Bedwetting: these are the causes

The causes of bedwetting can be varied. There may be physical as well as psychological problems behind it. Bedwetting is most common in children and the elderly. But there are now good therapeutic options.

There are many causes of bedwetting

Many mothers are disappointed if their child is still not dry at 4 or 5 years at night. However, this is not the end of the world. Rather, children in particular need to be sensitively introduced to the subject of getting clean.

• Children are usually faster dry during the day than at night. This is often because they simply don't feel at night when they have to go to the toilet. Many children only become dry at night at school age. There are various options, such as bell pants, to remind the child to go to the toilet at night.
• If you feel that your child is having problems getting clean, be gentle with it. Read books on the subject again and again and praise it especially if it worked out well.
• If your child is slowly approaching school age, the psyche might be behind bedwetting. Children who have suffered separation or loss as a result of death or divorce often react to it with bedwetting. Keep calm here and don't make a big deal of it. There are some bed sheets that do not allow urine to pass through.
• When school age is reached, your child will probably notice more and more how uncomfortable bedwetting is. Most of the time there is a physical examination at the pediatrician at the latest, who will check whether everything is really OK. If the examination is uneventful, your child simply needs a little more time.
• Enuresis - as the technical term is, is still the case for many children aged 5 and over. They do not notice at night when the bladder presses and urinate into bed from time to time. However, such accidents are usually fewer and fewer, as the bladder grows and the brain also recognizes when the bladder is full and the child then automatically wakes up.
• A simple and good way to curb bedwetting is to let the child have a drink about 1.5 hours before going to bed in the evening. You should then go to the toilet and empty your bladder before going to bed.

When bedwetting is due to illness

Sometimes it can happen that there is a physical disfunction behind the wetting. The doctor will clarify this. The pediatrician is usually the first point of contact, otherwise you can also consult a urologist. Listen to your gut feeling here, parents usually feel intuitively when something is wrong.

• A common cause is that the hormone ADH (antidiuretic hormone) is not or only insufficiently formed. This ensures that the kidneys work less at night and less urine is formed. However, this will resolve itself with increasing age of the child and is in principle very rarely due to illness. The doctor can provide information.
• Bedwetting also occurs in adults. Causes can be bladder, kidney or prostate diseases. The doctor must decide which therapy is necessary here.
• Many people become demented with age. Dementia can also be a trigger for bedwetting. The patients no longer feel when they have to go to the toilet. The problem can also occur during the day.
• Nursing cases often suffer from bedwetting. Therapy is difficult here. In principle, only diapers help in such a case.