Bedwetting

Category: Babies & Children · All children symptoms

What it can feel like

Bedwetting (nocturnal enuresis) means involuntary wetting during sleep in a child old enough to be expected dry — after about age five. It is very common (roughly one in ten seven-year-olds), runs in families, and resolves steadily with age as bladder capacity, hormone rhythms and arousal mature. New bedwetting after a dry period (secondary enuresis) has different drivers from never having been dry.

Possible causes

A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.

Common causes

Bedwetting can be associated with a developmental pattern: deep sleep with weak arousal to bladder signals, night-time urine production that has not yet developed its hormonal dip, a functionally small bladder, constipation pressing on the bladder (a major, fixable contributor), and family history.

Other possible causes

Secondary bedwetting — new wetting after at least six dry months — can be associated with urine infection, diabetes (with thirst and weight loss), stress or upheaval, sleep apnoea, and rarely kidney or neurological problems.

Red flags — when to seek help promptly

Bedwetting that is new after a dry period, especially with thirst, weight loss or daytime symptoms (check for diabetes and infection)
Bedwetting with daytime wetting, urgency, weak stream or recurrent urine infections
Bedwetting with loud snoring and witnessed apnoeas
Bedwetting with constipation that is not being treated
Bedwetting causing significant distress to an older child or teenager — a valid reason for active treatment

What a clinician may do

A clinician will chart the pattern (primary or secondary, how often, volumes), screen for constipation, infection and diabetes with a urine dipstick, and review drinks and toilet routines. Management is stepwise: drinks and toilet habits, treating constipation, reward systems, a bedwetting alarm (the most effective long-term measure), and medicines for specific situations.

Watch: related videos

Examination and clinical videos from the MedicalVideos.com library relevant to this symptom. Some clinical footage is graphic — that is the nature of a medical video library.

▶ WatchPrimary and secondary nocturnal enuresisWatch on MedicalVideos.com

Related guides on MedicalVideos.com

Frequently asked questions

Should I lift my child to the toilet at night?

Lifting produces a dry bed but not learning — the child wees half-asleep without building the arousal connection, so wetting persists when lifting stops. Alarms work differently: they wake the child at the first drops, gradually training the brain to wake to bladder signals itself.

Is bedwetting my child's fault — or mine?

Neither. The three ingredients — night urine volume, bladder capacity, and waking to signals — mature on a genetic timetable that punishment cannot advance and encouragement cannot delay. What helps is treating constipation, sensible evening drinks, and a no-blame household while treatment works.

Related symptoms — Babies & Children

Baby not feeding well Baby reflux Constipation in children Cough in children Crying baby Diarrhoea in children

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Please note: This page is educational information about a symptom. A symptom alone cannot diagnose any condition, and the causes listed here are possibilities, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about a symptom — especially one that is new, severe, getting worse or not going away — please see your own clinician, who can examine you and arrange tests. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.