World Bedwetting Day

"Time to Take Action is the 2015 slogan for World Bedwetting Day, which occurred on October 17 at the European Society for Paediatric Urology (ESPU).

World Bedwetting Day will occur every year in May from 2016 onwards and is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the condition so that children and families can get the help they deserve.

Some facts about bedwetting:

-Bedwetting is a common medical condition that can and should be treated

-This medical condition does not have a psychological cause, in most cases it is caused by over-production of urine at night or reduced capacity of the bladder

- The impact of bedwetting on a child and family is often underestimated and trivialized

-Left untreated, bedwetting will not necessarily go away by itself

Nearly half of parents do not seek out help from their health care provider, believing the child will outgrow the problem and there is nothing that can be done about it.

However, bedwetting will not necessarily go away by itself and there are effective and safe treatments that speed up the development of dry nights.

Dr. Søren Rittig, Consultant at the Department of Child and Youth, Nephro-urologic Team, Aarhus University Hospital commented: "As doctors we often underestimate the impact of bedwetting, preferring to focus on other apparently more serious conditions. However, successful diagnosis and treatment of bedwetting relieves the burden this condition places on a child, boosting day time functioning including school performance.

Bedwetting alarms are the first-line therapy for school age children who have not attained nighttime dryness. The initial step for families is learning that this effective treatment is something they can do at home to end their child's bedwetting forever. There is no need for parents to idly sit by while their child suffers from the missed sleepovers and school trips.

World Bedwetting Day will remind us that more can be done to treat children with this common medical condition.