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Home › Articles › Bedwetting › Just the Facts

Just the Facts

The Latest Research on Bedwetting to Help Your Child

By Laura Lyster-Mensh

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There is an abundance of information available to parents about bedwetting in this era of the Internet and instant communication, but it is difficult for non-professionals to make sense of it all. With new studies coming out daily, it's hard to stay on top of the latest health information and understand what may relate to your child.

But according to Dr. Patrick C. Friman, director of behavioral pediatrics at Girls and Boys Town in Nebraska, there isn't much in the way of new information on the topic of bedwetting, so there's less for you to keep up with. However, there are some studies from the past five years or so that just might be of assistance to you and your child.

It's in the Genes

Some of the biggest news, and a big relief to parents, is confirmation through scientific study that bedwetting is not caused by poor parenting or bad discipline. Genetic studies increasingly support the hypothesis that bedwetting runs in families and is involuntary. DNA research by scientists has even identified possible enuresis genes on chromosomes 13 and 22, which would confirm anecdotal evidence of an inherited problem.

Psychological Factors

In addition, scientists are learning more about the depression and behavioral problems often associated with bedwetting. Once thought to be a cause of enuresis, studies are exploring the idea that mental disorders and bedwetting might simply both be symptoms of the same physical causes: brain chemistry gone awry.

Also important, says Dr. Friman, is the possibility that punitive and guilt-inducing ways a family reacts to a child's bedwetting might cause stress and anxiety that can lead to emotional difficulties.

Studies also confirm the usefulness of alarm systems, especially light and vibration-based alarms. The mechanism by which the alarms do their work is still not fully understood, but it seems to center on subconscious conditioning, a learning process that is going on beneath the level of conscious thought.


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