Hi Michelle, your son’s wetting would be considered secondary nocturnal enuresis, which describes the condition where a child returns to nighttime wetting after at least 6 months of nighttime continence. While there are underlying medical issues such as chronic constipation, urinary tract infections and juvenile diabetes (which need to be ruled out first), psychological stress is also a potential cause. Common stressors for young children include starting school, difficulties with peers, hospitalization and family disharmony. When stress is a contributing factor children can benefit from speaking with a child psychologist. Children’s overnight urine output can be quite variable. You can try and reduce his urine output by making sure he fully empties his bladder just before he goes to sleep and by limiting drinks high in sugar as well as the amount of dairy and citrus he drinks in the evening as these are known to stimulate the kidneys. You can also encourage healthy bladder habits by making sure he drinks water regularly throughout the day (about 1 litre at his age). If you are at all concerned about his urine output you should ask to be referred to a pediatrician who specializes in children’s continence issues. With respect to the waking/lifting, this is typically seen as a practical approach to managing children’s bedwetting in the short-term only but does little to help them to become dry on their own. Lifting at night means children do not get the chance to get used to the signals that the bladder sends to the brain telling them to wake-up and empty their bladder nor does the bladder have the opportunity to stretch and develop. As frustrating as this is it will come to an end.

Regards,
Dr Cathrine

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