Enuresis in children

Bedwetting occurs when the bladder involuntarily empties during sleep. It can often be a source of worry for parents and children who are affected, but help is available.

• For parents: the main concern is often the emotional and social effects bedwetting has on their child.
• For children: they may experience feelings of embarrassment about their bedwetting which can lead to low self-esteem.

Most children will be dry during the day by age three and dry at night by school age. It is important to remember that all children develop at different rates and some children may have accidents from time to time until the age of seven or eight.

WHY DO CHILDREN WET THE BED

Common causes

There are three main causes of bedwetting:

• inability to wake up with a full bladder
• the bladder becomes overactive at night and cannot store urine (wee)
• the kidneys produce a large amount of urine at night that the bladder has difficulty retaining.

Enuresis is NOT caused by:

• being young for your age
• laziness
• bad behavior
• sedition, or
• drink after dinner.

Some diseases are related to enuresis, however, most children who wet the bed do not have major health problems.

Read our parenting tips page for more information.

Treatment

If a child is over seven or eight years old, the problem may not improve on its own. Some common ways to treat bedwetting are:

• Bedwetting ALARMS teach the child to wake up with the feeling of a full bladder by waking him up with an alarm when he wets the bed. The alarm can be used on the bed or in the child’s underwear.
• Drug which reduces the amount of urine produced during the night may be prescribed. Your doctor will talk to you about the correct use of these medicines.

Learn more about bedwetting alarms and medications.

Seek help

It is important to seek professional help for enuresis if:

• the child who was dry suddenly begins to wet himself at night
• wetting is common after school age
• the wetting bothers the child or upsets or angers the child
• the child wants to dry.

Talk to your family doctor or contact a healthcare professional with special training in children’s bladder. The National Continence Helpline (1800 33 00 66) and our directory of service providers can give you further information about support available in your area.