subject: Undersstanding Factors Related To Wetting The Bed [print this page] Children wetting the bed and adults unable to control their bladder can be the source of great concern. It is not surprising when young children have accidents at night where their bladder is released, but most parents expect that this occurrence will end relatively soon, and certainly before the start of kindergarten. However, a number of children will experience difficulties holding their bladder at night even at age 6 and up. Adults too may experience similar difficulties, sometimes well before an advanced age.
If a child has been bed wetting at night from the start, then their condition is known as primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE). This is where the body has never learned how to exercise control over the bladder. Once the bladder is full, a signal is released to the brain to rid the body of the urine. Normally, we learn how to train our body so that we can hold the bladder full, so that release can occur in the toilet when we wake up, yet for some this ability takes more time.
In some cases, children learn how to stop waking up to a wet bed but the problem returns. This condition is called secondary enuresis. If it happens during the day, then it is called diurnal enuresis, and of course this is even a greater concern for children in school and of course for adults. Generally, a minimum of six months has to have elapsed from when control over the bladder is achieved until control is lost, in order for the condition to be considered secondary enuresis.
If wetting the bed continues beyond the age of six for a child or it suddenly begins for an adult, then a doctor should be consulted. Nocturnal enuresis isn't pleasant, but it is finding the source of secondary enuresis that truly needs to be looked into. If the child or adult has no medical condition that could be suddenly causing this to happen, then the next step is to look at other events, such as emotional or mental factors that have recently arisen in the child or adult's life.
Wetting the bed at night is a normal occurrence for young children. However, if it continues beyond the age of seven and is a frequent occurrence, then a physician needs to be consulted. It may be the simple fact that the child needs to grow more physically before he or she will stop bedwetting. For an adult, it can be an embarrassing. If it happens frequently for an adult who isn't elderly, then a physician should be seen to identify the cause.
