Bedwetting is not considered to be a problem until your child is at least five years old. Many children, boys in particular, are slow in getting the message that they should get up to use the toilet at night, but that is no reflection on the state of their health, mental or otherwise. If a child sleeps heavily it may take longer for night dryness, but many children manage it by two or three years of age. Nothing, usually: When you’re raising a child, bedwetting comes with the territory. In fact, as many as seven million children over the age of six don’t heed nature’s call during the night. Most likely, your child is not waking up when his bladder is full and this is only a problem because the child is producing a lot of urine in the night or has a bladder that’s somewhat low on capacity. Research suggests that if both parents wet the bed as kids, their child has a 70% chance of having the same problem. Bedwetting in children who have already established a pattern of dry nights is usually caused by stress of some sort, like moving house, changing schools, or family fighting. Children who have never been dry at night may suffer from immature nerves and muscles controlling bladder function. Other medical causes include diabetes, urinary infection, nutritional deficiencies, and food allergies.
Enuresis Home Remedies to Avoid Bed Wetting
If your tot is under 6, bedwetting is to be expected and not a cause for concern. After that, it’s important to check to see if something is bothering your child. Perhaps it’s a new sibling or problems at school or home. Other causes can include kidney or bladder problems and food allergies. These tips can help your child feel better and more in control. Certain herbs can help soothe bladder inflammation and promote the strength and integrity of the bladder. These include corn silk, fennel seed, horsetail herb, marshmallow root, and parsley leaf. It’s easier for kids to take an herb as a tincture than to swallow pills or drink tea.
- Corn Silk: The corn silk (flower pistils) from maize has long been used as a urinary tonic. It acts as an antiseptic, diuretic, and demulcent on the urinary system. It will stimulate and clean urinary passages while soothing inflammation. It is one of the most effective herbs for counteracting bed-wetting and incontinence. Corn silk is also, surprisingly, delicious, tasting a bit like fresh corn on the cob. Take corn silk as a tincture at night to help prevent bed-wetting. OR Try corn silk tea. Steep 2 tsps. of cornsilk in 1 cup of boiling water for 20 minutes, strain, sweeten with honey and then drink 1/2 cup lukewarm every 3-4 hours.
- Acupressure: When putting a child to bed, take their pinkies with your thumbnails and apply pressure on the two lines of each hand for about 30 seconds to affect the meridians. Teach kids how to apply pressure to the acupressure point on the topside between the little finger and ring finger.
- Watch Fluid Intake: To help prevent bet wetting, see that the child doesn’t drink much for at least two hours before going to sleep. Restrict your child’s fluid intake before bedtime. In particular, cut out sodas or other beverages that contain caffeine, which irritates the bladder.
- Cumin + Coriander + Fennel: Cumin-coriander-fennel tea (again, not just before bedtime) can help prevent bedwetting. To make this tea, mix the herbs in equal amounts, and steep 1 teaspoon of the mixture in a cup of hot water for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Portable Potty: Put a portable potty close to the bed. This will help your child to urinate without having to travel to the toilet in the middle of the night.
- Sleeping Position: Have your child try sleeping with his or her legs slightly elevated by putting them on a pillow to reduce the gravity force of urinating.
- Nightmares in Children: Sometimes nightmares come as a result of bedwetting. Make the child prebedtime routine calm and quiet. Rough, active play or even an exciting TV program increases the risk of bedwetting. Read a story for child, or suggest child that to him or herself.
- Kegel Exercises: Teach your child to do Kegel exercises. To practice Kegels, tighten and then release the muscles that control the flow of urine. To find them, tell your child to stop midstream the next time he or she is urinating. Then release. Suggest they do 7 to 21 Kegels sets three times daily.
- Avoid Milk Before Sleep: If your child usually drinks a glass of milk at bedtime, try discontinuing that practice and see if it helps. Some children are allergic to the proteins in milk, primarily casein and whey, and the allergy can cause bedwetting. This problem is usually present from infancy, and can also cause bloating and diarrhea, among other symptoms.
- Cinnamon: Chewing on a cinnamon stick before bed can also be helpful as it has a drying effect. Also limit beverage consumption after 5 pm.
- Herbal Tea: Offer St. John’s wort and horsetail teas throughout the day, sweetened with honey, to soothe an irritable bladder and encourage control of the bladder.
- Honey: Give your child 1 tablespoon that is 20 g of honey before bed to help the body retain fluid. Don’t give honey to infants under 1 year of age due to the slight possibility of botulism spores.
- Strengthen Kidney and Bladder: Due to their rich multi-spectrum mineral content, black beans, miso soup, celery, chia seed, pumpkin seeds, and wild rice help to strengthen the kidney and bladder. Add these to your child’s diet on a regular basis.
- Make sure your child voids before he or she goes to bed. It won’t stop the bedwetting, but there will be less stored urine, which means less urine to wet the bed.
- Help your kids stay positive too by using an affirmation. “I will wake to go to the bathroom.”
- Night Light: Be sure and provide a night light in the bathroom so it’s not scary to go to the bathroom.
- Save Your Mattress: Put a zippered plastic mattress cover on your child’s bed. Not only does it protect the mattress, it also ensures that you can treat the accident as just that – an accident, not a tragedy. Both you and your child will sleep better knowing that there’s not a major cleanup job to worry about.
If bed-wetting persists, you’ll want to see your pediatrician to rule out the possibility of infection. Some studies show that children who wet their beds may have an abnormally low level of antidiuretic hormone (ADH). This hormone helps the kidneys retain water, and if there’s a deficiency of it, more urine gets into the bladder. A doctor can prescribe a nasal spray containing a synthetic version of the hormone, to be used before bed. But behavior modification (with the help of a bedwetting alarm) may be more effective.