Enuresis Health Dictionary

Bed-wetting. Unconscious persistent discharge of urine in bed by children over three years. Possible hereditary tendency. Some cases psychological in origin: lack of security, marital disharmony, etc. Adenoids or worms sometimes responsible. Occurs mostly in boys where foreskin is too tight. Circumcism may be necessary. Parents should not scold but reserve extra affection and attention to patient.

Treatment. No drinks at night. Empty bladder at bedtime. Wake child 2 hours later to again empty bladder. During the day all caffeine drinks should be avoided: coffee, tea, Cola, etc.

Alternatives. Day-time drinks. Teas from any one:– American Cranesbill, Agrimony, Heartsease, Corn Silk, Liquorice root, Marshmallow root, Mullein, Raspberry leaves, Vervain, Shepherd’s Purse, Ladies Mantle, Uva Ursi. Formula. Bearberry 1; Cornsilk half; Skullcap 1. 1-2 teaspoons to each cup boiling water; infuse 15 minutes; half-1 cup hour before bedtime.

Tablets/capsules. Cranesbill (American). Passion flower. Valerian.

Formula. Equal parts: Ephedra, Valerian, Cranesbill (American). Dose. Powders quarter of a teaspoon. Liquid Extract 1 teaspoon. Tinctures 1-2 teaspoons. In water or honey, early evening and at bedtime. Eclectic School, America. (1) Horsetail 1; Cramp bark half. (2) Mullein 2; Cramp bark half. (3) Oil Thyme, 3 drops night and morning. (4) Oil Mullein (traditional, but still effective) 5 drops.

Thuja. “I have never failed to cure eneuresis in children and young people 3-15 years by giving 2-15 drops Liquid Extract Thuja in a tablespoon of water before each meal and at bedtime. (J.M. Stephenson MD)

Practitioner. Dec Jam Sarsae Co Conc BPC (1949), 1 fl oz. Liquid Extract Rhus Aromatica (Sweet Sumach) half a fluid ounce. Liquid Extract Passiflora 60 drops. Syrup Althaea 2 fl oz. Aqua to 8oz. Dose: 2 teaspoons in water thrice daily; last dose at bedtime. (Arthur Barker)

Tinctures. Formula. Equal parts: Agrimony, Corn Silk, Horsetail. Dose: 15-60 drops in water thrice daily.

Tincture Arnica: 1-2 drops in water at bedtime; not under 5 years.

Tincture Sweet Sumach. 10-15 drops in water thrice daily.

Diet: piece of cheese or peanut butter at bedtime helps level off the blood sugar level during sleep – important for normal brain function. Citrus fruits and chocolate aggravate. Cow’s milk suspect. 

The medical term for bed-wetting. In most cases, it occurs in children and affects boys slightly more commonly than girls. Usually, enuresis occurs as a result of slow maturation of nervous system functions concerned with bladder control. It may also result from psychological stress. In a small number of bed-wetters, there is a physical cause, such as a urinary tract infection.

If a child wets the bed persistently, tests, including urinalysis, may be performed to rule out a physical cause. For bed-wetting that is not caused by a disorder, treatment starts with training the child to pass urine regularly during the day. Getting the child to go to the toilet just before bed may be helpful. Alarm systems are available that involve the placement of humidity-sensitive pads in the child’s bed. The child is woken by the alarm if urine is passed and eventually learns to wake before urinating.

Bed-wetting, or the involuntary passage of urine at night. It can occur at all ages but is a particular problem with children and the elderly. In general, paediatricians prefer not to treat enuresis much before the age of six, as it may be a normal phenomenon and usually stops as the child grows older. However, when the condition persists, the child (and parents) need advice. Treatment is by positive reinforcement of bladder control, alarm systems such as the ‘pad and bell’, or ocasionally by drugs such as Desmopressin, which reduces night-time urinary output. Some children have an ‘irritable bladder’ and can be helped by drugs which relieve this. Enuresis is often a result of psychological disturbance, particularly where family relationships are disrupted. In this circumstance medication is unlikely to be e?ective.

Constipation is a common cause of urinary incontinence – and hence bed-wetting – in the elderly and should be treated. Enuresis in the elderly may also be due to organic disease or to mental deterioration and confusion. Appropriate investigation, treatment and nursing should be arranged. (See NOCTURNAL ENURESIS.)

Advice is available from the Enuresis Resource and Information Centre (ERIC) whose weekday helpline is 0117 960 3060. Also www.eric.org.uk

Involuntary voiding of urine

n. the involuntary passing of urine. The most common form is bedwetting (nocturnal enuresis) by children (the majority of children are dry during the day by the age of three years and at night by four). Nocturnal enuresis is occasionally caused by underlying disorders of the urinary tract, particularly infection, but in the majority of children the problem is behavioural; there is often a family history. The condition usually settles spontaneously as the child grows older, but it may persist into teenage – and rarely adult – life. It can be treated by behavioural techniques, such as the use of a nocturnal alarm (see bell and pad) or *reinforcement of periods of continence with a reward system, or by drug treatment. Enuresis that starts in adulthood is usually associated with a disorder of the bladder, a side-effect of medication, or a neurological disease, such as multiple sclerosis. See also incontinence. —enuretic adj.