Bed Wetting And Your Child

Primary Nocturnal Enuresis also known as bedwetting can be a very traumatic situation for children as well as their parents to handle on a daily basis. For the children, it can be embarrassing, for the parents, it's a frustrating issue that they may not understand. While this isn't an easy issue for children to deal with, by being informed parents, you can help them get through this trying time.

Kids that have this problem are often described as deep sleepers by their parents. They may be hard to wake up and may even sleepwalk or have nightmares on a regular occasion. It is a common consideration among doctors that a child who is a bed wetter is a girl over the age of four and a boy over five years of age.

The most common reason for bedwetting in older children is a smaller than average bladder, or an over production of urine, which in turn, fills the bladder during the night. Physical causes are rare, but may include lower spinal cord lesions, congenital malformations of the genitourinary tract, and infections of the urinary tract or diabetes.

There are options available to parents to help their children deal with the issue and perhaps help solve it. The most important thing that a parent can do is to explain to the child that this isn't their fault; it isn't something that they can control. Bedwetting is believed to be inherited; it is likely that a parent, grandparent or other relative also has dealt with it. It might be helpful for that person to speak with the child.

One of the most popular and convenient ways to deal with this problem is with a product that is made specifically for older children with this issue. It is made much the same way as a diaper, but is larger and less bulky. When a child is wearing it, the product is virtually undetectable by anyone. This makes it possible for older children to attend functions such as sleepovers without the worry of being embarrassed in the morning. These are disposable and really do help the child and the parent both deal with the issue of incontinence while sleeping.

Some other effective methods are to limit the fluid intake before bedtime. This is especially true of drinks that include caffeine in the ingredients. The use of alarms to wake the child up one or two times a night to go to the bathroom may also help to prevent wet beds. There is also a moisture alarm, which only sounds if it gets wet with even a couple of drops of moisture. This devise allows the child to sleep uninterrupted until the need to wake up arises. While these methods may work to help curb the bedwetting issue, they may not be all that is needed. A couple of options that are at the disposal of today's parents are hypnotherapy and medicines. There have been studies done which have shown that hypnotizing a child may help to prevent the bedwetting.

There is a medicine that is known to help children deal with their bedwetting issues. Imiprmine is a type of anti-depressant drug that has a relaxing effect on the bladder while it tightens the sphincter muscle. This in turn prevents the passing of urine. The downside to using this type of medication is that the habit will restart when the use of the medicine is stopped. These kinds of drugs are not often prescribed due to the fact that they have side effects associated with them, they are most often though of as a last resort.

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.