Build a team
There are many people in your child’s life that can help ensure that bedwetting is a solvable and un-stressful problem:
- Teachers: You do not need to tell your teachers about your child’s bedwetting, but you should be in contact with your child’s instructors to make sure that your child’s grades or social development is not suffering. An alert teacher can also often be your first alert of bullying or teasing that is taking place.
- Pediatrician: Your child’s doctor should be one of your first stops when bedwetting becomes a problem, as your child’s pediatrician can run tests to determine whether there are any physical or underlying causes behind the bedwetting.
- Therapists/Child Psychologists: If your child’s grades, self-esteem, or social skills are affected by bedwetting, you may need to help your child develop a team of emotional support. Therapists and others can discuss your child’s feelings with him or her and can help your child develop coping strategies for teasing and other problems.
- Pediatric nephrologist or urologist (kidney or urinary system specialist): In some children, a medical problem such as a badly working urinary sphincter can cause bedwetting. Kidney specialists and urologists can tell you whether your child’s urinary system is fine or whether there is some underlying medical problem or physical problem behind the bedwetting.
If bedwetting persists very late (such as into adolescence) or is a nightly problem even by age eight or so, medical or physical reasons should be explored very carefully as they are a likely culprit.
Work with your team
You should choose the specialists who work with your child carefully, choosing those who seem to see the problem in the same light as you, and choosing those whose treatment options agree with you. When looking for health care professionals to treat your child’s bedwetting, you will also want professionals who listen to you and your concerns.
Once you have found a team you trust, however, it is just as important that you work effectively with them. This means following instructions to the letter (asking for clarification when needed) and being very frank about other treatments you are using and about which treatments seem to be working and which do not.
Do Your Own Research
While a doctor can be very useful in helping you deal with your child’s bedwetting, health care workers today are busier than ever and no one doctor can keep up with all the research and new information coming out each day. You may want to contact organizations such as the National Kidney Foundation or the American Academy of Pediatrics for more resources and then raise the information you find with your doctor.
You can contact some key resources about bedwetting yourself:
•The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides lots of useful information, and pamphlets about a variety of conditions, including bedwetting…
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
141 Northwest Point Boulevard
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007_1098
Phone: (847) 434_4000
Fax: (847) 434_8000
Alternative address:
The American Academy of Pediatrics
Department of Federal Affairs
601 13th Street, NW
Suite 400 North
Washington, DC 20005 USA
Phone: (202) 347_8600
Fax: (202) 393_6137
Email: kidsdocs@aap.org
Web Address: http://www.aap.org
•The PottyMD is a great resource about toilet training and bedwetting. Since this groups focuses only on this problem, you are sure to get information that is pertinent to the topic. Many parents swear by this resource.
PottyMD
2216 White Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37916
Phone: 1_877_POTTYMD (768_8963)
Web Address: www.pottymd.com
•The National Kidney Foundation has recently launched a number of resources about bedwetting. Their website has lots of information and even video clips about the subject. Plus, if your child’s bedwetting is caused by a kidney problem, this group can help you get information on that issue, as well.
National Kidney Foundation
30 East 33rd St., Suite 1100
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 1_800_622_9010
Web Address: www.kidney.org
•The National Kidney and Urologic Disease Information Clearinghouse provides all sorts of information about conditions that affect the kidneys and urinary system. Not surprisingly, they have several resources just about bedwetting.
National Kidney and Urologic Disease Information Clearinghouse
3 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892_3580
Phone: 1_800_891_5390
Web Address: www.kidney.niddk.nih.gov
•The Bedwetting Store carries a large selection of items relating to bedwetting. If you want to know about the latest items and devices that can help your child, consult this large online selection.
The Bedwetting Store
Phone: 1_800_214_9605
Web Address: www.bedwettingstore.com
•The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry helps in distributing information about childhood psychiatry. It can be a useful resource if your child experiences undue upset because of bedwetting or if your child is experiencing secondary Enuresis caused by emotional trauma and needs treatment to overcome the problem.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Web Address: http://www.aacap.org
