Teen wetting bed
My 15 year old niece with whom we spend alot of time, confided in me recently that she occasionally still wets her bed once in a while. We are very close, and she was too embarassed to talk to her mom or her doctor. I know some kids sleep really hard, but this makes it tough for her to do overnights because of the anxiety about it. Do people have experience or advice about resolving this?
[Moderator note] Also see past advice: "Incontinence in Teens"
Jun 10, 2019
Parent Replies
Hello,
I suggest calling your pediatrician. I had a cousin who did this and it turned out it was a symptom of juvenile diabetes.
I don't mean to be alarming, but it could be a symptom of something serious.
Best Wishes,
Lisa
Hi - This can be such a hard situation for teens ... but it's not uncommon! Good for you for supporting your niece! We had similar issues with my son. We were referred to the Urology group at Children's Hospital Oakland. They do an evening seminar regularly about this. There were many teens there with their parents / caregivers -- so it's really not uncommon. I was surprised to learn that most bed-wetting is tied to long-term constipation. The constipation messes up the whole digestive tract and the communication signals between bladder and brain. A person can be having regular bowel movements but still have long-term constipation that causes bed-wetting (another interesting fact I learned). I was so surprised to learn that constipation was part of bed-wetting, but that is the most common cause. After the group meeting, we worked one-on-one with a wonderful nurse practitioner at Children's named Angie Champeau. She was very caring and knowledgeable. The treatment takes a while, but it really works and it's not complicated ... mostly lots of laxatives. Here are some links:
About bed-wetting and constipation: https://www.childrenshospitaloakland.org/main/nocturnal-enuresis.aspx and https://www.childrenshospitaloakland.org/main/constipation.aspx
Urology at Children's: https://www.childrenshospitaloakland.org/main/departments-services/urology-70.aspx
Call this number to get started. (510) 428-3402
Best of luck to you and your niece.
Also a sign of sleep apnea