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Enuresis - bedwetting
Bed wetting (or enuresis) is when children wet the bed more than twice per month after age 5 or 6.
Children develop complete control over their bladder at different ages. Nighttime dryness is usually the last stage of toilet learning.
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.
Around 7% of children still wet their beds at age 5, only 3% do so by age 10, and 2% by age 15. Only 1 out of 100 children who wet their bed continue to have a problem in adulthood.
Children who were dry for at least 6 months and then started wetting again have secondary enuresis. There are many reasons why children wet the bed after being fully toilet trained. These include:
Boris NW, Dalton R. Vegetative disorders. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 22.
Robson WL. Clinical practice. Evaluation and management of enuresis. N Engl J Med. 2009;360:1429-1436.
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