
Drinking excessive amounts of liquid just before hitting the sack may cause a person to wet his bed.

Coffee, tea, and alcohol
Coffee, tea, soda, and other beverages with caffeine content trigger production of more urine in the body. Alcohol, for its part, makes the control in the bladder muscle weaker. Avoid these drinks especially at night to keep yourself from wetting the bed.

Diuretic medications
There are drugs that can trigger enuresis. For example diuretics are taken to prevent heart failure caused by kidney problems. However, taking the drug can take its toll on your urination control at night.

Anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) imbalance
ADH controls the release of urine by the urinary system. If the body lacks this hormone, chances are the person will experience wet nights.

Urinary tract infection (UTI)
UTI can cause problems in releasing urine from the body especially during sleep. A tumor or swelling in the lower urinary tract can also cause involuntary wetting at night.

So what is the best thing to do if you are prone to wetting the bed? First, you can train your bladder to empty urine at particular time intervals. Pelvic muscle exercises are a good way to be able to control urination at nighttime. This workout, which makes the bladder muscles stronger, must be done two to three times every day for at least four weeks.

If you are taking diuretic drugs, take them during the day or at least eight hours before bedtime. Visit your doctor to find out the medication options you have to be able to cure enuresis.

Controlling adult bed wetting is no different from that of children. The only difference is that you are in charge of your own body (not your parent), so be careful when considering the different treatment options available for your condition.

Adult bedwetting could be categorized as secondary nocturnal enuresis. Bed wetting have two types: the primary and the secondary. Primary enuresis would refer to bed wetting since infancy which is common among kids. Secondary enuresis would refer to bed wetting that occurred after the person has been dry over a long period of time.

There are different causes of adult wetting. It could be due to:

Adult enuresis could happen due to many reasons

Genetics
There are studies showing that if one of the parents has the history of bedwetting, then there are 45% of chances that it could happen to their offspring. This does not only apply on children night time incidents, but also on adult bed wetting.

Hormonal
The anti-diuretic hormone produced by the body is responsible in sending signals to the kidneys to produce less urine. The production of this kind of hormone increases during night time. If the body does not produce enough ADH then the kidneys will still produce urine. Diseases that commonly affects the production of ADH is diabetes.

Muscular
There is a muscle in the bladder called the detrusor. The detrusor contracts to negate the urine. However, this could be unstable especially if the body is exposed to different bladder irritants like caffeine and alcohol.

Medical
There are numerous medical reasons for adult enuresis, it could be urinary tract infection, urinary stones, prostate cancer, prostate enlargement and even bladder cancer. There are also sleeping disorders which are associated with nighttime wetting. Aide from bed wetting, other symptoms could also include night terrors and sweats or sleep walking.

Medication
There are different kinds of drugs available and used by people nowadays. Drugs and medications could affect with the body and bladder control. In some cases of sleep apnea, drugs taken to avoid other complications could lead to adult wetting.

Psychological
An adult could experience physical shock or trauma that could lead to triggering of enuresis. Emotional distress could also be a reason. This kind of cause or situation is often times, the easiest to treat.

Natural Aging
Aging reduces our body’s control over muscles, sending neurological signals can be slower, reflexes are also slower. Bladder control among older adults could be a problem.

Adult bed wetting could deeply affect a person’s confidence, esteem and their relationship. Because of the fear of getting embarrassed and ashamed, adults who suffer from enuresis tend to hide their condition. It is important to encourage the adult sufferer to open up and talk about their problems. Dealing with these fears would help them get medical help. Normally, fear of getting embarrassed about bed wetting, prevents them from seeking professional and medical help. Family and friends are very important at this stage.

When seeking medical help, doctors would assess the situation to identify what is the primary cause of adult bed wetting. There are different urine management which can be done to help adult sufferers deal with bed wetting like relieving within specific time intervals, fluid management, sometimes with medication and exercising muscles.

There are different causes of nocturnal enuresis or bed wetting. But its most common causes are neurological or developmental delays and family history. Medical reasons are least common but possible causes. There are also studies showing that bed wetting can also be caused by stress. Although, stress is not the identified cause of primary enuresis or bed wetting since infancy, it could be attributed with secondary enuresis or reverting to night time wetting.

Emotional neglect could cause bedwetting

Children have different ways and methods of adapting to changes in their social relationships and environment. The changes could be minor or major, but these changes could be stressful to kids. Stress could happen if there is an additional member of the family like a new baby. Moving to a new home, bullying, divorce, and even death could cause stress among children.

Aside from these situations which could put stress to a child, emotional neglect could also be a cause of bed wetting. If a child is neglected or lack emotional stability, nighttime accidents could happen as response to the stress and anxiety.

If you have determined that stress has caused the child to return to bed wetting, then you would be able to address the issue. Once you have identified that stress is the reason, then talk to your doctor if getting your child see a psychologist would be suitable for the situation.

However, never assume that just because your child reverted to nighttime accidents means that he is under stress. There could be incidents in school and at home but may not be the reason. It is always safer to check with a doctor first, to get rid or overrule medical reasons.

If stress is indeed the cause of bed wetting, then you could also ask help from the members of the family. The family could show the child that they are there to support him or her. Enlist everyone in the family to help in guiding the bedwetter in the evening to avoid bed wetting. Bed wetting could interfere with some social activities, however, letting your child participate in some overnight activities could actually help and encourage your child to pursue with the night time training.

There are some experts who have pointed out that bed wetting could be a “vicious” cycle. If stress causes the child to wet the sheets, this could also cause serious stress to the parents. Stressed out parents could distress children more and even make the situation worse. There are studies showing that punishing and shaming children because of bed wetting could actually, increase nighttime accidents. This would eventually lead to more punishment and shaming. This could cause serious problems with the child’s confidence and self-esteem.