How to Deal with Bed wetting
Bed wetting can be a stressful condition for both the child and the parent. It’s more common among boys than girls, and is more likely to be related to problems with bladder control than any physical conditions. A child is also likely to suffer from nocturnal enuresis (the medical term for bed wetting) if one or both parents had this problem in their childhood. Medical conditions can also be a cause but only in extremely rare cases.
If you child is between 6 to 8 years old and still wets his bed, it could indicate a limited bladder capacity. This simply means that his bladder has a smaller capacity to hold urine. Children also wet the bed when they can’t tell that their bladder is full. For these reasons, the main treatment methods for bed wetting focus on recognizing a full bladder and increasing its capacity to hold urine. Here are some things you can do to deal with this problem.
Make sure your child visits the bathroom before his bed time.
Wake him up at least once or twice during the night. You could wake him about 2-3 hours after he’s gone to sleep. Use an alarm clock to wake him once more if possible. This will condition him to recognize the signs of a full bladder.
Avoid giving him fluids at least a couple of hours before his bed time. Increase the stretches of time in between his normal urination schedule in the day time. This will help the bladder increase its capacity to hold urine.
Buy a moisture alarm that can recognize signs of wetness in the middle of the night. The wireless Potty Pager wakes up children at the first sign of wetness by mechanical vibrations. Check out their website at http://www.pottypager.com/ to order a model.
Whatever methods you choose to adopt, avoid blaming or teasing the child. It only aggravates the situation. If none of these methods work, your physician may prescribe medication usually in the form of anti depressants. However this is only to be used as a last ditch option, when all else has failed. Most kids however tend to outgrow this phase pretty quickly.
Filed under: Child Health
