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For various reasons parents make the decision to go to their family doctor or a continence adviser to seek guidance for how to manage their child’s bedwetting.

Bedwetting History

Here are a few questions that your doctor or continence adviser may ask:

• Has your child always wet the bed (primary enuresis) or have they been dry for a period of more than 6 months and started to wet the bed again (secondary enuresis)?
• Does your child wet the bed every night, most nights or only occasionally?
• How much does your child wee each night? A simple way to measure this is to use kitchen scales to weigh an unused Drynite Pyjama Pant and then weigh the wet pants for a few days in a row to get an average volume.
• Does your child drink around 6 cups of water or other fluids everyday?
• Do they have an excessive thirst?
• Is your child remaining dry during the day?
• How often do they go they go to the toilet during the day?
• How long can they hold on for when they feel the urge to go to the toilet?
• Does your child suffer from constipation on a regular basis?
• Are you able to rouse your child from their sleep during the night? Eg gently wake them to a conscious state.
• Does your child snore or have trouble breathing when asleep?
• How have you been managing the bedwetting until now?
• Have you already tried any conventional or alternative treatments?
• What was the daytime toilet training pattern like for your child? How long did it take, what age were they when they achieved day time dryness?
• What has your child’s general health been like? Is their a history of any surgery?
• More specifically have they suffered from urinary tract infections (UTI’s)? How often do they occur?
• What is your family history concerning bedwetting. For example, did either or both parents wet the bed, are their other siblings that also wet the bed?
• Are there any developmental delays that may offer some clues?

Next Steps

Which tests will the doctor suggest you do?

• It’s likely that they will ask you to keep a chart of how much fluid your child drinks and also what their bowel motions are like and the volume of urine output during the day and night.
• They may check your child’s abdomen and genitals.
• Your doctor may also check your child’s spine along with their reflexes.
• Your child may be asked to provide a urine sample so that it can be tested for a urinary tract infection and diabetes.
• An ultrasound may be done of the kidneys and urinary tract.

The main reason that all the questions and tests are done is to rule out any other serious medical conditions. Once your doctor has a full understanding of the nature of your child’s bedwetting history they will be in a better position to suggest an appropriate treatment. We have included here some of the more common bedwetting treatments and alternative treatments available.