10-Year Old Still Wets Bed at Night

Updated on May 02, 2008
L.H. asks from Brighton, CO
25 answers

My brother's son is 10 years old and still wets his bed almost every night. The boy is a very hard sleeper and has a small bladder. His parents put him in a pull-up at night time. Any advice for breaking this habit? I suggested the parents stop using pull-ups and also set an alarm and go wake the boy at night so he can get out of the bed to go to the bathroom. Has anyone tried something like this? Any other ideas??

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S.M.

answers from Fort Collins on

It's probably a genetic condition and as soon as he hits puberty it will stop on it's own. My brother had the same problem there is a medication that they can use for sleep overs and stuff but not alll the time

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M.G.

answers from Salt Lake City on

This is actually a personal experiene. I wet the bed until I was 10. About that time my mom bought this thing that you wear at night. Something sits right in the area where it will get wet. When the sensor gets wet an irritating alarm goes off and wakes the child up. Don't know where to get them or if they even make them anymore. This helped me a lot. It took a few months but did work. And after my body was conditioned to recognize and wake up before I went I didn't have anymore accidents. Good luck!

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D.P.

answers from Denver on

Please don't think of this as a habit. In boys especially it is very common I have four sons and one of them still wets now and then and I even had surgery for him, a flap in his kidney would not stay shut at night. They do eventually outgrow it but it does take a while and the worse they are made to feel about it the longer it takes and all of the gadgets in the world may or may not work but I have found the best for my son is to just make it as non-issue as possible. He cleans his bed sheets and blankets and to prevent the matress from ruin we cover it with a plastic sheet first. Good luck

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S.M.

answers from Denver on

Take him to the Pediatrician, to rule out any medical condition. Cut out fluids 3-4 hrs before bed and make sure he goes to the bathroom right before bed.

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E.W.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Sometimes, all you can do is wait until they grow out of it. My little brother wet the bed until he was 11. Then, one night, he woke up dry. And then the next night. And so on. My mom had asked the doctor all sorts of questions. There weren't any infections, nothing else wrong with him. He was and is such a sound sleeper, like trying to wake the dead. He'll grow out of it...soon.

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L.B.

answers from Boise on

My daughter wet the bed until she was 7 years old and she just could not wake up and she also slept walked and had night terrors. I talked to our pediatrician and he prescribed a nose spray that helps keep the bladder from spasming and you only use it at night and it worked great. I only had to use it for a couple months until her body got used to what it was supposed to do on its own. When I stopped the nose spray, she did not have the problem anymore and her confidence level increased 100%.

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J.M.

answers from Boise on

I wet the bed every night until I was 12. I was a very deep sleeper. My parents took me to multiple specialists. Nothing worked. This was before pull ups. I refused to wear the plastic underwear. I had a plastic sheet on my bed and from the time I was about seven the first thing in the morning I had to put my dirty bed clothes in the washer. It was my responsibility to wash my soiled clothes everyday, just to make sure I wasn't being lazy by not getting up and going to the bathroom at night. I was embarrassed and horrified by my condition. My advice is to limit his evening and night time fluid intake and wake him up two or three times during the night to go to the bathroom (less if possible). He will probably grow out of it and for Gods sake only use medication as a last resort.

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A.P.

answers from Denver on

We're going through this with our 5 year old son. And my step sister is going through this with her 9 year old son. I just visited with our pediatrician. I also thought this was a habit. The pediatrician corrected me. It's not a habit. It has to do with his physiology. He'll grow out of it eventually. There are some things that can be done to help. (1) Don't drink liquids 2 hours before bed time. (2) Go potty before bedtime. (3)When parents go to bed, wake him up to go potty again. (4) Wake him up early to go potty again. I've heard about using the alarm. Problem is, the boy is a deep sleeper. The alarm might not wake him up. You can get rid of the pull-ups --- but that's a lot of laundry to be doing. We used logic and reason and rewards and encouragement. Right now we're trying a homeopathic medication called "Uri-Control." We've had some success. I don't know if it's the medication or everthing I mentioned above in combination with the medicine. But don't punish or ridicule the boy. Good luck.

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A.H.

answers from Salt Lake City on

don't let him drink anything at night and make sure he uses the bathroom right before going to bed. That should help the situation.

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V.A.

answers from Denver on

I feel bad for the kid, he can't help it. I was a bedwetter, everynight until the very day that I moved out of my parents home at 18. That night, in my first apartment was the first dry night I ever had. I couldn't tell you why I wet the bed all those years. I tried everything from setting an alarm to wake up, to not drinking anything past a certain time but nothing worked. I believe that my problem was mental, I grew up in an abusive home. Maybe there's more there than meets the eye, it might not be at home it could be in school. Maybe suggest a therapist? Good luck to the sweet prince, he'll outgrow it one day.

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T.G.

answers from Provo on

My younger brother went through this well in to his teen years. It is (for him) a medical condition that required a certain medication to help retrain his body. It was a type of steroid, other than that I know little about it. I would suggest talking to a pediatrician. If it is truly just a habit, waking every few hours may help retrain his mind and body, but if there is an underlying medical condition, there may be more that can be done to help.

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D.K.

answers from Denver on

First they should take him to the Pediatrician to make sure there isn't a kidney issue going on. A lot of times it can be a medical issue more then something you can control.
I actually on nights I want to sleep in get my son up in when I go to bed to pee so he won't wake the whole house up at 5am when he gets up to pee. He is groggy and pees and goes right back to sleep.
Cut out liquids three hours before bed, make sure he goes before bed and his bladder should be able to hold it all night long. Pullups are only masking what could be a problem medically. For his self esteem it needs to be stopped too. How can he go to a sleepover in pullups at his age?

