Hidden Medical Causes

Here are some causes of bedwetting that are frequently overlooked:

Red flags of underlying medical conditions causing bedwetting are:

• day wetting
• dribbling
• constipation
• frequent urinary tract infections
• noisy breathing
• snoring
• or a family history of urinary tract abnormalities

Here are some causes of bedwetting that are frequently overlooked:

It's interesting that parents often report their child wets the bed a night after a birthday party. In our experience, the most commonly reported foods that increase the chance of bedwetting are: carbonated, citrus, and caffeinated juices; cola or chocolate, red dyes, and artificially colored candy. Try eliminating each of these from your child's diet one by one and see if the bedwetting stops. Little bladders leak a lot, especially when pressed on by full bowels. Getting your child to have regular bowel habits will increase the likelihood of more regular bladder habits. Don't forget to tell your doctor about your child's bowel habits: Constipation can contribute to bedwetting, as there's not enough room for a full bowel and a full bladder in the same small pelvis. Anything that interferes with a child's quality of sleep is likely to interfere with bladder control. Stress is a likely cause in secondary enuresis, bedwetting that occurs in a previously night-dry child. Secondary enuresis is common following major upsets, such as a divorce, death, arrival of a sibling, new school, or loss of a friendship. Children with large tonsils and adenoids are especially prone to bedwetting because of a condition called sleep apnea , which is periodic airway obstruction interfering with normal breathing patterns during sleep. Parents of bedwetters will often be ecstatic about the child becoming dry immediately after the tonsils and adenoids are removed. Children with ADD (attention deficit disorder) seem to have more problems with bladder control during the day and night. Just as they don't pay attention to parents and teachers during the day, they don't pay attention to their bladder at night. These kids get so distracted during the day that they are unaware of their bodily functions, such as bladder sensation, and they don't have the persistence or attention span to sit on the toilet long enough to completely empty their bladder.

The above causes are more the exception than the rule, since the majority of bedwetters simply sleep too deeply to respond to their bladder signals.