Teenage Bedwetting

Teenagers usually don't like to talk about bedwetting (the medical term for bedwetting is nocturnal enuresis) and feel embarrassed to ask for help; they often think it is something that only affects young children or old people.

But this is not the case; research tells us that about 1 in 40 teenagers wet the bed - it is not because they are being lazy or childish, there are physical reasons why bedwetting happens and the good news is that something can usually be done to help.

The medical term for teenage bed wetting is secondary nocturnal enuresis – the onset of bedwetting after an extended period (say 6 months or more) of being dry. There are generally three main causes: the inability to wake up when the bladder is full; the body producing too much urine while the person is asleep; and a small bladder.

This can be contributed to by some of the following factors:

• • Antidiuretic hormonal (ADH) problems – the hormone, vasopressin, controls the body’s discharge of water and participates in a hormone cycle that ensures that the bladder will not be full until the morning, which in turn ensures that the person will urinate when they wake up. This hormone develops in children as they age. It is usually fully functional by the time the child is 6 or 7years old, sometimes it takes longer to establish and may only be stable at the end of puberty.

• • Bladder problems – the child may have an overactive bladder which has the urge to empty before it is full, or a small bladder which is unable to hold the amount of urine produced while asleep. There may still be a developmental delay whereby voluntary bladder control has not been fully achieved.

• • Sleep problems - sleeping too deeply which doesn’t allow for the message to get back to the brain that the bladder is full.

• • Medical problems - such as urinary tract infections.

• • Psychological problems – which may be brought on by extreme stress levels. These need to be addressed professionally and the underlying causes dealt with in the appropriate manner.

You must remember that teenage bedwetting is unintentional and you need to reassure your child that while it may be embarrassing, it is not their fault. If you are concerned, the first thing to do is consult with your family doctor for the correct diagnosis. They will be able to run tests to establish if it is a physical or psychological ailment. Depending on the cause of the bedwetting doctors will prescribe a type of treatment suitable for your teenagers’ needs. The treatment may be behaviour training or medication.

One of the medicines most often prescribed is Desmopressin acetate (DDAVP). It is a synthetic copy of the hormone that controls night time urine production in the body.

Behaviour training includes the use of alarms; this is a device that can help condition adolescents to wake up when they first feel moisture and realize that they must urinate. This would eventually lead to the body being able to identify when the bladder is full and assist in curbing bedwetting. Monitoring what food and drink is consumed before going to bed, so that the bladder is not overfull, can also be a useful way to manage the situation.

Remember that it will take some time for the body to retrain itself, so keep at it and try out different methods. Stay in regular contact with your doctor and discuss progress regularly. Teenage or adolescent bedwetting is a treatable disorder, and it requires both patience and consideration on the part of the concerned parent.

To make life more pleasant, and clean up easier to manage, prepare the bed by using a mattress protector and a Brolly sheet. Quick and easy to remove and pop into the laundry, a Brolly sheet and even a waterproof top sheet, can help your teenager manage the clean up without having to disturb you in the night.