• Home

Home > Medical Reference > Encyclopedia (English)

Toggle: English / Spanish

Urination - bed wetting

• Overview
• Treatment

Definition:

Nighttime urinary incontinence in children over age 5 or 6.

Alternative Names:

Enuresis

Considerations:

Bed wetting is divided into two categories. Primary nocturnal (nighttime) urinary incontinence is when a child has never achieved full bladder control (never been fully toilet trained). Secondary nocturnal urinary incontinence is when a child starts bed wetting again after having achieved bladder control.

Most children who haven't achieved bladder control have at least one parent or first degree relative who also had a problem with bed wetting . Knowing this often helps the child feel less stressed about the situation.

Roughly 20% of children still wet their beds at age 5, only 5% do so by age 10, and 2% by age 15. Only 1 out of 100 childhood bed-wetters continues to have a problem in adulthood.

Common Causes:

Primary bed wetting is usually simply due to a delay in the maturation of the part of the nervous system that controls bladder function. Secondary be wetting may be due to either psychological problems or medical disorders, such as a urinary tract infection , urinary tract abnormalities, or diabetes .

• Review Date: 5/12/2006
• Reviewed By: Daniel Rauch, MD, FAAP, Director, Pediatric Hospitalist Program, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process . A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2007 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.