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H.M.

answers from Denver on

The alarm probably won't work if he truly is a deep sleeper. I had this problem with my son and his doctor said that most of these kids don't respond to noise as a means of waking up. He suggested the "potty pager." It works just like a pager. It clips to their underwear and if it gets the slightest bit wet, it vibrates and this instantly wakes them up right as they are starting to wet. Apparently it trains the brain to recognize the signals from the bladder. There is a website for the device you can find with an online search. My son was 6 when we started with it and he was wetting the bed 1-2 times per night. Within 2 weeks, we were down to 1-2 times per week. I think he wore the pager for about 2 months and then only when he would have a relapse which was very infrequently. He's 10 now and has maybe 1 accident per year. Good luck!

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S.B.

answers from Denver on

My nephew has this issue. His doctor has him use an alarm that oes off if he is wetting. I am not sure that is working. He also sees a psychologist. And I think they might be getting him on a Ditrapan or something.

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L.B.

answers from Great Falls on

From lots of experience, I doubt that this boy is doing anything on purpose, and I am sure that he is as embarrassed as well, and would stop if he could. I would recommend DDAVP or Detrol. They work for my 2 that are still having problems at 6 and 11. It slows the bladder down and so they can wait out the night somehow.
They eventually do outgrow it, but it is something he can't help. THe alarms work for some, they didn't for us however, so we went the prescription route. My brother was 15 when he finally outgrew it. So be paitent, and for the childs sake dont make him feel like he is doing something bad, he can't help it.

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B.M.

answers from Denver on

Suggest they stop pasteurized milk for a week. If that works, they might substitute raw milk, which is much better anyway.

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S.B.

answers from Salt Lake City on

There's an alarm you can buy from your pediatrician that you attach to the underwear that wakes them up. It usually takes about a week for them to learn how to wake up if they need to go.

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L.L.

answers from Great Falls on

I am another believer in the "Malem" alarm. After talking about it with our son, we decided to try the alarm. He was motivated. We set up our baby monitor so I could hear it go off also and go assist. It got to the point where he didn't need my help when the alarm went off. It's working for us. Good luck.

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T.J.

answers from Pocatello on

Please, please, please, don't think of this as a habit. I can guarantee that the boy likes what happens as much as you'd like a root canal. I wet the bed myself until I was 17. I, too, was a deep sleeper. My parents tried everything. We tried the alarm, the buzzer, limiting liquids, nothing worked. I went to more urology doctors than I can count. There was nothing wrong with me. I simply had a sleep disorder that prevented me from awaking when my bladder was full. I would recommend looking into what causes him to sleep deeply. I had sleep apnea from enlarged tonsils that fell into my throat while I slept (I couldn't have them removed because of a blood clotting issue). I was a very loud snorer. I finally outgrew the bedwetting when I learned how to sleep so that my tonsils didn't fall into my throat (I would create a suction effect in my mouth to sort of pull them up). Above all, though, I would not make this a big issue. It could have a very serious effect on his self esteem if not handled well.

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C.G.

answers from Denver on

Well, I can tell you that we bought an alarm and our son is making good progress. I believe this is the way to go-- this alarm we got, is a full program, with charts and tells you exactly how to use it. My son stays dry for days at a time and wakes up to the alarm, which stops the flow of urine, which is what trains his brain. Get this alarm! Go to thebedwettingstore.com (I think). It's called Malem, it vibrates as well as sounds. Go to the site and at least check it out.

Good luck~

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T.B.

answers from Billings on

My seven yr old son had this problem. I took him to his peditritcian and he put him on a pill that worked. He was on it for 2 months everynight and then we weaned him off and he has not had an accident since. So I would take him to your peditrician and and see if they can help.

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H.M.

answers from Denver on

Hi - I also wet the bed til about that age - my parents told me if I stopped I could pick a new bed set and lo and behold I stopped wetting soon and they bought me a water bed ;) I don't remember having any control and I hated it too so I don't know if the bed set bribe really helped or not, but I like to think that it subconsiously did. I had sleep overs and stuff by the way - my best friends never seemed to mind my problem and their parents took "precautions" when I came over.Good luck to your nephew!

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J.P.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Everybody seems to have an opinion on this subject, and I for one know its not all about fluids before bed and using alarms to wake him up, they don't always solve the problem. What will solve the problem once and for all is TAKE HIM TO A CHIROPRACTOR NOW!. My son had the same problem. I wish I would have known sooner. When he was just turning 13 I took him for his first adjustment. after the 2nd adjustment he never ever peed again at night. His nerve was pinched when he laid down that told his brain to hold the blatter. When it was fixed, he was fixed. Before the treatment, every time he laid down, even a nap, he would pee. Good Luck I have felt your frustration!

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S.M.

answers from Denver on

I've been there with you and know how frustrating it is. It impacts their social life - no sleepovers, their self confidence and all anyone told me was they would "outgrow it." Ped doc said that every year. SHe didn't want the uncomfortable alarm gadgets (I don't blame her) so we tried chiropractors, acupunctures and nothing worked until I stumbled across information about what controls nighttime bladder control. Your body produces a hormone called vassopressin. So I researched what foods help your body increase it's own production -- believe it or not its potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams. I found a natural supplement containing mexican yams for only $30 for 90 days. She stopped bedwetting after only a week taking this. When we ran out 3 months later, she started wetting the bed again. It's definitely worth an experiment since it was so successful for me. ____@____.com

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