Help- My 9 year old started bed wetting suddenly.

[teraberry]

This doesn't make sense to me. Twice this week my 9 1/2 year old son wet the bed thoroughly. He doesn't remember doing it. He just wakes up and realizes it happened. The first time he was embarassed and didn't tell me until a couple hours had passed. I didn't make a big deal out of it, but told him to tell me right away if it happened again. This morning he woke me up and told me. It seemed to me like it had just happened (rather than in the middle of the night). I think he wet it at about the time he normally wakes up.

 

Was anyone else had this happen to them and if so, did it continue long or did you find a reason?

 

Thanks in advance for any info.

[LNC]

Is he extremely thirsty? Is he urinating more during the day? Sudden bedwetting CAN be a sign of type 1 diabetes. Probably not though - he could just be in a super deep sleep lately. I would watch his thirst and how often urinating and take him in for a check up if you see these symptoms.

[teraberry]

Is he extremely thirsty? Is he urinating more during the day? Sudden bedwetting CAN be a sign of type 1 diabetes. Probably not though - he could just be in a super deep sleep lately. I would watch his thirst and how often urinating and take him in for a check up if you see these symptoms.

 

Thanks for the response. He isn't urinating more during the day. He is a pretty deep sleeper, but he has never been a bed wetter before, which makes me think that is isn't that?? I just can't figure it out.

[G5052]

An untreated bladder infection could cause this, as well as stress in your family or something that the child perceives as stress. Sometimes children get stressed about things that don't bother adults and can't express their feelings.

 

Both of mine have done that during periods of family stress, especially my younger one.

[BabyBre]

9 does seem a little young for a boy, and my experience is only with a female, but I know that hormonal ebbs and flows can affect this. Other than that, my first question would be about any recent changes in his life or in the family that his body may be perceiving as a stress or anxiety.

 

Above all, keep assuring him that it's not his fault. If it turns out to be ongoing, he'll likely feel ashamed anyway. I know someone who is still plagued with eneuresis (nighttime bedwetting) as an adult, now having to control it with medication.

 

Having ruled out a medical condition like diabetes, I personally wouldn't freak out unless it was ongoing for quite some time. Even a matter of months wouldn't be too alarming to me, having had experience with a couple children dealing with this.

[z2_mom]

I would take him in to the DR. and have them test for a Urinary Tract infection. My only experience is with girls but I would think that a boy could get one too. I would just do as a precaution to make sure nothing medically is going on.

 

lynda

[teraberry]

9 does seem a little young for a boy, and my experience is only with a female, but I know that hormonal ebbs and flows can affect this. Other than that, my first question would be about any recent changes in his life or in the family that his body may be perceiving as a stress or anxiety.

 

Above all, keep assuring him that it's not his fault. If it turns out to be ongoing, he'll likely feel ashamed anyway. I know someone who is still plagued with eneuresis (nighttime bedwetting) as an adult, now having to control it with medication.

 

Having ruled out a medical condition like diabetes, I personally wouldn't freak out unless it was ongoing for quite some time. Even a matter of months wouldn't be too alarming to me, having had experience with a couple children dealing with this.

 

 

The first time he did it was the night before his Championship baseball game. However, he did not show any other signs of being nervous about it. He has been nervous about games before and has been playing since he was 5, so it still doesn't seem like all of the sudden he would be that worked up about the game that he'd wet the bed, but who knows. Then last night I actually had him sleep on his sister's bed (which is really comfortable) instead of his bed, because he has a cough and shares a room with his brother. He's been keeping his brother up at night with the cough, so I thought I'd switch him and his sister so everyone rests better. He said he didn't wake up at all even though he's had the cough, but if he is a really deep sleeper he may not remember it anyway.

[teraberry]

I just wanted to bump this thread back up in case someone can give some experiential advice or info.

[EKS]

Make sure he is drinking enough water during the day. My son was not and apparently this can make the bladder contract involuntarily, causing wetting. Once he started drinking more water, no bedwetting.

[Lady Katherine]

I'd rule out diabetes if I were you.

 

(Of course, I see diabetes everywhere. Last week, the freeze cracked the cat's water bowl just enough that it wouldn't hold water, but not enough for the crack to be visible. I was convinced the cat was diabetic because it was "drinking too much" water.)