Children Grown Up: Adolescent Enuresis

Urinating while asleep, or bedwetting, is common in children. It is messy and upsetting, however since it is unintentional, it can only be a sign of a developing body growing adapted to sleeping without a diaper. Enuresis in teenagers and adolescents, though, may be worrisome for parents; it can be awkward for older children, and is considered a bodily symptom of deeper problems in a teenager or adolescent.

What causes bedwetting? To understand it, one has to understand how the kidneys and their corresponding hormones work together. One particular hormone, the antidiuretic hormone, controls the release of water in the body. This antidiuretic hormone is involved with a hormone cycle that prevents the bladder from filling before the morning; this in turn ensures that a person will urinate when he or she is awake.

However, this antidiuretic hormone cycle is not entirely operational in babies. It develops as children age; in a few cases, it stabilizes by the end of puberty; in extremely uncommon cases, the cycle is not established at all. These rare scenarios are a potential cause of adolescent bedwetting.

Another way to control urination is through the brain, which, for its part, controls the body's capability to wake before urination. In children, this is learned by the brain, as it becomes more and more aware of the body's hormonal cycles. This learning process, however, can be interrupted by certain factors such as emotional or physical stress. Such stress can be as mild as forcing children to urinate when they are not fully awake. Other contributing factors can be brutal, such as physical or sexual abuse.

If your teenager or adolescent wets his or her bed, you might want to consider one of the following treatments and therapies.

The first consideration in teenage nocturnal enuresis is the body's inability to create the antidiuretic hormone cycle, or the brain's inability to identify it. Your healthcare professional may recommend antidepressants such as Nortriptyline and Amitriptyline, both of which can treat bedwetting for up to three or four months.

Desmopressin, another common bedwettingmedicine, mimics the action of the antidiuretic hormone, and can be used when diagnosis points to poor hormonal development as the source of the bedwetting.

The second consideration when treating teenage nocturnal enuresis is the brain's inability to both recognize the antidiuretic hormone cycle, and to manage it with respect to time and sleep. To address this, psychiatrists recommend training machines such as the bedwetting alarm. This nocturnal gadget can help condition teenagers to wake up when they first feel moisture, and discover that they must urinate. Ideally, this will lead to the body finally being able to identify when the bladder is full, and can curb teenage nocturnal enuresis.

The third consideration could be the body's complete inability to control nocturnal enuresis, which is relatively rare. In this case, doctors advise using diapers or pads, which will help reduce the discomfort associated with nocturnal enuresis. Although this lessens the shame, it will not stop nocturnal enuresis completely, and additional measures should be taken to eliminate it.

The last consideration could be the brain's inability to control urination or identify the antidiuretic hormone cycle because of psychological conditions. Such conditions may be brought about by stress; if this stress is derived from physical or sexual abuse, your child may refuse to talk to you about it. Psychiatric care and therapy is recommended in these situations; although treatment may not directly target the problem of teenage nocturnal enuresis, it may give you and your child closure on any issues that are brought to light.

Teenage or adolescent nocturnal enuresis is a treatable disorder, and it needs both patience and consideration on the part of the concerned parent. If your adolescent is wetting his or her bed, take him or her to your healthcare professional, and have the problem diagnosed and treated. In no time, your adolescent will nocturnal enuresis.

Article Source: http://publisherscloninghouse.com

Elizabeth Radisson is an author and contributor to www.OurGoodHealth.org OurGoodHealth provides information and resources about a variety of topics, such as bedwetting.

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