My Daughter is 5 Year old. But She still bed wetting at night regularly. (4-5 times a week) We find difficult to manage it. Please Advise.

Dr. Poojanpreet KaurPediatrician5yrs exp

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As adults, when the bladder gets full, it sends a signal to the brain to wake up or you start dreaming about water or going to bathroom, and then you wake up, but for kids the signal isn't quite strong enough to get them awake which is why it is normal for children to wet the bed till age 6 or below. Therefore bed-wetting is a developmental issue and therefore the treatment is time, so for kids age 6 or under, they will most likely grow out of it. It becomes an issue when the child starts feeling bad about himself, when he starts to pull away from his friend because he is afraid that his friends will make fun of him. It makes matters worse when parents yell and scream at their children for bed wetting. Kids need reassurance and encouragement from parents. Children who continue to wet the bed beyond the age of 6 may not be producing enough ADH hormone at appropriate times or may not yet be attuned to their bodies' signals, or both. Behavioral changes too play a role in achieving dryness, he says. Try decreasing the amount that kids drink before bed. Parents should seek formal treatment between ages 6 and 7. There are bed wetting alarms available which are very effective on their own. But they take around 12 weeks to show the difference. If the problem is severe a pediatrician should be consulted for medication advice such as desmopressin which acts on kidneys to reduce the flow of urine. Another medication is imipramine which allows you to have better control of the bladder, affects the bladder musculature and may change sleep patterns, so kids wake up if they have to urinate. While this is cheaper than desmopressin it has more side effects on long term used. The bottom line is you should resort to medicines as last option first try reward therapy and beahvioral changes. More than 80% children at this age will grow out of it.  

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