Children Grown Up: Teenage Enuresis

Urinating while asleep, or bedwetting, is common in children. It is messy and worrying, but as it is unintentional, it can only be an indication of a growing body system growing adapted to sleeping without diapers. Nocturnal enuresis in teenagers and adolescents, though, may be worrisome for parents; it can be embarrassing for older children, and is considered a physical manifestation of deeper problems in a teenager or adolescent.

What causes enuresis? To understand it, one needs to know how the kidneys and their corresponding hormones work together. One particular hormone, the antidiuretic hormone, controls the body's release of water. The antidiuretic hormone participates in a hormone cycle that ensures that the bladder will not be full until morning; this in turn ensures that a person will urinate upon awaking.

However, this antidiuretic hormone cycle is not fully operational in babies. It will develop in older children; in some cases, it will be stable by the end of puberty; in particularly rare cases, the cycle is not established at all. These unusual scenarios are potential causes of adolescent bedwetting.

Another way to control urination is through the brain, which, for its part, controls the body's capability to wake prior to urination. In children, this is learned by the brain, as it becomes more and more aware of the body's hormonal cycles. This learning process, however, can be destroyed by certain factors such as emotional or physical stress. Such stress can be as mild as forcing children to urinate when they are not fully awake. Other contributing factors can be more damaging, such as physical or sexual abuse.

If your teenager or adolescent wets his or her bed, you might want to consider one of the following treatments.

The first consideration in adolescent bedwetting is the body's inability to develop the antidiuretic hormone cycle, or the brain's inability to recognize it. Doctors may suggest antidepressants such as Nortriptyline and Amitriptyline, both of which can treat enuresis for up to three or four months.

Desmopressin, another common enuresismedicine, mimics the action of the antidiuretic hormone, and can be used when diagnosis points to poor hormonal development as the cause of enuresis.

The second consideration when treating adolescent bedwetting is the brain's inability to both recognize the antidiuretic hormone cycle, and to manage it with respect to time and sleep. To address this, psychiatrists recommend training machines such as the bedwetting alarm. This nighttime gadget can aid adolescents to wake up when they first feel moisture, and that they must urinate. This will lead to the body finally recognizing when the bladder is full, and can curb adolescent bedwetting.

The third consideration could be the body's total inability to control bedwetting, which is quite rare. In this case, health care professionals advise using diapers or pads, which will help reduce the discomfort associated with bedwetting. Although this can lessen the shame, it will not stop bedwetting completely, and additional measures should be taken to eliminate it.

The last consideration could be the brain's inability to control urination or recognize the antidiuretic hormone cycle due to emotional issues. Such issues may be brought about by stress; if this stress is derived from physical or sexual abuse, your child may refuse to talk to you about it. Psychiatric care and therapy is advised in such situations; though treatment may not directly target the problem of adolescent bedwetting, it may give you and your child closure on any issues that are brought to light.

Teenage or adolescent bedwetting is a treatable disorder, and it needs both patience and consideration on the part of the concerned parent. If your teenager is wetting his or her bed, take him or her to your doctor, and have the problem diagnosed and treated. In no time, your teenager will no longer have to deal with the mess and embarrassment associated with their condition.

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