Nocturnal Enuresis
Nocturnal enuresis, commonly called bedwetting, is the involuntary release of urine during sleep. It is one of the most common childhood conditions, affecting roughly one in five children aged five, with most outgrowing it naturally. A smaller number carry it into adolescence or adulthood, where it can cause significant embarrassment and affect quality of life.
Medicines used to treat Nocturnal Enuresis
Why it happens
The bladder, the brain’s overnight signals, and antidiuretic hormone production all play a part. Many children with nocturnal enuresis produce too much urine at night because they do not make enough vasopressin, the hormone that tells the kidneys to concentrate urine while sleeping. A deep sleep pattern that muffles the bladder’s fullness signal can compound this. Family history is a strong predictor: if both parents wet the bed as children, the likelihood rises considerably. Stress, constipation, and urinary tract infections are common triggers for regression in children who had been dry.
Managing bedwetting
Behavioural measures, lifting before parents’ bedtime, fluid restriction in the evening, and bladder training, are the first step for children. When these are not enough, medication is often considered. Desmopressin, a synthetic form of vasopressin from the hormone therapy class, reduces overnight urine production directly and is widely used across Asia, including in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. For cases where an underlying mood or attention issue contributes, imipramine, an antidepressant with bladder-relaxing properties, may be used, typically in older children under close monitoring. If bedwetting begins suddenly in a previously dry child or an adult, a doctor review is worthwhile to rule out diabetes, a urinary tract problem, or a neurological cause.