Common
Misconceptions about Bedwetting
|
| You may have heard... |
|
When in fact... |
| “Parents
are responsible for mistakes made at toilet training.” |
|
Parents do not have any control
over deep sleep. |
| |
|
|
| “Enuresis
is an emotional or physical problem.” |
|
You
don’t just close your eyes at night and suddenly have
emotional or physical problems. |
| |
|
|
| “Something
may be medically wrong.” |
|
Less
than 1% of bedwetting is caused by a medical problem. |
| |
|
|
| “The
bladder is too small.” |
|
The bladder is normal and growing with the body. However, our
bladders will also elasticize (or stretch) at night when we are not
using up the fluids. Bedwetters are emptying their bladders during
the night, not giving it a chance to get the elasticity it needs.
|
| |
|
|
| “Restricting
fluids after dinner and getting the bedwetter up during the
night will control enuresis.” |
|
We all need to be hydrated. If we are thirsty, it is our body telling us that we need to be hydrated. Restricting fluids and taking bedwetters to the bathroom at night only helps to keep the bladder capacity small. |
| |
|
|
| “They will “outgrow” it!” |
|
Enuresis
is the number 1 reason for medical discharge from the US
Military. When bedwetters do “outgrow” the bedwetting...they are
most often left with the unhealthy sleep disorder for life, leaving you with no way of changing the sleep disorder.
|
|
|
|
| “Wetting
less frequently is a sign of improvement.” |
|
No,
it is just a change in the wetting frequency, often leaving you with too few episodes to be able to change the sleep pattern. |
| |
|
|
| “The
bedwetter is lazy and just waits until the last minute to
go to the bathroom.” |
|
At
night, the deep sleep prevents the bedwetter from awakening.
It is totally out of their control. During the day, the small
bladder capacity and the weak and insensitive sphincter muscle
prevent the bedwetter from feeling the urge to go to the
bathroom, often until it’s too late.
|
| |
|
|
| “Since
they rarely talk about it, Bedwetters are not bothered by
the problem.” |
|
Bedwetters
often live with feelings of shame, low self-esteem and failure. Denial and depression are common.
|
| |
|
|
| “The
use of drugs is frequently effective” |
|
There is no drug that will change the sleep disorder, strengthen & sensitize the sphincter muscle & increase bladder capacity. Most bedwetters experience personality changes from certain drugs and those that decrease the production of urine are helping to keep the bladder capacity small. All are bandaids, or temporary fixes, if they work at all. Occasionally, the bedwetter will "outgrow" the bedwetting symptom while on the drug. This looks like a cure but most often they still get stuck with the unhealthy sleep disorder for life. |
