Archive for the ‘Daytime wetting’ Category

Causes of Bedwetting

Monday, December 14th, 2009

AS writes, “Is there a certain type of child that seems to have more bedwetting than others? Two of my kids are affected, but they are as different as night and day. My 10 year old daughter is very neat and clean, does well in school, but is a little overweight and not very athletic. My 8 year old son is messy, does ok in school and is very outgoing and athletic. Bedwetting affects them both, as it did for both their father and my sister.

Although bedwetting is very common in children, the cause seems to be multi-factorial and not well understood. We do know that bedwetting runs in families and the actual genetic marker has been determined. With both sides of your family affected, more than 70% of offspring are affected. We don’t know exactly what that genetic trigger is, however. For example, do these kids sleep differently, do their bladders contain less, do they pay less attention, etc?

Research has been done to look at risk factors for children with bedwetting. I’d like to share with you some research that was just published online in The Journal of Urology online, Dec 2009. The research was done in Australia using a questionnaire for the parents of 2,856 children. The questionnaire asked about the prevalence of bedwetting among many other general questions about their children. The average age was 7 years and the prevalence of bedwetting was 18%. Bedwetting was defined as any wetting in the previous month, with mild-1-6 nights, moderate-more than 7, severe-every night.

This research did confirm some modifiable risk factors that have been identified in the past years. Encopresis (leaking stool) and daytime wetting were associated with 23% of the kids with bedwetting. I think it is important to note that these two issues should be solved before bedwetting is addressed. In some situations, bedwetting will cease with the cure of the other problems. Males were also more likely to have severe enuresis, when adjusted for age.

Emotional stressors and social concerns were only associated with the moderate bedwetting, not the nightly wetting. This is good news for parents who worry that there is a psychological reason or bad parenting as the cause for their children’s wetting.

AS, if either of your children have encopresis, constipation or daytime wetting, this should be brought to your pediatrician’s attention immediately. As for the other temperamental characteristics that you mentioned, it doesn’t seem that there is a pre-disposition for one type to be more affected than others. I do see all shapes, sizes and personalities of kids in my bedwetting practice but most are just great kids. There is a little higher correlation of ADHD in children with bedwetting, but they can still achieve dryness. From your description, it sounds like both of your children would benefit from treatment using a bedwetting alarm.

Vibrating Wrist Watches for Nighttime

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

ST asks, “My 8 year old son can stay dry in the night if my husband or I wake him up 1 or 2 times. If we don’t wake him up, he wets. Can I set the vibrating alarm wrist watch for a couple of times a night so it can help his bet wetting and remind him to wake up?”

ST, I do not recommend this for a couple of reasons. First, how do you know what time your son will need to go to the bathroom? It’s difficult to predict when the bladder needs to empty, which can change from one night to the next. Because you are picking an arbitrary time to alert him, he will not be able to put together the signal of a full bladder and getting up at that precise time. This is also why setting an alarm clock for a specific time each night does not cure bedwetting. Moisture sensing bedwetting alarms are superior, because the alarm does not sound until your son physiologically needs to go to the bathroom.

The second reason is that a 20 second vibration on the wrist is typically not enough stimulation to wake a soundly sleeping child. Because the vibration stops after 20 seconds, most children will sleep through or ignore it and wake up wet and frustrated in the morning. Because you have no idea when the watch is vibrating, you cannot be available to help. With a sound making bedwetting alarm, you can be available to alert him when it sounds. Vibrating watches work great to remind children in the daytime when they should be using the bathroom. Because daytime wetting and nighttime wetting have some different causes, different products are best for each condition.

School Wetting

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

EP writes about her 7 year old daughter who will be starting 2nd grade soon. In first grade, there were times that she waited until the last minute and didn’t make it to the bathroom in time. This resulted in wet pants, sometimes requiring a complete change of clothes. She has been checked out by her doctor and there does not seem to be any associated problems. Mom wonders what she can do to prevent this from happening this school year.

Urologists around the country agree that this can be a common and frustrating problem that is best handled by frequent urination on a regular basis. Emptying the bladder regularly eliminates the urgent messages that sometimes result in urine leakage. The difficulty arises when children get busy with other activities and lose track of time. Telling a child to go potty every 2 or 3 hours is a hard concept to grasp. Even remembering to go to the bathroom before lunch or recess can be difficult. A discreet vibrating wrist watch is a reliable tool for providing a reminder to go to the bathroom.

We carry several vibrating wrist watches that are perfect for this purpose. Our top selling watch is the Vibrowatch. Up to 12 specific times can be programmed to coordinate with your daughter’s schedule. The watch vibrates for about 20 seconds and is difficult to ignore. It comes in several different colors and has a durable plastic band. Vibrating watches are generally a little larger than time telling watches to accommodate the larger battery.

Starting the new school year off with a reminder watch is likely to eliminate many of the embarrassing accidents she had last year. You can consult her teacher about the best toileting times and make sure she has free access to the bathroom when her watch reminds her to go.

• « Older Entries