The Truth About ADHD and Bedwetting

Have you ever wondered if there was a correlation between ADHD and bedwetting? Even though there seems to be a tendency for ADHD and bedwetting to occur together in the same children, Dr. Joseph Biederman, a pediatric psychopharmacologist from Harvard University says that no definitive link between the two has been found. So then why do the two so often occur together?

One thought says that children with ADHD are often so distracted that they don't pay attention to the body's signals to void. There is also a school of thought that says there might be an environmental link or a genetic predisposition that causes both ADHD and bedwetting.

Traditional medicine tends to treat ADHD and bedwetting separately, but alternative therapies tend to be based on the theory that ADHD and bedwetting are often both symptoms of another underlying cause.

Some believe that chemicals in food or food allergies can cause both ADHD type of symptoms and bedwetting. By changing a child's diet and eliminating the foods to which the child is sensitive, it is often found that ADHD symptoms and bedwetting are often much improved or eliminated altogether. Parents interested in this type of treatment should contact the Feingold Association, which supports a dietary approach developed by the chief of allergy medicine at Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco, California.

Another alternative therapy claims a deep sleep disorder is the primary cause of ADHD-like symptoms and bedwetting in some people. According to Shelly Morris, director of the Enuresis Treatment Center, "The inherited deep sleep disorder that causes bedwetting also causes people to spend most, if not all of their nights in stage 4 of sleep." "Stage 4 is the deepest stage in the sleep cycle. It is the stage where the whole body slows down and rests. It is when the cells rejuvenate, the pulse slows down and the oxygen levels are low. When one spends the whole night not getting enough oxygen, the symptoms are going to be identical to ADD/ADHD ... lack of focus, staring out in space, easily distracted, etc."

This type of treatment therapy focuses on biofeedback and conditioning to adjust sleep patterns. Successful treatment eliminates bedwetting problems and either eliminates or reduces ADHD symptoms. According to Morris, even children who have both ADHD and the sleep disorder usually see marked improvement in their ADHD symptoms.

Although there are no clear cut answers, there are some things a parent can do to help.

First, find out if there is an underlying issue, such as a bladder infection or stress. Then try eliminating drinks an hour before bedtime. Try waking your child to go to the bathroom before you turn in for the night. While working on the bedwetting issue, you can put a plastic liner underneath the child's bedsheets - something like an old shower curtain - so the mattress won't be ruined. Whatever you do, don't yell, be patient. The child needs to learn to feel.

So there you have it. There is no definite correlation between ADHD and bedwetting, only different schools of thought, a variety of treatment alternatives, and some useful tips for parents that can make this time more bearable.