Bed Wetting

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello all~

As I'm sure you all know by now, our daughter and 5y/o grandson have moved in with us for the time being.

Problem is...our 5 y/o grandson wets the bed EVERY SINGLE NIGHT!!!!!:(

I am so fed up with this that I could scream! I don't know what to do....I have tried getting him up early to go, he just pees earlier...I have tried cutting down his liquids after 6pm, he still goes.....I have tried getting him up before I go to bed, he still pees.....:(

I am totally at my wits end here! Last night, he woke up at 12:30am, because he wet his bed, crawled in bed with my 14y/o son (his uncle) then proceeded to pee in HIS bed too!

I don't like the thought of pullups, but I'm thinking that to be the only solution I have. My washer is going to explode with all the washing of sheets and blankets everyday!:(

Any suggestions anyone?

Thanks, Julie:( :(

Hi Julie,

This advice is coming from a mom of 4 boys, 2 of which still wet at night, and my DH was a bedwetter till 6 (his mom punished him for it :( - not the way to go) For sake of my sanity I use the "overnight" pullups which go to 60 pounds? (I think) and my #3 son is always so proud when he wakes up dry. He is also one to "fib or trick me" when he tells me he went potty when he actually didn't then he wakes up wet... so I have to work on that...

I would have the pediatrician check him out to rule out other health problems.

Please don't get angry with your little man it seems as though his life is stressful enough.

What does he drink throughout the day? Our docs said make sure he has NO caffiene ever, no juice or any soda's after 4 water and milk are ok. That did seem to help "E" Good luck

Originally posted by Aussienurse2

Um, just wondering, doesn't daughter know how to use a washing machine? Methinks she might have to start paying for laundry service?

I agree, Julie! And agree the more I read! Throw those pee-sheets on top of your daughter's bed, that may wake her up earlier. I'm sure she's dealt with this problem herself before since he's 5, You're giving them a safe & happy place to live, what is she doing in return? Probably none of my business-I know, but shoot you've already got your hands full! :kiss

Take care & hope things are going better with your grandson!

Please do consider the Pediatric Neurologist after the Pediatrician if he finds no medical problem especially if he even hints toward the direction of it being emotional, mental health, etc. That is typical to hang labels like that on a problem a doc cannot easily diagnose. It is the easy way out, and the patient is the one to suffer the consequences. He does need an accurate diagnosis as well as the proper treatment for it. Do keep this in mind. By the way, I don't know about anyone else, but milk has a diuretic effect for me so you may want to see how milk as well as other food stuffs and liquids affect him. You can try leaving each item off on certain days to see if you notice any measurable difference. Does he consume a lot of sugars by the way?TweetyRN

Your grandson is only 5. My son is 8 and still wetting the bed. We use pull-ups or goodnites. He does have some dry nights and we are very excited when this happens and give lots of praise. The medication is called DDVAP, you can get it in a nasal spray or pill form. I am not having much luck with my 5 year old either. Their dad wet the bed as well. Have patience everyone has to me, they will grow out of it.

shearernurse

Specializes in peds, office nurse and long term care fa.

My youngest son wet the bed until he was probably 10 or 11. He was so embarrassed that he couldn't go to sleepovers, I felt so bad for him. We tried Tofranil, the nasal spray, the bed alarms (which scared him to death when it went off, I felt so bad for even trying the alarm). I took him to a pediatric urologist that looked at me like I was crazy, I told him the family dr. sent us!

He told me that some kids just do that and when he started going through puberty that he would quit. He did!

We finally used extra large diapers inside his underwear. This was a lifesaver! He is now 20!

I appreciate all of your advice.

I've decided to go with the pullups while still working with him as far as limiting his fluids and waking him up to go potty before I go to bed.

Thank you everyone for your wonderful help!

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

(((julielpn))) let us know how things go. We care and wish only to support you! Good luck!

Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

MY darling son wet the bed till he hit puberty!! Different issue in that he is "developmentally delayed", but according to his pediatrician, LOTS OF BOYS DO IT!!!

After a while, the Good Nites and pull-ups did not hold him, he still had a damp, stinky bed more often than not. I worked 12 hour days, washing sheets every day was NOT an option. (single parent, of course)

I sat him down one day, and told him that as soon as his bladder matured enough, he would stop wetting, but in the meantime, I really didn't care if he wet, I just didn't want him in a wet, stinky bed--esp in the winter when it's cold!

So, my solution (remember by then the good nites were insufficient) was to go to small sized adult diapers--Depends, I think. They worked great. No wet, nasty bed, he knew I wasn't mad at him, and that he'd stop eventually. He even learned how to put them on himself! If they were wet, he threw them out, if not, he could use them a second night. He even took them to 6th grade camp! [i talked to the school nurse for camp, told her he wet the bed, she said--don't they all??!!]

De-personalize it as much as possible--It's just an immature bladder.

I do agree, however, that Mom should be getting up and Mothering!! My goodness, you get extra credit for this one!!

Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

p.s. Be sure whatever he gets has elastic at the waist--boys pee UP!!!!

Julie I speak from experience with bedwetting. My 11 year old son is still a bedwetter at night, and has been since he was 3 years old. So i know the sort of laundry you are talking about.

You do need to take him to a paediatrician to exclude anything physical. Once that is excluded...and it is unusual for it to be anything other than immaturity.... nocturnal enuresis is such a common problem.

I tried everything....limiting fluid was cruel, waking at night was useless as someone mentioned earlier.....too deep a sleeper. Bribery and rewards did not work for him and only made him feel a failure when he couldn't stay dry. Using pullups my son felt like was wearing a diaper and i felt was too detrimental to his already poor self esteem about the whole wetting thing. I tried the alarm twice...good success for about 6 months after but then reverted to wetting again. You need a very supportive household for this to work and they don't recommend using alarms until the child is about 6 or 7 at the earliest.

When he went to sleepovers I used to take his own sheets or sleeping bag so the mum did not have to cope with extra washing and my son could just roll it all up to bring home.

What got to us was the start of school camps. It was impossible to disguise his wetting so I used to go along as a parent helper to be able to secretly deal with the wet sheets.

We finally started with the nasal spray 12 months ago...it is an artificial anti-diuretic hormone. It works wonderfully for my son. I was very against medications but you have to balance their lifestyle and esteem needs. Any night where he forgets to spray he wets still.

Julie, 5 is very young to be worried about this, most kids grow out of it. A few take longer like my son..but they get there in the end.

Do the pullups if he doesn't mind them, see a doc, and continue being so calm and accepting of your grandson. Believe me, kids do not want to wet anymore than we want them to.

Oh and yeah....get your lazy daughter to do the laundry!!!!!!!!

When my son and his kids first moved in with us after my DIL left, he left all of the child care to me. It seemed that when he moved back in to his old room, he became a kid again, and I became Mommy again, and we fell back into the same patterns as when he was a teenager. I would get angry, and bite my tongue, and keep taking care of the kids. We both had to realize that the situation had changed, and he was no longer my little boy. We had a very long talk one day, and came to the agreement that my hubby and I would only do child care when he was at work. In addition, I had him see our family doctor, and he started taking Celexa. It has made a world of difference. He was doing the same kinds of things your daughter seems to be doing. She has been through a lot, and maybe she is depressed. Most women n abusive relationships do suffer some degree of depression, and it can manifest itself in the behaviors your daughter is exhibiting. Please try to get her to a doctor.

Bedwetting -- especially in a child who hasn't always been a bedwetter -- can be a marker for neurotoxicity and loss of muscle control. Best be taking a thorough environmental history past and current. Leg cramps (often confused with growing pains ) could also be associated.

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