Kids Health Watch is Sponsored by Children’s Medical Group
Bedwetting can be a very tough phase for a child. It is also a lot more common than you might realize; 5–10% of 5-year-olds, 3-5% of 10-year-olds, and close to 1% of 15-year-olds may still wet the bed at night. While there can be medical causes, it is typically a harmless issue that eventually resolves spontaneously with time, but can nonetheless be very frustrating for families.
Evaluation of bedwetting can be broad. There are two approaches to bedwetting depending on timeline of symptoms. If your child was consistently dry for at least 6 months at night, and then begins bedwetting, that is treated very differently than if your child has not been able to wake up dry nightly for the same period. Your pediatrician can help you figure out which side your child falls on in order to move forward in helping to tackle the issue.
Unfortunately, there is no test to confirm whether your child may just need more time in order to ‘outgrow’ the bedwetting. The evaluation process is mostly to rule out other issues. Things to consider when evaluating your child for bedwetting is family history (are there siblings, parents, aunts or uncles who had problems with bedwetting?), medical history, diet, lifestyle, and other factors to consider. There might be some labs or imaging that is appropriate depending on the circumstances and your pediatrician’s approach to evaluation. Your pediatrician can also help guide you through any treatment options that might be available depending on your child’s evaluation.