Bedwetting

Nocturnal enuresis (the medical name for bedwetting) is involuntary urination that happens at night during sleep after the age when a child should be able to control his or her bladder. It’s a common problem in kids, especially those less than 6 years old.

There are two types of bedwetting: primary and secondary.

Primary bedwetting refers to bedwetting that has been ongoing since early childhood without a break. A child with primary bedwetting has never been dry at night for any significant length of time. Secondary bedwetting is bedwetting that starts again after the child has been dry at night for a significant period of time (at least six months).

The cause is likely due to one or a combination of the following:

• The child cannot yet hold urine for the entire night.
• The child does not waken when his or her bladder is full. Some children may have a smaller bladder volume than their peers.
• The child produces a large amount of urine during the evening and night hours.
• The child has poor daytime toilet habits. Many children habitually ignore the urge to urinate and put off urinating as long as they possibly can. Parents are familiar with the “potty dance” characterized by leg crossing, face straining, squirming, squatting, and groin holding that children use to hold back urine.
• Secondary bedwetting can be a sign of an underlying medical or emotional problem. The child with secondary bedwetting is much more likely to have other symptoms, such as daytime wetting. Common causes of secondary bedwetting include the following:
• Urinary tract infection: The resulting bladder irritation can cause lower abdominal or irritation with urination (dysuria), a stronger urge to urinate (urgency), and frequent urination (frequency). Urinary tract infection in children may in turn indicate another problem, such as an anatomical abnormality.

Management

The recommended plan is usually to try a few measures yourself first, such as limiting the amount of liquid your child drinks in the evening, and making sure they go to the toilet before going to sleep.

Reassuring your child that everything is OK is also important. Don’t tell them off or punish them for wetting the bed as this won’t help and could make the problem worse. It’s important for them to know they haven’t done anything wrong, and it will get better.

If these measures alone don’t help, a bedwetting alarm is often recommended. These are moisture-sensitive pads a child wears on their night clothes. An alarm sounds if the child begins to pee. Over time, the alarm should help train a child to wake once their bladder is full.

If an alarm doesn’t work or is unsuitable, medication called desmopressin or oxybutinin can be used.

• Diabetes: People with type I diabetes have a high level of sugar (glucose) in their blood. The body increases urine output as a consequence of excessive blood glucose levels. Having to urinate frequently is a common symptom of diabetes.
• Structural or anatomical abnormality: An abnormality in the organs, muscles, or nerves involved in urination can cause incontinence
• Neurological problems: Abnormalities in the nervous system, or injury or disease of the nervous system, can upset the delicate neurological balance that controls urination.
• Emotional problems: A stressful home life, as in a home where the parents are in conflict, sometimes causes children to wet the bed. Major changes, such as starting school, a new baby, or moving to a new home, are other stresses that can also cause bedwetting. Children who are being physically or sexually abused sometimes begin bedwetting.
• Sleep patterns: Obstructive sleep apnea (characterized by excessively loud snoring and/or choking while asleep) can be associated with enuresis.
• Pinworm infection: characterized by intense itching of the anal and/or genital area.
• Excessive fluid intake
• Bedwetting tends to run in families. Many children who wet the bed have a parent who did, too. Most of these children stop bedwetting on their own at about the same age the parent did.

Homoeopathic treatment – Homeopathic medicines for bedwetting are by no means the only medicines for bedwetting. There are many other medicines that are also used to cure enuresis. The exact selection of the right medicine depends upon the detailed symptoms of each individual patient.

1.Causticum – One of the best Homeopathic medicines for bedwetting
Causticum is very much suited to kids when this problem is more in winters and gets better in summers. Child is weak and wets the bed early in the night. There is little control over the bladder. Urine may escape even when the child coughs or sneezes and on slightest excitement. There is little sensation while passing urine.
2. Kreosote – One of the best Homeopathic medicines for bedwetting in kids who are difficult to waken
In cases where the child is so deep asleep that it is difficult to waken him, Kreosote is one of the best homeopathic medicines for bedwetting. The urine is offensive in odor. The child even has dreams of urinating. Even during the daytime, the child finds it difficult to exercise control over the urinary bladder and has to run when the urge to urinate feels.
3. Cina – One of the best Homeopathic remedies for bedwetting with presence of worms
In cases where there is presence of worms along with bedwetting, Cina is one of the best homeopathic remedies for bedwetting. The child is irritable and rubs the nose. The urine is turbid and white, which turns milky on standing. Increased appetite is another prominent symptom that indicates Cina.
4. Acid-Phos – One of the best Homeopathic medicines for bedwetting in large quantities
In cases where the child urinates profusely even while asleep, Acid Phos is one of the best homeopathic medicines for bedwetting. The child is otherwise weak and nervous.
5. Equisetum- One of the best Homeopathic medicines for bedwetting as a matter of habit
In cases where the child urinates in bed more as a matter of habit, Equisetum is one of the best homeopathic medicines for bedwetting.