What is enuresis? Enuresis (say "en-yur-ee-sis") is the medical
term for bed-wetting during sleep. Bed-wetting is fairly common
among children and is often just a stage in their development.
Bed-wetting is more common among boys than girls. What causes
bed-wetting? A number of things can cause bed-wetting. Some of
the more common causes of bed-wetting include the following: -
Genetic factors (it tends to run in families) - Difficulties
waking up from sleep - Slower than normal development of the
central nervous system (which reduces the child's ability to
stop the bladder from emptying at night) - Hormonal factors (not
enough antidiuretic hormone is produced, which is the hormone
that slows urine production at night) - Urinary tract infections
- Abnormalities in the urethral valves in boys or in the ureter
in girls or boys - Abnormalities in the spinal cord - A small
bladder Bed-wetting is not a mental or behavior problem. It
doesn't happen because the child is too lazy to get out of bed
to go to the bathroom