Most of the children between the ages of 2-5 can hold their urine both day and night. Enuresis is a more innocent problem while asleep.
Most of the time it is the result of delay in bladder development and neural maturation, so its frequency decreases with age. Although 40% of three-year-olds wet the bed, this rate drops to 20% at the age of 5 and 10% at the age of 6.
Boys have more frequent bedwetting problems than girls.
There are two types of urinary incontinence. Primary (primary) type is mentioned if it has never been dry since birth, and if it has started to wet the bed again after being dry for at least 6 months, it is secondary (secondary) type. Sleep incontinence at night is divided into two groups, physiological and organic, according to its causes. A large group (90-95%) of children who wet the bed at night gather in the physiological bedwetting group. It has been reported that these children have insufficient feeling of bladder fullness during sleep at night, their bladder capacity is small and their depth of sleep is high.
Sleep incontinence is largely based on genetic predisposition. There is usually a family history. (So the same problem was experienced in their first-degree relatives.)
It should be noted that the children in this group have a physiological developmental delay (such as a delay in teething) and the main task of the family is to ensure that the child overcomes this problem without damaging his self-esteem. For this reason, children who wet the bed should be evaluated by a pediatrician at the age of 6 at the latest.
According to the information obtained and the results of the general examination, a series of examinations ranging from urine analysis to bladder films should be performed. In 97% of children who wet the bed, there is no physical reason. Therefore, a detailed history often gives information about whether physiological bedwetting is present.
It is recommended to attempt treatment for children with urinary incontinence during sleep, generally starting from the age of 6 years.
At the beginning of these initiatives are programs for the child himself or his family to wake up at night. The treatment is planned by using the family to wake the child at night and go to the toilet or by using specially produced alarm devices (the tools that alarm the child with the first wetting as soon as he starts to leak urine, thus warning the child to wake up and check his bladder). With this treatment, 70-84% improvement is achieved in children.
In addition, various drugs are used in the treatment. These drugs are drugs that control the bladder or contain antidiuretic hormone (hormone that reduces urine production).
Restricting the amount of fluid that the child takes in the evening and urinating before bedtime also help with treatment.
It is important to explain the problem to the child in a language that he or she can understand. An attitude that is too reckless will be just as harmful as an attitude that is too oppressive.
Bedwetting is a common problem in childhood and unfortunately the wrong attitudes of families make treatment more difficult.
