Wetting bed at the age of 18 | Your Health Question

Answer:

Dear Elsa,

Nocturnal Enuresis (bed wetting) is a relatively common disorder fraught with emotional physical and social effects.

The occurrence of bed-wetting in children is: 26% at 4 years,7% at age 5; 3% at age 10 ; 1.5% at age 14 and 1% at age 18 (Yes! even at 18).

Probably one of the most currently popular theories as to why children wet the bed is that they lack a certain hormone vasopressin.

More support for the idea that a major cause of bed wetting is something physical comesfrom research that demonstrated that if both parents of a child wet the bed that childhas a 77% chance of being a bed wetter too. If only one of the child's parents wet the bed the probability drops to about 44%. The idea that something physical causes bed wettingis the driving force behind many of the medical treatments available for bed wetting.

What Can he Do?

Limit his drinking of liquids to three hours before getting into bed or only allow two ounces of liquid after 6:00 p.m.

Avoid foods and drinks that contain caffeine.

Educate himself. Read as much as he can on nocturnal enuresis. The more he knows the more comfortable he will feel with the situation.

Remain calm. Often easier said than done remaining calm is of primaryimportance to him.

Be supportive. Your grandson is probably experiencing a great deal of shame and self-ridicule during this time.

It will help to reassure him that you still love him .

Reward consistently. Dry nights and cleaning up after accidents are deeds worthy of being rewarded every time.

Inconsistent rewarding often does not accomplish much.

Help him feel secure. Offer thick underwear and/or pajamasfor nighttime wear.

Try Every Treatment.

Hypnosis is sometimes effective in treating enuresis . This option is usually less expensive and has fewer side effectsthan most medication; recent research suggests that many bed wetting people respond within four to six sessions. Hypnosis can give to your grandson the power to treat himself so it can also help build the self-confidence and self-esteem that may have been lost through the bed wetting experience

Support groups may be of help to him.

If all else fails medication is sometimes found to be helpful -- especially in older children. Imipramine is often prescribed; it is a powerful antidepressant that has also been found to be effective for about 30% of bed wetting children. However it can have serious side effects and has not generally been shown
to be effective over the long term.

Desmopressin acetate is another drug that is widely prescribed to treat nocturnal enuresis. This is an artificial version of vasopressin (the natural hormone that helps the body concentrate urine so it doesn't fill the bladder during the night). Side effects are not often reported with this drug but headaches runny nose pain in the nostrils and stuffiness are sometimes experienced.

Desmopressin is available as both a tablet and as a nasal spray.

While there may be a medical condition that is causing the problem, and every child should be tested to rule out such conditions, only 1-3% of enuresis cases have an organic cause that is identifiable by Western medical tests.

The bed wetting alarms help by alerting the child or the adult that there is time to get up and go to the bathroom, this alarms being offered throughoutthe web and many local areas.

One in 50 teenagers still wet the bed and almost half of 19 year-olds who have the problem are wetting the bed every night, according to research published in the May issue of the urology journal BJUI International.

How your grandson can Stop Bed Wetting?

Stop 1-Drinking caffeinated beverages. These drinks cause people to urinate more than juice and water do.
Teenagers often drink a lot of soda. Cutting out soda, tea and coffee is a great way to help stop bed wetting.

Step 2-Stay him away from drinks once dinner is over. Your grandson should try sucking on ice pops or chewing on ice cubes if you get thirsty. This will reduce the amount of urine you produce during the night which will keep the bladder from getting full and causing you to wet the bed.

Step 3-Start his night with an empty bladder. He should go to the bathroom just before he goes to sleep. He should go this even if he doesn't feel like he has to go. Teenagers often don't think of going to the bathroom before bed if they don't feel the urge to go. The object is to release even the smallest bit of urine to give his bladder more room during the night.

Step 4-Set his alarm to wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Many teenagers and adults get up and use the bathroom at night. Bed wetting teenagers just don't wake up to go. If he utilizes an alarm clock
he can get himself up in the middle of the night to let the urine out and go back to bed with an empty bladder.

Step 5-Have hid doctor prescribe DDAVP or Ditropan. DDAVP will stop his body from making a whole bunch of urine at night. The Ditropan relaxes the bladder so that it doesn't feel the need to urinate so much. If he is really struggling with bed wetting he may want to consider one of these two options.

Step 6-Make sure your grandson gets nine hours of sleep each night. The more tired the teenager is, the more likely he will be to sleep deeply. This will cause him not to be able to wake up when he has to go to the bathroom. The result is bed wetting.

Step 7-Purchase a sensor alarm . These alarms are designed to wake him up so that he uses the bathroom instead of his bed. There are a few different kinds. Some have an attachment that goes in the underwear
and sets off an alarm when it begins to feel wet.


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