The following is a visitor-submitted question or story. For more, you can submit your own sleep story here, or browse the collection of experiences and questions other visitors have shared here.

Son and Bedwetting

by Cheryl
(Moss Beach, CA)

My son is 8 1/2 and he has always wet the bed at night. Only one time he didn't do it for about four days straight, but that was the only time. It is every single night; daytime he is fine.

He wears diapers (Good Nites) to bed, but I am afraid it is really affecting his self-esteem. My son sleeps really hard and often times it's hard to get him out of bed in the morning even though he gets 10 plus hours a sleep per night. We have tried bed wetting alarms, I have waken him up in the night, and he still wets, I've tried vitamins on him, and even parsley (I was told), etc., but nothing has worked. I am not concerned about wet sheets; my main concern is how he feels about himself and his low self-esteem.

I've read about narrow palates in the mouth causing bed wetting issues, but I am not sure if he has this or not. My husband says he hears my son snore sometimes. Who would I go see to discuss everything in regards to him having sleep apnea or another sleep disorder which could be causing the bed wetting? Should I invest in one of those Continuous Positive Airway Pressure device (CPAP) for a child?

Thank you for your help!!



Hi Cheryl,

First of all, thank you for sharing your experience.

I would like to refer you to our page on sleep disorders in children, where we have a specific section on sleep apnea in children and bed wetting.

Hopefully you will find the information there useful and can get some feedback from other visitors here.

Warmly,

Jordan

EYSD Editor




Comments for
Son and Bedwetting

Click here to add your own comments

May 22, 2011
 Bravery and Grace for bedwetting
by: Anonymous

I have a child who wet the bed nightly (often several times) until he was 8 years old. Beginning in preschool and through age 6, I just invested in a couple pair of washable, waterproof underwear and used a waterproof sheet protector to minimize the laundry. Definitely take a no big deal approach.
Washable, waterproof underwear can be found at the braveryandgrace website.

However when my child reached the age of seven, the bedwetting began to chip away at his self esteem. He began to fear his friends finding out and showed frustration about the bedwetting. We solved his bed wetting by using an alarm. He went from being wet every single night to completely dry in about 6 weeks. The bed wetting alarm has given us years of dry nights.

My child absolutely loved the children's book, Prince Bravery and Grace - Attack of the Wet Knights. It’s the story of a young prince who struggles with "the Wet Knights" and eventually defeats them by using an alarm. It's funny yet empathetic and gave him the understanding and motivation to end the bed wetting. www.braveryandgrace.com has lots of positive information about solving bed wetting. Invest in the book, it makes the process so much easier, then an alarm -its the best decision I ever made.
Book-www.braveryandgrace.com
Jul 28, 2011
 Follow the Editor's Advice
by: Anonymous

I would not do any at home CPAP or anything else until you get your son tested for a sleep disorder. From you describe it sounds like sleep apnea. Stanford Medical is one of the best places to go for children. I was diagnosis there with sleep apnea (I believe I have it all my life) and when I went to get my sleep study and later my titration I noticed alot of children who were patients. I asked one of the staff memebers how many of the patients they have are children and she said about 30%. The night I went in for my sleep study they had a two year old in for a sleep study!
Please get your son help from a professional asap. It sounds like he is suffering. Best of luck-Blessings

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Experiences With Sleep Disorders In Children






Enjoy this page? Please help us pay it forward to others who would find it valuable by Liking, Sharing, Tweeting, Stumbling, and/or Voting below.

Like This Page? Share It!

Site Sponsors

Our sponsorship policy

RespShop.com
Lowest CPAP Prices. World Wide shipping. 866-939-3754.

A Note On Visitor-Submitted Questions:

Publishing sleep stories and questions from our visitors is meant to create a forum for open and proactive dialogue about an extremely important portion of our lives (one that occupies 1/3 of it and affects the other 2/3). It is not meant to substitute a trip to the doctor or the advice of a specialist. It's good to talk; it is not good to avoid consulting someone who's profession it is to help you with this kind of stuff.

If you are in any way concerned about your sleep health, don't wait for an answer on here, and don't necessarily rely on them. See a sleep specialist in your area as soon as possible.

More Questions:

Ask | Answer

Sleep Resources

Ready to take your sleep game to the next level?

Track Your Own Sleep With Zeo Zeo - Personal Sleep Coach
Pro-grade personal sleep data
Essentials of Sleep Knowledge: A Free Book By William Dement Dr. Dement's Essentials
Free for joining our newsletter
Sleep Paralysis Treatment Book SP: A Dreamer's Guide
A breakthrough new e-book

Who We Are

Stanford Sleep & Dreams

Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.

Hover your mouse over this area for more about this site and its mission.

Or, you can learn more about the team behind EYSD here.

Please Note:

The information found on this page and throughout this site is intended for general information purposes only. While it may prove useful and empowering, it is NOT intended as a substitute for the expertise and judgments of healthcare practitioners.

For more info, see our
Terms of Use.