Bedwetting in Older Boys

According to recent statistics, 14 percent of children - more of them boys - aged 5 to 13 still wet their beds, which causes a concern among parents.

Bedwetting, primarily known as enuresis, has two categories. These are Primary Nocturnal Enuresis and Secondary Nocturnal Enuresis. The former is used to describe cases where children never stop bedwetting and the latter is used for cases where children who already knew how to be dry at night surprisingly begins to wet the bed at 5 years old or when older.

According to those who study on Enuresis, primary bedwetting is considered a medical disorder with a physiological cause. Based on evidences, it has been found that is both hereditary and genetic and it can be a part of an primary sleep disorder. Other causes point out to possibilities that the child's bladder is small such that their urinary system in not well developed enough to control their urination.

Other factors being pointed out that may cause bedwetting would be anxiety disorders or attention deficit disorders. 

Bedwetting in older boys, or secondary enuresis, has been tied to these possible causes:

a. Delayed development of the bladder. As mentioned earlier, boys, even if older, suffer more from enuresis than girls. This is because their bladders may not have been fully developed yet and they physically mature more slowly than girls.

If this is the main cause of secondary bedwetting for older boys, enuresis stops on its own.

b. Urinary tract infections and constipation. If an older boy who still wets his bed has chronic urinary tract infections and constipation, it is best to consult with your family pediatrician to alleviate his condition and to address the primary causes .

Observe the voiding patterns of the child and record the patterns for three days. Include other voiding history with this when you consult with the doctor.

c. Observe your child and check if he has other associated physical causes of bedwetting. Although the possibility of it occurring is a small percentage, an older child be it girl or boy may have enuresis due to physical causes. This may be caused by diabetes, sleep apnea, sickle cell anemia and abnormal urinary tracts.

Thus, it is important to have the bedwetting child's pediatrician check him to rule out possible bedwetting causes such as these during his examination.

d. ADHD/ADD. It has been found out by clinicians that if an older boy or girl usually over the age or 5 shows a combination of  bedwetting with impulsiveness, tantrums, hyperactivity and other ADHD/ADD signs and symptoms, the appropriate treatment medications for these conditions can put a resolution on bedwetting.

e. Psychological factors such as trauma stress and abuse. An older kid who wets his bed after several months or years of having a dry bed might be an indication that he is undergoing trauma, stress and abuse.

If so, the psychotherapist of the older child should be informed of his bedwetting. It should be stressed, however, that psychotherapy couldn't be claimed as an effective eliminator of bedwetting especially for older kids. But it is effective in helping the child recover from what might be bothering him which can also result in decreasing and even eliminating the older child's bedwetting problem.

It is important that parents know how to recognize the bedwetting problems of their kids especially their older boys and to observe them and help them get over it. There are many misconceptions that revolve around the notion that there is or is not a cure for bedwetting.

The fact is that, different things and solutions will work for different children. Some older boys at the age of over 5 and above might outgrow this eventually. Others might need intervention. One thing is for sure. There is no silver bullet to address bedwetting in older boys and there is no overnight success when it comes to tackling it.