Health Topics

There are many possible causes of daytime wetting in children. Some of the common causes of daytime wetting include:

• constipation
• bladder spasms
• infrequent urination
• urinary tract infection

Children generally do not wet out of laziness, emotional problems or toilet training methods. Children with medical conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome and ADHD may be older before they are toilet trained.

• urinating often
• urgency
• weak urinary stream
• squatting/grabbing genitals
• pain with urination
• bed wetting

Talk to your pediatrician or family doctor first if your child is having daytime wetting. Your doctor may suggest that a specialist see your child. Specialists who care for children with diurnal enuresis are pediatric urologists, nephrologists and trained nurse practitioners.

• A complete medical history and physical exam of your child will be done at the first visit
• A urine test will be done to check for a bladder infection
• More testing may be needed    

Behavior Changes

• Creating a schedule for your child to urinate
• Changing your child’s diet and have him/her drink more fluids
• Be positive and give support to your child
• Punishment is not effective in treating wetting (enuresis)

Medication

• Medications that relax the bladder and decrease bladder spasms may be given
• Relaxing the bladder can help the bladder hold more urine
• Medicines that are commonly prescribed are Ditropan™, Detrol™, and Enablex ™
• Your child may need to take these medications for several months to years

Bowel Program

• It is important for your child to have daily soft bowel movements
• Your child should eat a diet with lots of fruit and vegetables (Drinking more fluids helps keep bowel movements soft)
• Your child should try to go to the bathroom around the same time every day
• He/She should not be in a hurry when using the bathroom (Your child should be relaxed while on the toilet)
• Sometimes children will need to take stool softeners or laxatives for constipation

Biofeedback

• Biofeedback is special training for a child who has daytime wetting
• Using a computer, a child is taught to relax the muscles in the pelvic area
• Motivation is very important for biofeedback to be successful
• A child is expected to do exercises at home, complete diaries and follow a voiding schedule

• daytime wetting and is older than 4 years of age
• daytime wetting and was previously dry for 6-9 months
• complaints of frequent urination, urgency, pain with urination or fever