Families that have little ones at home have likely experienced bed wetting.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, bedwetting is common — about five million children in the U.S. wet the bed.
Nighttime Dryness Delayed
Bedwetting is a medical condition where the brain and bladder aren’t yet communicating with one another at night.
Even though most children are potty trained between 2 and 4 years old, the ability to stay dry through the night may come much later in childhood.
“We usually don’t say it’s a concern until they’re about 7 years of age and then we start talking about, is there a family history of it? Because sometimes if Mom or Dad wet the bed until 10, we can say, well let’s see what happens until 10,” says Audrey Rhee, M.D., a pediatric urologist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s.
Tips to Try
Rhee says there are some things parents can try besides waiting for a child to outgrow bedwetting:
- Fluid shifting — drinking more fluids during the day and less at night.
- Better sleep habits — limiting screen time before bed and going to bed earlier.
- Limit constipation-causing foods — especially foods that contain caffeine.
Research shows constipation, where the bowels press on the bladder, can lead to nighttime accidents, too.
Caffeine also is considered a bladder irritant, which can make a child more prone to accidents. Bladder irritants include citrus, caffeine and even artificial colors and dyes.
“The breakdown of those dyes when the bladder is exposed to it, the bladder doesn’t like it so you’re more prone to bladder spasms (and) you’re more prone to having an accident because of the exposure to it,” Rhee says.
When to Seek Help
Rhee says it’s important for parents to remember that bedwetting is a medical condition and children should not be punished or shamed for having an accident.
She says if bedwetting is causing a child emotional distress, talk to their doctor or a pediatric urologist about treatment options.
— Submitted by Cleveland Clinic News Service
