No secondary bedwetting does not mean that another person comes and pees on the same spot where you went earlier.
If a child was potty trained and has successfully not bed wetted for six months or more before they started having issues with nocturnal enuresis, that is called secondary bedwetting. About 8 percent of children develop this issue by the age of 10. About 25 percent of children with night-time bedwetting issues have secondary nocturnal enuresis (SNE).
What’s interesting about SNE is that nearly half of the kids with SNE have parents who also had SNE.
The causes of secondary bedwetting or SNE aren’t always known, but some of the potential reasons are:
- Deep Sleepers – Some kids start to sleep deeply and simply don’t wake up when their bladder is full until they start urinating. Some kids sleep so hard they don’t wake up even if they urinate. For deep sleepers, a night-time moisture alarm can really help.
- Sleep Apnea – You might not realize it, but kids can get sleep apnea too. If your child snores or has large adenoids, and issues like that, the lack of sleep can cause extra deep sleep when they finally can sleep. This can lead to SNE.
- Bladder Issues – If your child has an unusually small bladder, they can’t keep it from escaping while sleeping because it won’t even hold a normal amount of urine. This is when some of the urine-limiting medications can work.
- Medical Conditions – Constipation, infections, and diabetes can all contribute to issues with night-time bedwetting, especially SNE. If your child has problems with any of these medical conditions and starts bedwetting, that may be a clue.
- Psychological Stress – Children take things so much more seriously than they need to, but they don’t understand the world as we do. Keep the lines of communication open with your child regarding divorce, bullying, and other issues that might be affecting them.
- Hormonal Issues – If your child’s body isn’t making enough antidiuretic hormone (ADH), it can lead to an overproduction of urine. If your child has a large volume of urine every night, this may be a way to help them through medication.
- Genetics – There are genetic markers that have been identified as the genes that cause enuresis, but we still don’t know why they do. For the most part, SNE is totally benign, and the only reason to be concerned is how it affects the child’s emotional state and wellbeing.
Any time your child starts bedwetting after being fully trained for at least six months, a doctor visit is in order. They’ll start with a urine test to rule out a UTI and then move forward with various tests to determine the issue.
When dealing with SNE, it’s important to take your child to get a physical and a check-up with a doctor that is qualified to deal with bladder issues. While many times there are no bedwetting problems that can be treated with medications, it’s more likely that it is something that can be treated when it’s SNE than when it’s primary enuresis.
