BEDWETTING

What is it?

Most children wet the bed sometimes when they are first taken out of nappies at night. About one in eight children still wets the bed regularly by the age of five, about one in 20 by the age of ten and about one in a hundred by the time they are teenagers. Some children stop wetting the bed but start again later a year or more after they became dry at night.

What causes it?

Often no cause for wetting the bed is identified. Your child will learn to control his bladder as he gets older just as he learned to crawl walk and talk. Occasionally, bedwetting is due to infection in the urine or very rarely because of diabetes.

Who suffers from it?

Boys are more likely to wet the bed than girls. If your child is a slow developer - if he walks and talks later than average for example - he is more likely to wet the bed. If your child goes through a very stressful time he may start wetting the bed again after being dry for some time. It can also run in families.

When should I go to my doctor?

This depends partly on how upset your child is by wetting the bed. You should think about making an appointment with your GP if your child is still wetting the bed every night by the time he starts school. You should certainly make an appointment if he is also wetting himself in the day by this age. If your child starts wetting the bed regularly after being dry at night for a year or more you should talk to your GP about it.

What tests will my doctor do?

Your GP will want to examine your child take a urine sample and test it. What he says next depends on whether or not these tests are normal.

What is the short-term treatment?

The GP will probably start by giving you some advice. This includes not letting your child drink too much just before his bedtime and getting him up to go to the toilet before you yourself go to bed. You may need to wake up your child completely when you get him up to go to the toilet rather than letting him go when he is half- asleep. If this does not work, your GP may suggest a star chart. Your child gets a star on his chart every time he is dry at night and perhaps a special treat when he has been dry for a whole week at a time.

Could the treatment be long-term?

If a star chart does not help, your doctor might suggest a pad with a bell or alarm. The pad goes under your child's mattress and sets off an alarm when he wets the bed. This will wake him up and after a while he should learn either to get up and go to the toilet before he wets the bed or to sleep through without wetting. Alternatively, your doctor may prescribe medicine either in tablet form or as a nose spray.

How can I help?

It is important not to get cross with your child when he wets the bed. He is not doing it on purpose and getting cross or telling him off will probably make things worse. When he is dry at night you should give him lots of praise and perhaps a small treat. If there are problems at home you should try not to pass them on to your child. He is more likely to wet the bed if he is feeling worried or upset. It might also help if you explain how common the problem is among children of his age. He is likely to feel less worried if he knows that three other children in his class probably wet the bed too.

Will the problem go away eventually?

Almost certainly. The older your child gets the more likely it is that the bedwetting will either naturally disappear or be reduced as the treatment develops.