Primary Nocturnal Enuresis

Primary Nocturnal Enuresis General Information

Primary Nocturnal Enuresis (or PNE), the medical term of a common disorder known as bedwetting is not considered actually a medical condition. This problem is seen more as a matter of normal development and growth of a child. Bedwetting is the involuntary urination during the sleep after the age at which the control of the bladder (the cavity where the urine is stored) is supposed to be done mentally. Actually, PNE means that a child is not yet able to stay dry on a regular basis. There is another form of bedwetting, the secondary nocturnal enuresis, when an adult or a child begins to wet the bed again after he/she has managed to stay dry. Primary Nocturnal Enuresis is a very common pediatric health issue and reflects the fact that someone has wet the bed since he/she was a baby. A girl stays dry by the age of five or six, while boys keep wetting the bed until they reach seven or eight years old. By the age of ten, more than 97% of children do not wet their bed during the night sleep. Bedwetting can affect adults too; about 0.7 to 3% of adults wet their bed. Usually, Primary Nocturnal Enuresis is caused by delayed development and it is very frequently associated with a family history of this medical disorder. In only 4 to 8% of the cases of bedwetting the causes are represented by certain medical conditions.

Primary Nocturnal Enuresis Symptoms

Primary Nocturnal Enuresis is not seen exactly as a medical disorder and this is why it does not present specific signs and symptoms. We will try to familiarize you with this disorder by presenting some of its particular manifestations. You must have in mind that the list that we made does not contain all the possible symptoms because there are cases when the patients present unique and personal symptoms, depending on how their organism reacts to the disease. If you want to know more about Primary Nocturnal Enuresis we advise you to look for specialized medical guidance, for example your health care provider. The disease is defined as involuntary urination during the night sleep after the age of seven years. It is usually transmitted from parents to children, being more common among boys. If a child who suffers from Primary Nocturnal Enuresis experiences other irregularities of his behavior (continuous crying, bad mood etc) or complains of pain during urination, increased thirst or sudden intense necessity to urinate, then the disease itself may be a symptom of some other medical conditions. If your child presents any of these symptoms, you should call your healthy care provider and ask him/her to evaluate your child’s health status. For children who have never managed to control their bladder during the night sleep for more than three months, dealing with this medical disorder is more a matter of normal development and growth. As you have probably noticed, the symptoms are common and may indicate the presence of other similar disorders.

Primary Nocturnal Enuresis Treatment

If you observe that your child experiences any of the signs and symptoms describing Primary Nocturnal Enuresis that we have listed above, then we strongly advise you to seek for immediate medical attention. In some cases, this disorder may resolve on its own but only if it has developmental and growth causes. If other medical conditions lead to the appearance of this problem, then an immediate treatment is needed. It is important for your child’s general health status that the health care provider is informed about his medical history and as well about the family history in these types of medical disorders. Tell your doctor if your child is under some prescriptions or he/she is allergic to any medicine or other special issues that he must know about his patient. As mentioned before, Primary Nocturnal Enuresis can be inherited by a child from his parents if at least one of them has been confronted with this medical condition. Ask your doctor to inform you as much as possible about your child’s problem so that you know how to manage it at home. Discuss with the doctor about the sleep patterns, stressful situations that may lead to the development of this disorder, bowel habits or urinary problems, for example pain felt during urination, urgent need to urinate or sensations of burning when pee. The medical examination must be done carefully so that the health care provider rules out other possible medical problems that lead to bedwetting during the night sleep.

The first test that your health care provider may want to do is a urine culture and urinalysis. Although these results prove to be absolutely normal in patients with Primary Nocturnal Enuresis, the doctor is obliged to do it so that he can eliminate other possible medical disorders. Depending on what caused the bedwetting, the doctors will perform certain procedures to treat it. If the underlying cause is represented by another illness, a fact that is very rare, the specialist will treat it as soon as possible. Usually, in most cases, if the physical exams and medical history do not suggest other medical issues and if the lab tests are negative, the causes are considered to be behavioral. In this case a specialist will try some behavioral approaches as a treatment for Primary Nocturnal Enuresis. If a person is diagnosed with this medical problem, then he/she should try to avoid filling their bladder before bedtime. They are advised to decrease the quantities of fluids they consume before the night sleep. Also, you should try going to the toilet before going to bed in order to reduce the chances of wetting your bed. Some foods that irritate the bladder must be avoided during the evening meal, for example sodas, chocolate, coffee, or other similar carbonated beverages that also contain caffeine. Primary Nocturnal Enuresis can be treated with medicines although this therapy does not always give positive results and if the medication is stopped, the problem may recur. The only medicine approved is Desmopressin Acetate.