Bedwetting
Bedwetting, or nocturnal enuresis, means involuntary urination during sleep. It is very common in young children and usually resolves on its own, but it can persist into adolescence or adulthood and cause real distress for the child and the family.
Key points
- A relative lack of desmopressin, the hormone that normally curbs overnight urine production, often sits behind the pattern.
- Family history is a strong factor: a child is more likely to wet the bed if a parent did too.
- When bedwetting begins fresh in adulthood, a medical assessment is always worthwhile to identify what might be causing it.
What drives it
The most common underlying factor is a temporary mismatch between the kidneys and the brain at night: the kidneys produce more urine than the bladder can hold, or the child sleeps too deeply to wake when the bladder is full. A relative shortage of desmopressin, a naturally occurring hormone that tells the kidneys to slow urine output overnight, often sits at the root of this. Family history matters too, if both parents wet the bed as children, the chance their child will is high.
When to seek help
Most children under seven do not need medical attention for bedwetting. A doctor’s review is worth seeking if the child is older than seven and still wetting most nights, if a previously dry child suddenly starts again, or if the child shows other urinary symptoms such as pain or daytime leaks. In adults, new-onset bedwetting always warrants evaluation to rule out an underlying cause. Treatment through hormone therapy can make a meaningful difference when the pattern is persistent.