I’m very sorry to hear that your son has been the victim of abuse this must be very upsetting for you. Abuse is a known cause of secondary nocturnal enuresis – this is where a child has been dry at night for a period of 6 months or more and begins wetting the bed again – it is however rarely the cause of primary enuresis (where children have never been dry at night). In your son’s case treatment needs to be more individually tailored with special attention given to his abuse as if this is left unresolved the bedwetting is likely to continue. If you have not already done so ask your GP to refer you to a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating victims of abuse. The most important thing to think about when deciding how to best manage his bedwetting is to choose a method that you are both comfortable with, one that does not cause additional stress. Children who are abused often feel insecure so it is important that he knows that the bedwetting is not his fault and that he has your full support. Waking him to take him to the toilet may help in reducing the number of wet beds, however this should only be done if it does not result in disrupted sleep patterns for you and him. You need to keep in mind that in most cases this approach will not teach children to wake-up on their own and go to the toilet. If you do wish to continue I would suggest varying the times in which you do it so his bladder doesn’t become conditioned to emptying at the same times each night. Alternatively you could try using DryNites – this will avoid the embarrassment of him waking up wet and will take a little pressure off you.

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