What is Bed wetting (Enuresis)

Bed-wetting is involuntary urination during sleep or in daytime. It may be caused by infections or abnormalities of the urinary system. It may be caused by inability of the bladder to hold enough fluid, It is usually only a problem if it persists beyond the age of three or four and if its occurrence is frequent.

Most children who can develop speech have the ability to hold urine long enough to notify their parents when they have to urinate. Bed-wetting may sometimes represent a regression to a previous immature state during periods of emotional stress or upset. Some cases of bed-wetting are purely psychological, and it will take a trained physician to determine whether this is so. Even if it is psychological, however. it is usually not conscious or voluntary, so that the child is actually unable to control it. He may have to be retrained and reconditioned, There are some devices available for conditioning children.

They generally involve a bell which rings as the child starts to urinate. Feeding of small amounts of salty foods at bedtime, and limiting fluids after 6 p.m., may help to control night bed-wetting. It is not advisable to humiliate or punish children for this difficulty. Such an approach may simply aggravate the condition.