Myths, facts and history of bedwetting
People have been aware of the problem of bedwetting in children and adults for over 4,000 years. During this time many myths and old wive’s tales to explain it have been created.

Many of these myths are still alive today affecting the way the bedwetter is regarded and treated. A survey by the UK-based charity, the Enuresis Resource Information Centre (ERIC), revealed that most parents (80 per cent) believe that children wet the bed because they are stressed or worried, or in some cases simply out of laziness.

But bedwetting is not a psychological or behaviour problem, it is a recognised medical condition, with more than 5 million children throughout Europe suffering from it.

The survey conducted by ERIC also indicated that nearly half of all parents would generally ignore the problem of bedwetting believing that the child would simply grow out of it.  Though most of them (85 per cent) recognised the detrimental impact that unresolved bedwetting has on children in the form of low self-esteem, feelings of isolation and problems of bullying by peers (see impact of bedwetting).

Doctors have shown that psychological problems do not cause bedwetting, but that bedwetting can cause psychological problems.  Yet, bedwetting can be treated simply and effectively saving the family a great deal of anguish.

Most children are dry at night by the age of three, but bedwetting up to the age of five is not unusual. Children over the age of five who haven’t become dry at night and continue to wet the bed at least three times a week are considered to have primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE).  This condition can be treated with medicine or conditioning (alarm) therapy.

Causes of bedwetting

• The kidneys produce more urine than the bladder can hold
• Most bedwetters have normally functioning bladders and normal sleeping patterns, but they do not wake up when their bladder is full
• Evidence suggests there may be a genetic predisposition to bedwetting

Impact of bedwetting on the child and on the family
Children with bedwetting fear being discovered by others.  It can make them feel angry, moody, ashamed and bewildered.  They find it embarrassing and uncomfortable and they think they are the only children who do it.

This isolation makes them feel inhibited and they avoid taking part in any activities that mean they have to stay away from home overnight, such as school trips and sleep-overs at friends’ homes. 

The longer bedwetting is left untreated the more difficult it can become to control and the greater the effect it has on the child’s confidence.  The childhood sufferer can grow up to be an adult bedwetter and adult bedwetters tend to avoid forming close relationships for fear of being found out. 

Parents also suffer. They might be concerned for their child and feel helpless. They become exhausted with having their sleep interrupted and cleaning bedclothes. Sometimes parents can become annoyed by it all and come to believe that their child is doing it deliberately.