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Expert Q&A
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| By John Dorsey, M.D. Pediatrician | ||
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My almost 5-year-old wets the bed. Should he see a doctor or is this normal?
When a child under 5 years old wets the bed, it is still within the range of normal. You might want to mention it to your pediatrician on the next routine visit, but you certainly wouldn't have to make a special appointment for this specific issue.
In my practice, I wouldn't look into any treatments for primary nocturnal enuresis (the medical term for bedwetting) until after age 5 for a girl and about 5 for a boy. It is a common condition and I have seen statistics that say more than 5 million children up to and past age 6 go through periods of bedwetting.
Family history is another clue. We have found that if one of the parents wet the bed, their child has at least a 30 percent greater chance of wetting the bed. If both parents suffered from enuresis, the number jumps up to around 70 percent that their children will follow suit.
You can help your son start to overcome the condition by having him go to the bathroom before bed if possible and cutting out the caffeine and carbonated drinks, especially after dinner and just before bedtime.
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