Patient's question:
My younger sister's son is 8 years old. He has had the problem of bedwetting for a long time. He has been treated many times, but it hasn't been effective. There was a period when massaging his feet helped him stay dry for a while, but recently he has started wetting the bed again. Is this a disease? How can it be treated most effectively?Doctor's answer:
At the age of one and a half, children gradually develop the ability to control urination, and they can wake up to urinate when they feel the urge during sleep. For children over three years old who still wet the bed in sleep and are unaware of it, if this occurs twice a week and persists for more than six months, it is referred to as enuresis.Genetic factors have a certain influence on bedwetting in children. If one parent has a history of enuresis, there is a 40% chance that the child will also experience it. These children often experience spontaneous improvement around the age their parents stopped wetting the bed. Some cases of enuresis are caused by insufficient secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) during the night, leading to reduced nocturnal urine concentration and bedwetting. These children often have increased nighttime urine output with lower specific gravity. Incomplete bladder function is also a contributing factor. Children with this issue often urinate frequently but in small amounts, and they frequently wet the bed at night. Most children sleep deeply, making it difficult for them to wake up or recognize the urge to urinate, which is another reason.
A child who is over four years old may still wet the bed at night. Approximately 12% of children still occasionally wet the bed by the age of six, as long as it does not happen every night. Parents should not be overly concerned unless it is a frequent occurrence. It is said that bedwetting has a strong genetic component. If both parents had a history of bedwetting as children, there is a 77% chance the child will also wet the bed. If only one parent has a history of bedwetting, there is a 43% chance, while children with neither parent having a history of bedwetting have only a 15% chance of frequent bedwetting.
Whenever a child wets the bed, never scold them. It is not intentional, and it is not their fault—they are already feeling very guilty. Avoid putting pressure on them, as this can lead to feelings of inferiority and affect their mental health.
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