Bedwetting - Common myths and what to do about it

Did you know that bedwetting affects 1 in 5 children under the age of 8 years old? While 2-3% of children do “grow out of it” each year, hundreds of thousands of children needlessly suffer from bedwetting well past the age of 5, 10, 15, and even well into adulthood. 

Let’s clear up a few of the common myths regarding childhood bedwedding.

1.) TRUE OR FALSE: Your child wets the bed because they are a deep sleeper. 

FALSE: Deep sleep does not cause bedwetting. Unless there is an underlying medical issue, by the age of four the body and bladder are mature enough to hold the amount of urine produced while we sleep. When someone has an urge to go, or just goes, during the night it is often due to an overactive, or spasming bladder. In children the most common cause of bladder overactivity is constipation. An over-stuffed rectum puts extra pressure on both the bladder and the nerves that go to the bladder, leading to bladder overactivity. 

2.) TRUE OR FALSE: You just have to work on nighttime potty training. 

FALSE: Nighttime potty training is not a thing. You cannot train your child to be dry overnight as nighttime dryness should occur naturally by the age of four. Common nighttime potty training tactics are often ineffective and can unfortunately worsen the problem. Withholding fluids just leads to constipation which further irritates the bladder. Waking your child up multiple times a night just disrupts their sleep cycle, and while it may help with laundry it does not solve the problem at its source. 

3.) TRUE OR FALSE: They have a small bladder. 

FALSE: While children who wet their beds often have a smaller bladder CAPACITY, their bladders are not actually smaller. You might be sensing a theme here, once again their bladder is typically not able to fill to a normal capacity because of constipation. It physically cannot stretch and fill because the over filled rectum is taking up too much space! 
No one wants their child to be one of the 840,000 U.S. teens that go off to college each year still wetting the bed. Unfortunately this happens all too often because we are told to wait and that they will just grow out of it. If you were told one of these myths, know that there is help! 

Talk to your pediatrician about ruling out constipation as the cause of your child’s bedwetting problem before more time passes. Giant, toilet clogging trips to the bathroom, rabbit pellet stools, skid marks, belly aches, racing to the bathroom pee accidents, pooping multiple times a day, and bedwetting are all be signs of chronic constipation. If this sounds like your child, pediatric pelvic floor physical therapy can help. Schedule their first appointment today.