Six Year Old Bed Wetting Problem

Many kids have this and the culprit is a food allergy. Also I ahve three friends that have used the potty pagers and sware by it. Hope this helps get you started somewhere.
J.

I think that any pediatrician would rule out diabetes, and certainly hope that is not the problem...

My son was dry from age 3 until about age 8. For the last two years, though, he has been wetting the bed/ Underjams. He was checked out by a specialist. The only advice was that he will grow out of this. Dr. said it is not behavioral, since my son does not have this problem during waking hours. Rather, it is hormonal. He sleeps so deeply that his body does not wake him up when he needs to urinate. Some kids don't have enough of this hormone circulating.

Dr. says that eventually, they only wet 5 or 6 days/ week, then 4/5 days/week, etc., until they are dry every night.

We declined not to give him meds every night, but were given a few pills to use during sleep overs or camping trips. He still has not used them.

We saw Dr. Hatch in Naperville. He is a pediatric urologist.

The other theories are correct, too. My son has too much urine for this to be due to an allergy, though.

Good luck.

Amy

I hope that the following articles might be helpful...

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/t071200.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/sl22.asp

Best wishes,
J.

I'd definitely take him to the doctor first, but if everything checks out maybe something is stressful right now. Thinking about going back to school or maybe his molars are coming in. My daughter is 6 and still battling the night time bed wetting issue. I think it's a little different for us though since he sounds like everything was fine until recently. Good Luck.

It happens. I would suggest getting Underjams nightwear. They are the most like underwear and do not leak. Give it some time. Has he had some major life change, under stress? It could be just his body adjusting. Did either parent have issues as a child? This condition can be hereditary.

I do agree with the other moms opinions. But I do have one other to add. If your child is starting a new school, your child might be having anxiety over the new class, school, etc. Talk to your child about it and if indeed that's the problem there are great books at the library about starting school, changing schools, etc. Maybe even a call to the school to see if you both can come in before the school year starts to see the classroom, etc. Or is your child going on the bus for the first time alone? Our school district let the moms and dads ride with the kids the first few days. Check with your district bus transportation office.
Good Luck.

he may have a urinary tract or bladder infection. Check that out! Take him to the doctor.

i suggest you get him checked at a doctors office there also might be something causing this.

Hi H.,

this happened with my older daughter (7.5) and is now starting with my 5.5 year old. Take your son to the dr. to rule out anything else, but here's what the pediatrician told me:
Sometimes around the kindergarten/1st age the brain gets ahead of the bladder development wise. After a couple of months it should work itself out.
Couple things we did to help:
1) some studies have shown that milk in the evening increases the rate of nightime accidents, so we gave her juice with dinner and water there after until the phase passed.
2) Double make the bed. In other words, Waterproof matress pad, fitted sheet, piddle pad (they sell them in a twin size at sears), fitted sheet, top sheet. This way if you're up in the night you're only "changing" the top sheet. Less time awake makes it easier to go back to sleep.

Good Luck!

Hi H. Take him to see his pediatrican to rule out any problems. If he checks out fine, try decreasing is liquid intake before bedtime. And have him go right before he gos to bed.

Sometimes when this happens, it is a sign of food allergies. Food allergies can irritate the bladder causing night time bed-wetting. It is in the book, Is This My Child? By Dr.Dorris Rapp, www.drrapp.com something to definitely consider. I talk about food allergies in my family health column: http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam... just have to click on food and/or milk allergies, but I have not discussed this yet in my column. However, in my recent one on ear infection vaccines and the correlation with milk allergies, I discuss a specific allergy test that is much better than the skin test. Find a doc that does that test.

Good Luck,
J. W. MPH
Maternal and Child Health Educator
Chicago Examiner Family Health Expert

I don't want to freak you out, but have him checked by his Dr. This happened to a friend of ours child & she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Apparently, bed wetting is a sign of Diabetes.

Has he had a growth spurt? Or has he been sick lately? Maybe a significant change in your family dynamics? Stress can make them regress sometimes.

My son would have an accident every time he was getting sick. I would talk to your pediatrician.

Good luck! R

We went through this stage with our 6 year old, too this past winter. He was having trouble sleeping and when he fell asleep he slept very deeply. We made sure not give him liquids past 6 p.m. and praised him when he woke up to go to the toilet. He is now 6.5 and has not had an accident in 5 months. When I did some research I read that apparently we should expect some accidents upto the age of 7. Perhaps other mom's can chime in with some of their experiences, doctor feedback, etc. Be patient and do not show anxiety or anger.