Bed wetting is
involuntary urination, while sleeping, by children past the expected
toilet-training age or by adults. By age three, children often demonstrate
daytime bladder control, but regular night-time bladder control will often only
be mastered by age five. Even after the age of six, one in ten children has
problems with bed wetting.
Bladder control, especially at night, is a
complex operation. Usually the problem simply lies in the need for a longer
maturing period and resolves itself in time. Boys tend to wet the bed more than
girls, and evidence shows a family tendency towards this problem. Parents
sometimes start toilet-training their children too early or too late. When
children begin to wet their bed after a dry period, the root problem is usually
stress. It could be jealousy of a new baby, anxiety about moving house,
changing school, trouble with schoolwork, teachers, peers, upset over family
rows or anything else that causes stress, over-excitement, insecurity or
unhappiness. If this is the case, your child will need plenty of love and
reassurance from you, and not reprimanding for something that cannot be helped.
It can be quite humiliating for an older child to find that he or she has wet
the bed and that other people know about it.
Allergies cause some children’s bladders
to spasm. Many times, these children wet their beds every night because of the
milk or fruit juice they drink at bedtime. Some juices that can cause a problem
include orange, apple, grapefruit, pineapple and grape. Other typical
allergy-causing foods are wheat, corn, soya, eggs and tomatoes. An anatomical
anomaly or an infection is a rare cause. Deep sleep due to low blood sugar
(hypoglycaemia) can lead to bedwetting since the brain does not know that the
bladder is about to empty.
To prevent accidents, avoid fluids an hour
before bedtime. Include adequate fibre in the diet to prevent constipation,
which may provoke bedwetting. To determine if bedwetting is linked to a food
allergy, try an elimination diet. If the offending food is eliminated, the
problem will disappear. Give your child foods high in silica, calcium and
magnesium. Sesame seeds, almonds, porridge, milk pudding with figs and bananas
are good sources of these minerals. Calcium and magnesium relax the system and
can help counteract the nervous tension which often provokes bedwetting. Silica
strengthens the urinary tract and kidney and bladder functions.
St John’s Wort Oil massaged into the
pelvic area every night helps to relax any nervousness of the urinary tract.
Herbs such as Horsetail has been used for generations to help bedwetting - it’s
now known that Horsetail contains high levels of silica which strengthens the
urinary tract. When using Horsetail, you have to give breaks every three or
four weeks of a week to avoid any irritation of the bladder due to the high
mineral content.
If you feel your child’s bedwetting stems
from emotional disturbance, add lemon balm, camomile or wild oat to the above
to relax and soothe the nerves.
Deal with the problem actively but
patiently, without undue attention. Bedwetting is involuntary - old-fashioned
methods of praising, restricting fluids in the afternoon and punishing do not
work and only perpetuate the problem.
Some children tend to wet the bed more if
they get cold. So make sure they are always well covered and put extra clothes
on if they habitually kick their bedclothes off at night.
David Foley
MNIMH, MRCHM
Medical Herbalist
