Question

My 10-year-old grandson wets a lot during sleep. He takes Tegretol XR 500mg at bedtime for a seizure disorder which was caused by lead poisoning. How can we help him stop wetting at night?

Answer

Bedwetting, or noctural enuresis is extremely common in kids, occurring in approximately 5-7 million kids in the USA. It's less common as children get older. For example, a study of kids at 5 years of age showed that 13% of both male and female kids wet the bed. By age 14, this was down to 3% of boys and 1.7 % of girls.

Usually the problem is simply one of bladder immaturity. Often there is a family history, in that one or both parents also wet the bed until a late age. Often, there is the child is a very heavy sleeper. Sometimes there are psychological factors to be explored. Rarely is there a medical problem like diabetes or a bladder infection.

There are several different ways to deal with bedwetting. Your grandson should be seen by a pediatrician to make sure there are no underlying medical or psychological problems. He/she can then discuss with you the various ways of dealing with bedwetting, such as limiting fluids after the evening meal, scheduled awakenings to go to the bathroom, bedwetting alarms (these wake the child up when the child begins to wet and thus trains the child to wake), and sometimes the use of medication to limit urine production (this can be especially helpful if the child is embarrassed with sleepovers).

It is usually helpful to talk to the child about how they feel and certainly a 10-year-old should be taking responsibility for keeping his own bed and sheets clean if he wets.