What are the causes of bedwetting in children?

Bedwetting is relatively common among children, especially for babies under three years old. Some bedwetting is a normal physiological phenomenon. As the child grows, bedwetting will generally improve. However, some children will still wet the bed when they are over three years old. This is called nocturnal enuresis or nocturnal enuresis. There are many reasons for bedwetting, such as genetic reasons, disease reasons, environmental reasons and so on.

1. Genetic factors:

Nocturnal enuresis usually runs in families. If both parents have been nocturnal enuresis patients, their children have a 3/4 chance of wetting the bed. If one parent has a history of bedwetting, their child has a 1/2 chance of developing the condition.

2. Disease factors:

Pinworm infestation (irritation of the urethral opening by the worm), urinary tract infection, kidney disease, local inflammation of the urethral opening, spina bifida, spinal cord injury, sacral nerve dysfunction, epilepsy, incomplete brain development, small bladder capacity, etc., but enuresis caused by illness only accounts for a small proportion. For the vast majority of children, bedwetting is related to mental factors, hygiene habits, environmental factors, etc.

3. Deep sleep, unable to wake up in time to urinate:

Some children have not received urination training, such as using diapers for a long time, parents do not wake up their children at night, and carry their children to the toilet to urinate, and some parents even help their children urinate while they are sleeping in bed, which causes children to develop the habit of urinating during sleep. Over time, bed-wetting at night is likely to occur.

4. Developmental delay in nighttime bladder control:

As patients with nocturnal enuresis grow older, their symptoms may improve and they may stop wetting the bed, but it may take several years to stop. Even 1% of people continue to wet the bed after entering puberty.

5. Environmental factors:

A sudden change of environment; climate change such as cold weather, etc. In addition, children drinking too much water before going to bed; eating fruits such as watermelon that are high in water and have a diuretic effect; parents not taking care of their children in time when they feel the urge to defecate at night, etc. can all cause children to wet the bed. Not producing enough of the urine-controlling hormone ADH. In addition, 20-30% of children with nocturnal enuresis cannot produce enough ADH, a hormone that is naturally produced by the human body and can reduce the amount of urine, during sleep.