Bed-wetting, or as scientifically known as nocturnal enuresis, is a condition where the individual urinates while they are sleeping without having any control over it. This is usually after the regular age where bladder control is expected. There are two different types which include the primary type. This is when the person cannot go an extended period without wetting the bed and has not during the course of their life. The secondary type is when a person starts to wet their bed after already demonstrating that they generally do stay dry during the night.
Bed-wetting is usually a condition mostly associated with children but of course happens with adults as well. This is considered to be a developmental issue in the primary types. For those with the secondary classification, there may be medical issues present which have to be diagnosed in order to help stop the bed-wetting or at least to understand why it is happening. One type of medical condition that may include this as a symptom is the bladder infection. Other causes may be if the person is experiencing some form of emotional stress which one of the more common reasons among adults. Wetting the bed does happen in many older individuals as they lose bladder control but is called incontinence.
Treatments of this condition vary according to what is deemed as causing it. For those with primary nocturnal enuresis, doctors suggest that sometimes waiting is the best treatment as they may grow out of it. There are also bed-wetting alarms that go off when the bed is moist. This trains the person to wake up when the bladder is full. There are some tablets that can be taken in the case that this condition becomes a big problem. These reduce the production of urine while sleeping. There has to be caution in taken some of these medications as they may have serious side effects.
For secondary nocturnal enuresis, the diagnosis must be made on what is causing this. Infections and disease are treated according to what they are. Physical abnormalities such as a small bladder may require various treatments or coping methods. For those whose bodies don’t produce enough ADH, a medication may be prescribed to heighten the amount produced or to give the body a synthetic type instead. Those who have been affected by emotional stress such as from being bullied, sexually abused, or even from experiencing a death in the family, are recommended to seek counseling amongst other treatments. Alcohol and caffeine consumption may have a factor in this, so cessation of the consumption of these products is advised. Constipation is known to put pressure on the bladder, for which laxatives may be taken. Those with decreased mental capabilities are more at risk for wetting the bed. These individuals may require both treatment and management methods.
Various management methods include having the individual wearing a diaper or some other type of protection. Having a plastic bed covering helps to protect the bed thus making it easier to change the bed in the event that it does get wet.
