Causes of bedwetting
We have listed 5 causes of bedwetting. Did you know that a child is 75% water? Water is essential for proper functioning of the body. For children who have continence problems, it is important to learn good habits. Read below to find out possible causes of bedwetting.
Fluid intake and bedwetting
If you notice your child wetting the bed, the doctor will recommend keeping track of fluid intake for several days. This will make you aware of your child's behavior. Does your child drink a few glasses before bedtime? If so, there is a risk of bedwetting. Below in this article, we further explain 5 causes for bedwetting:
1. Bladder capacity
When trying to identify the causes of bedwetting, it is wise to first look at bladder capacity. In the picture to the right you can see the rules of thumb for your child's expected bladder capacity. By carefully starting to keep track of how much your child drinks, you can check whether your child's bladder capacity is adequate.
2. Urine Jet
In a normal discharge of urine, the jet starts slowly and gets stronger in a constructive way until the bladder is almost empty. Then the strength decreases until the bladder is completely emptied. Children (and adults) may show different patterns due to problems. Below you can see some of them.
Ask your child which pattern suits him or her best! This can be valuable information for further diagnosis and may reveal one of the underlying causes of bedwetting.
3. Moisture requirements
Research shows that a child's fluid requirement depends on age and weight. We have created a handy chart below that you can use to calculate this for your child.
Important: children get about 900 milliliters of fluid from food. Subtract this from the final fluid to be ingested!
Example: Anne is 5 years old and weighs 19 pounds. To meet her fluid requirements, she needs to drink almost 1 liter of water. This is easily 8 200-milliliter glasses of water.
1000ml + (50ml x 19) = 1.95 liters
4. Frequency of fluid intake
Ideally, a child should drink throughout the day, but this is not always realistic. Try to develop a habit with your child that every meal is accompanied by a glass of water. That way you can already be sure that a minimum amount of fluid is coming in.
5. Checking your child's hydration
As a parent, you know it's important for your child to drink enough, but of course they are far too busy playing outside and resting. Don't blame them!
You can tell if your child is hydrated in two ways:
Urine color
The most obvious method is the color of the urine. Everyone knows this rule of thumb: the lighter the urine, the better hydrated your child is. In the absence of water, the kidneys cause more water to be retained, resulting in a higher concentration of waste in the pee.
Attached is a chart that will give you a good idea of hydration levels!
Skin
From a certain age, it may become a little less practical to find out what color urine your child has. We have this trick for that.
- With your thumb and forefinger, pinch the back of your child's hand. Does the pinched skin bounce back immediately? Then your child is sufficiently hydrated! If it takes a while for the skin to return, it's a good idea to drink a few glasses of water.
The scientific term behind this trick is called "turgor pressure. Your skin's ability to return to its original state is a direct result of moisture levels. The more elastic your skin is, the better its condition and therefore its moisture balance!
Pee Diary
To find out the causes of bedwetting, it is very nice to keep a pee diary. This is tremendously helpful to gain more insight into your child's (peeing) behavior!
The causes of bedwetting summarized
All in all, it can be very valuable to gather your own indications of any problems your child may be experiencing. The 5 most common causes of bedwetting are bladder capacity, frequency of fluid intake, pattern of discharge and, of course, the color of the urine.
As always, when in doubt, it is important to consult your doctor's advice! He or she can work with you and your child to identify the possible causes of bedwetting and see if the bedwetting alarm is an appropriate solution for you.
