Most children are dry in the daytime by the age of two years and dry by night by the age of three years.
However few children may continue to wet their bed in the nights beyond three years of age.
However when the child is beyond five years and continues to wet the bed at night, it is time for parents need to do something about it
Home care
- Ensure that child has plenty of drinking water during daytime
- Ensure that the child uses the toilet every 4 to 6 hours.
- Avoid giving sugary drinks or more liquids 2 to 3 hours before bedtime
- Avoid coffee and tea which increase their urge to urinate.
- Ensure that the child passes urine before sleeping at night.
- Maintain a star chart /Calender and make a note of all the nights the child has not passed urine. whenever the child is dry by night, you could reward the child and praise the child. This encourages the child to have more and more dry nights and eventually they grow out of bed wetting.
- If the child has wet night, don’t scold them as it is not their fault. Some children are too sleepy to be bothered to get up and pass urine. Speak to them & encourage them not to do so next night.
When do we see a doctor
If the child is not responding to above measures than the parents may have to visit a paediatrician
The doctor could give medicines to reduce urine output in the nights. This medicine will be a temporary measure whilst emphasising on “The home care and the star reward program” which will be the main course of the treatment.
