The Causes of Bedwetting

The Causes of Bedwetting

The conventional train of thought among both parents and many pediatricians is that bedwetting is a medical or psychological problem. Often, the patient undergoes a comprehensive and unnecessary medical assessment with no findings. However, a medical, neurological, or urological problem is only the primary diagnosis among 1% of enuretics. A psychological cause, such as family problems, social adjustment, or fears, is a factor among an additional 10% of patients.
In fact, the majority of enuretics (90%) do not have either anatomical or psychological problems. For most enuretics, the primary source of the issue is unusually deep sleep. These are normal, healthy children who have not learned to activate the appropriate reflex system during sleep. Typically, when a person sleeps and pressure is built up inside the bladder, a signal is sent to the brain. Among enuretics, the signal is not recognized by the subconscious reflex system and instead of contracting the sphincter muscle, which is the circular muscle that keeps the bladder closed, the child relaxes the muscle and urinates during sleep.