Daytime wetting

Enuresis is defined as involuntary voiding beyond the age of anticipated control. Diurnal enuresis is daytime wetting, nocturnal enuresis is nighttime wetting. Both of these conditions can occur at the same time, however, many children with nighttime wetting will not have wetting during the day. Children with daytime wetting may have frequent urination, have urgent urination or dribble after urinating.

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Statistics

Daytime wetting is more common in girls than in boys, but bedwetting is twice as prevalent in boys. Daytime wetting was found to have occurred more than once a week in 3% of girls with the mean age of 5.9 years.

Causes for daytime wetting

The causes are quite varied and could include:

• Incomplete emptying of the bladder
• Irritable bladder
• Constipation
• Stress
• Urinary tract infection
• Urgency (not “making it” to the bathroom in time)
• Anatomic abnormality
• Poor toileting habits
• Small bladder capacity
• Medical conditions like overactive bladder disorder
• Others

As you can see, this list is quite long. In most cases, seeing your health care provider or urologist to rule out conditions that need specific treatment is a good place to begin. They will begin with a voiding history and physical exam, as well as a urinalysis and culture. Other tests may be warranted, based on their findings.

Managing daytime wetting

Major changes in the management of daytime wetting came about in the 1990s. In most current programs, non-invasive treatments incorporate hydration, timed voiding, correction of constipation and in some cases, computer assisted pelvic floor retraining. These methods have been extremely successful in correcting daytime wetting. Bladder stretching exercises (where the person tries to hold their urine as long as possible) are no longer recommended. In fact, some urologists actually believe that this can be dangerous because the person could develop the long-term habit of tightening the urethral sphincter muscle, which can cause bladder or kidney problems. Urinating on a regular basis is much preferred.

This article contains facts and text from Mercer, Renee (January, 2004). [www.dryatnight.com Seven Steps to Night Time Dryness]. Ashton Maryland: Brookeville Media, 22, 76-78. 0-9740688-0-2.  with permission from the author.

See also

• Urinary incontinence
• Toilet training
• Enuresis