Bedwetting - Sleepwalking And Other Parasomnias: Sleep Disorders

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Bedwetting

Bedwetting, known medically as nocturnal enuresis, is common among children. Up to 40% of 4-year-olds and up to 5% of 10-year-olds wet the bed. Bedwetting, which occurs more frequently among boys than girls, is usually due to slow maturation of bladder control. Occasionally, it results from psychological stress. When a specific physical problem such as a structural abnormality of the urinary tract, diabetes, a urinary tract infection, or a nervous system defect leads to bedwetting, the child will also have difficulty with daytime bladder control. Almost all bedwetting children eventually stay dry at night.

It's important for adults to understand that children have little control over bedwetting and that admonishments and punishments won't solve the problem. Instead, doctors often prescribe a retraining program involving the use of an alarm that wakes the child upon the first sign of wetness. Over two to three months, the child will come to recognize the need to urinate and will learn to get up and go to the bathroom.

Bedwetting occurs in a very small percentage of adults and is often due to an underlying medical problem or excessive caffeine or beer consumption. In men, an enlarged prostate gland that presses against the bladder may be to blame. Bedwetting may be a side effect of diuretic pills or a sign of diabetes, a bladder or kidney problem, epilepsy, or serious obstructive sleep apnea (see "Obstructive sleep apnea"). Treatment for adult bedwetting depends on the cause.

Last updated:	January 23, 2007