Bedwetting

[SJx]

My daughter is 5 and has been dry through the nights since she was 2/2.5 years. Very recently she’s started bedwetting through the night. Nothing has changed in terms of routines etc. It started as a couple of accidents but now is almost every night. I’ve spoken to our doctor who tested her urine for infection and sugar to rule out diabetes and they said all was clear and left it at that. She’s getting upset and embarrassed as she doesn’t want to wet the bed. Looking for any advice or anything I can try to help her at the moment? Thanks in advance 😊

Have a look at the ERIC website for advice. You could also ask for referral to the bed wetting clinic in your area, however I think you’ll find she’s too young to consider treating her. Bed wetting is very normal up until around 7 years which is why it’s not taken seriously before then.

My DS(7) was going up to 4-5 nights dry at a time up until the first lockdown, then about a month into it he started wetting again and maybe once every 1-2 weeks we get one dry night. We did get a referral to the clinic last year but he wouldn’t cooperate with drinking the minimum amount of water daily that the nurse said to expand his bladder so we decided to stop the programme after a couple of months. He did develop anxiety during both lockdowns which is still being treated through the ELSA programme at school and I personally think this may be the cause.

You could put your DD in nighttime pull-ups to help her feel better and reduce the constant washing. The bed wetting nurse said to drink 1.3-1.5L of water daily, no drinks 1- 2 hours before bed, toilet when doing teeth then try again after bedtime stories, no blackcurrant juice/squash as it irritates the bladder. The water quantity is to expand the bladder during the day so that at night it has increased capacity and won’t automatically leak urine.

This is a toughie as it is not the same thing as a kid who has never been dry at night. I definitely think that you should pursue the medical checks, just to be sure.

My daughter just recently stopped wetting the bed at a later age. Pull Ups do help to alleviate some of the work, but it sounds like your daughter may not be too keen to wear them. Layering the bed (bedwetting pad in between sheets) is another technique. Overall. Just be positive and patient with your daughter.