Suddenly bedwetting at age 8! What could be causing this?!

Log in / Sign Up

List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following My Posts Bookmarks

Private Messages Advanced Search Rules New User Guide FAQ Advertise Contact Us

Forum -> Children's Health

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother

Vermilion

Mon, Mar 04 2019, 11:40 pm

HI,
Looking for people who can share knowledge, information and experience.
I intend going to the doctor, but they can't give us an appointment until the end of the week...

Basically, my son is 8 and has been dry at night since he was about 5 or 6. Suddenly the last couple of weeks he has been waking up wet almost every night before midnight! What could be causing this? could there be a medical cause?

I think he has been drinking a little more than usual, as he has a new water bottle which is "really cool" ( his expression, not mine!) and he's been taking it to school with him and bringing it back empty (24oz bottle).

I dont know if this is connected or not, because this pre-dates the bedwetting problem by a long time: He also has mentioned several times over the past few months that he needs to go to the bathroom often during class and a substitute told him to see the doctor and suggested to him (an 8yr old!) that he might be diabetic. Is there a connection that might have made the sub say that? (putting aside the obvious stupidity of a teacher to say that to an 8yr old, if teacher was really concerned he should have reported his concerns to a parent)

one thing I can discount is anxiety. he is not anxious, tense etc, no social issues, rarely has nightmares. so I cant imagine that that could be a reason

so ladies, any ideas for me to research? what would you be thinking if this was your kids?
TIA

thunderstorm

Mon, Mar 04 2019, 11:48 pm

Based on what I've read online it's referred to as Secondary Bedwetting.
This can be caused by:
An onset of diabetes
Urinary tracht infection
Emotional stress due to changes such as a new home, new baby etc
s-xual abuse or physical abuse
Nervous system abnormalities

amother

Wheat

Mon, Mar 04 2019, 11:48 pm

Take a throat culture. In the pediatrician'so office where I work, we noticed that kids come in complaining about onset bedwetting after being dry at night for a while. Most of the time it's strep. Even if there are no other symptoms

amother

Vermilion

Mon, Mar 04 2019, 11:53 pm

thanks for responding fast, thunderstorm and amother wheat!
omg, so there could be a diabetes connection, I hope not!
Now I'm hoping he has strep or a UTI!
Thanks!

amother

Forestgreen

Mon, Mar 04 2019, 11:54 pm

I just posted about this too a few weeks ago. It stopped for now but I think it might have been constipation.

amother

Vermilion

Mon, Mar 04 2019, 11:56 pm

amother wrote:

I just posted about this too a few weeks ago. It stopped for now but I think it might have been constipation.

hmm, thats a thought, he has been a little constipated I think. (leakage in underwear) maybe that's it!
I think Im going to call dr again in the morning and try and get them to fit us in sooner in the week...

amother

Forestgreen

Mon, Mar 04 2019, 11:57 pm

amother wrote:

Yeah we had leakage in underwear, I now have mandatory sitting with a book on the toilet every day, it's really been helping.

amother

Chartreuse

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 1:23 am

I was just talking to a family member of mine who's a big psychologist. He said he's had clients, older children who suddenly started bedwetting, who eventually admitted to him that they wanted to cause their parents aggravation or just wanted extra attention. He suggested to one parent to stagger her children's bedtimes so she can spend more time with each child as she tucks them in, and it stopped the bedwetting.
I personally would think it's more the medical route, such as strep or uti (hopefully not diabetes or the like!) But I just wanted to put this out there, because I do trust this psychologist, hes a very well respected one

nchr

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 6:45 am

OP your child's issue is clearly not related only to bedwetting, if his teachers notice it in school. Anytime there is frequent urination you need to see a doctor. Good luck.

amother

Cerise

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 7:42 am

My son was constipated which oddly caused bed wetting. Took a while until we connected the 2 but once we got rid of constipation he stopped

amother

Salmon

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 1:37 pm

op- I feel with your frustration

I have no idea what caused it and usually refrain from offering/ taking medical advise from annon non- medical professionals on the internet.

having said that- I did benifit tremendously from Desmopresin medication. I dont know if it works for everyone. I still think its worth mentioning it to you and others suffering similar situations. definitely worth mentioning to dr and considering.

amother

Beige

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 1:57 pm

It could very likely be constipation.
Here are some resources:
https://www.bedwettingandaccidents.com/

amother

Taupe

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 3:58 pm

Frequent urination and bedwetting equals strep in my home...my child actually ended up with pandas...but it could definitely be strep. We ruled out diabetes and uti...

amother

Aubergine

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 4:24 pm

Constipation is the most likely explanation, but yes, you do have to rule out diabetes, excessive urination is a classic symptom.

amother

Ivory

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 4:33 pm

Dont wait. Get a finger stick at the doctor to rule out type one diabetes. Chas vshalom it shouldn't be that but if is it really needs to be checked out asap.
My son has type one diabetes. The first time we took him to the pediatrician for frequent urination and bedwetting they did a urine test which was not as accurate and it was negative. We were back a few days later and they did a blood test which was positive and we were sent straight to the hospital.
Good luck and I hope it is something simple.
(on a positive note my son was diagnosed almost 20 years ago and BH is doing fine. It's just one more thing he needs to maintain but its definitely doable)

amother

Bisque

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 10:22 pm

we've had that from strep!

perquacky

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 10:33 pm

Happened to two of my boys at around the same age. Take him to a urologist. Ours prescribed Desmopressin. A few years later, the problem fixed itself.

amother

Jetblack

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 10:34 pm

You got a bunch of possible causes here. Pinworms is one more that wasn't mentioned yet.
Good luck getting to the bottom of this!

Page 1 of 1