5 things doctors want parents to know about children's bedwetting

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Bedwetting is the most common pediatric urinary complaint among parents. Five to seven million children under the age of 5 wet their beds overnight. After the age of 5, 15% of children still do not get rid of the condition. Just like a developmental milestone such as learning to walk, there comes a time when a child will stop bedwetting on their own. Some children just need more time to develop their bladder control. When you need to go to the bathroom, your bladder sends a signal to your brain to wake you up. For children who wet the bed at night, the ability to process this information is often delayed. The child does not recognize the feeling that the bladder is full. In this article, we will provide useful information to better understand 5 things doctors want parents to know about bedwetting in children.

Because bedwetting in children is so common, doctors are always looking for ways to reassure both the child and the parent. Here are 5 things doctors want parents to understand about their child's bedwetting.

1. Bedwetting in children is normal and involuntary

Most parents don't mention their child's bedwetting during parent conferences, conversations with other parents, or on the way to and from school. However it is normal and very common. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that about 5 million children in the United States regularly wet their beds every night. In the 7-year-old group, 1 in 10 children wetting the bed at night.
Bedwetting is not only common, it is completely involuntary. This means that the child cannot control his bedwetting. A child who regularly wets the bed doesn't have to be lazy or trying to defy their parents. It is concerned with the process of growth and development in children rather than control. Before a baby can stay completely dry all night, their brain, muscles, and bladder need time to mature. They must work together to make less urine at night, and send and receive signals strong enough to wake a child up to go to the bathroom.

2. Daytime urination and nocturia are separate timelines

Usually, when the child is old enough, parents will teach the child how to use the potty or the toilet whenever there is a need. Children may not wet the bed at all during the day, but at night it is a different story, involving each developmental milestone in the overall development of the child. If your baby has been successful in wearing underwear and using the potty all day, but often wetting the bed at night, that's not necessarily a failure in her potty training efforts. Children simply need more time to reach other important milestones in their bladder control.
For many children, the gap between daytime urinary control and nighttime urination can be so close that parents feel the child has achieved the two on his own. time. However, for other children, it can take months, or even years, and even longer to control the urge to urinate and stop wetting the bed at night.

3. Bedwetting in children is rarely caused by medical problems

If your baby has been wetting the bed frequently since the day she doesn't need diapers during the day, it's probably not due to a health-related cause of concern. However, it should not be so subjective, parents always need to pay attention to the changes in their children's daily habits related to controlling the ability to urinate.
If, after a long, dry night, your baby suddenly begins to wet the bed or is accompanied by other symptoms, such as fever or pain when urinating, take your child to the clinic or medical facility. Physical problems, most commonly constipation or urinary tract infections, can be to blame for these symptoms. However, it is not ruled out that this is just one of a number of developmental steps for children to try to control their ability to urinate, especially at night.

4. Do not reward or punish children for bedwetting

Since this is a child's natural development, rewards or punishments will only inadvertently make things worse. Using a sticky note or sticker to mark the days when your child doesn't wet the bed seems like a good idea for some parents to encourage or even reward their kids if they don't wet the bed every night. morning wake up. However, because your baby can't control this, rewarding or giving them a treat won't help them stop bedwetting the next night. It can even put children under unnecessary pressure and stress.
Children love to be rewarded, of course but their parents can reward them for things they can control, for example going to the bathroom before going to bed, helping mom change the sheets, washing, drying blankets or inform the mother that the baby wet the bed last night. These actions can help children feel less pressured to try to control their ability to urinate at night and can make the situation better. On the contrary, punishing the child or blaming the child for wetting the bed only makes the situation worse.

5. There is no specific method to reduce bedwetting in children

In fact, there is no specific method that can treat or reduce bedwetting in children. The methods mentioned below are mainly used by parents and make very subjective judgments about their effectiveness. Often, the only "cure" for bedwetting in children is to give them time to control their urination.
Bed wetting alarm. Bed wetting alarms can be effective. However, they require serious commitment from children and their parents and not all children can do this. Take medicine as directed by the doctor: There are a number of medicines taken as directed by the doctor that can reduce urine production, but they do not guarantee that the child will not wet the bed at night. because the condition depends on many other influencing factors than just the amount of urine produced. These drugs are usually not indicated for children under 7 years of age and can bring many harmful side effects to the health of children. Form for children the habit of drinking enough water during the day. Some parents believe that limiting water and fluid intake at night will prevent bedwetting from occurring. To do this, parents need to make sure their baby stays hydrated throughout the day. Some of the benefits of staying hydrated include preventing constipation and urinary tract infections, two of the main causes of bedwetting in children at night. Going to the toilet at night: Waking your child up and taking him to the toilet every night can help reduce a child's risk of bedwetting. But is it worth it to consider disrupting both mother and baby's sleep just to keep the bed dry the next morning?

Children bedwetting is the obsession of most mothers with small children. However, this is completely normal and every parent should learn to accept it. Bedwetting is also not a sign of certain health problems in a child, so parents should not be too worried even if a child still wet the bed even though he has started 1st grade. There are some Methods help prevent bed-wetting, but their effectiveness still needs to be tested and according to experts, the most effective method is to give children time to perfect their bladder control. me.
Bedwetting is a normal development in children, parents should not be too worried. However, if your baby has a fever or painful urination, you should take him to a medical facility for early examination and treatment. Vinmec International General Hospital is one of the few medical facilities with a urologist at the Pediatric Department, providing intensive examination and treatment for children. Here, the child will be examined by experienced and highly qualified doctors who have successfully examined and treated thousands of pediatric cases of urinary tract diseases with the latest protocols. the world's most advanced.
If you have a need for urology examination for children at Vinmec, please book an appointment at the website or contact the hotline for detailed advice.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.

Reference sources: babycenter.com, childrensmd.org