Most experts agree that emotional stress can be a trigger for children or teenagers to start wetting the bed, even when they have been dry for months, or years. Big upheavals and stresses in a child or teen's life, whether at home or at school, can help explain why they start bedwetting.
Stress and anxiety.
Ongoing stress or anxiety about a situation you are going through may trigger adult bedwetting, which may last long after your stressful problem is over.
Seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis (MS), and Parkinson's disease have been linked to adult bedwetting due to impaired bladder control.
Bed-wetting that starts in adulthood (secondary enuresis) is uncommon and requires medical evaluation. Causes of adult bed-wetting may include: A blockage (obstruction) in part of the urinary tract, such as from a bladder stone or kidney stone. Bladder problems, such as small capacity or overactive nerves.
Nocturnal enuresis or bedwetting is the involuntary release of urine during sleep. Bedwetting can be a symptom of bladder control problems like incontinence or overactive bladder or more severe structural issues, like an enlarged prostate or bladder cancer.
Sometimes enuresis is also called involuntary urination. Nocturnal enuresis is involuntary urination that happens at night while sleeping, after the age when a person should be able to control their bladder. (Involuntary urination that happens during the day is known as diurnal enuresis.)
Bedwetting is not considered abnormal until after five years of age. That being said, there isn't a specific age when you should become overly concerned about the issue. The rule of thumb is that you should seek treatment when your child starts to worry about wetting the bed or you start to worry about the issue.
Bedwetting in this age group could be a sign of a urinary tract infection or other health problems, neurological issues (related to the brain), stress, or other issues.
Sudden stress (pressure) on your bladder causes stress incontinence. Common causes include coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting and physical activity. Younger and middle-aged women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) near or experiencing menopause are most likely to have stress incontinence.
Evidence has revealed that vitamin D and omega-3 insufficiency are risk factors for enuresis [9], [10], so their supplementation may be a potential solution for this disorder. Recent studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency can be the reason for nocturnal enuresis in children.
Conversely, children who are depressed sometimes show up with symptoms common in childhood like enuresis or bed-wetting -- that's a common symptom of depression in young people.
Anxiety and incontinence interact and exacerbate each other. And, anxiety is a risk factor for developing incontinence. The same appears to be true with other mental health issues, like depression, which is also a risk factor for developing incontinence.
When we're under stress, our fight-or-flight response tends to kick in; this triggers a release of hormones, which disrupt the usual hormones which keep the bladder relaxed, causing it to contract. This results in people feeling the need to urinate, or even involuntarily urinating in some cases.
Medical issues: Urinary tract infections and other medical conditions may lead to sudden bedwetting. Diabetes or constipation may also be part of the problem. Caffeine: Drinking too much caffeine, especially late in the day, may increase the chances a teen will wet the bed. 1 Caffeine can interfere with sleep.
Children whose sleep is disturbed by snoring, television or pets, and children who are deep sleepers are more likely to wet the bed. Stress or life changes. Going through big changes like moving or a new sibling, or other stressors, can lead to children wetting the bed after being dry for a long period.
Stress incontinence is common in women. Some things increase your risk, such as: Pregnancy and vaginal delivery. Pelvic prolapse.
Growing pains are not related to growth spurts. Bed-wetting is hereditary. Night terrors are one of the most common reasons parents bring their child to the pediatrician.
“Sleeping in a wet bed could engender the dream, just like—as we often assume—a dream of urinating could trigger the bed wetting.” He explained that enuresis can occur at any stage of sleep, not just REM sleep, “when the more vivid and elaborate dreams occur.”
Over time, your bladder fills up and expands like a balloon, putting tension on the bladder muscles. At a certain point, the body senses that it is reaching a limit, which triggers the urge to urinate.
Desmopressin link (DDAVP) is often the first choice of medicine for bedwetting. This medicine slows the amount of urine your child's body makes overnight, so the bladder doesn't overfill and leak. Desmopressin can work well, but bedwetting often returns when a child stops taking the medicine.
Neurologic disease (problems with the brain or nerves).
Sometimes a spinal cord problem that develops with growth or that is present early in childhood can cause bedwetting. If your child has other symptoms like numbness, tingling, or pain in the legs, a spinal issue may be considered.
While deep sleeping is not the cause of bedwetting, children who sleep very soundly do find it particularly difficult to respond and wake-up to a full bladder and are therefore more likely to wet the bed.
Urinary incontinence (enuresis) is the medical term for bedwetting.