NSW: Bedwetting not just a childhood problem
By Kim Arlington
SYDNEY, Dec 18 AAP - While most people think of bedwetting as an early childhood problem,statistics show it can continue to plague sufferers even into adolescence.
Figures from the Continence Foundation of Australia show around one child in 15 regularlywets their bed at the age of seven.
By the first year of high school, around one in 30 is still wetting the bed twice aweek, a figure which drops to around one in 60 by age 15.
A Sydney paediatrician today urged parents to seek medical help for their child ifregular bedwetting continued beyond the age of six.
Dr David Lillystone, a paediatrician at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital in Sydney's north,today outlined the treatments available to sufferers.
He said many parents never sought treatment for their child's bedwetting, thinkingthey had no option but to "wait years and years for nature to take its course".
Dr Lillystone said bedwetting was often caused by deficiencies in the hormone desmopressin,which concentrates urine in the bladder.
The deficiency results in large amounts of urine being produced, a problem exacerbatedbecause many children had trouble waking up at night in response to a full bladder.
Dr Lillystone said the nasal spray Minirin, which contains synthetic desmopressin,was one treatment that could help stop bedwetting.
He said the issue was particularly worrying for children during the holidays, whentheir friends were going to camps or sleepovers.
They were anxious about spending the night away from home in case their secret wasdiscovered, he said.
"They don't want anybody to know about this problem," Dr Lillystone said.
"They shouldn't have to limit their lifestyle because they're worried about wettingthe bed when they're away from home."
Continence Foundation of Australia spokeswoman Anne Haag said bedwetting could be "quitedevastating", and could damage the child's self-esteem if left untreated.
"Bedwetting is extremely distressing for both the parents and the child, especiallyif it goes on for a few years," Ms Haag said.
She said it was "an absolute myth" that bedwetting was caused by social immaturityor emotional upsets.
It was "simply a matter of hardware", with the right messages failing to get throughfrom the child's brain in response to a full bladder.
Ms Haag said while some children would grow out of bedwetting naturally, the best thingto do was seek professional help to treat the problem.
AAP ka/nf/cjh/de
KEYWORD: BEDWETTING
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