July Poll Results



Question: " When do you think kids and teens who wet the bed should see a
              doctor?"

    50 people voted. Their ages ranged from 7 to 58.   13 people who 
        voted were age 21 or over, 37 were 11-20 years old, 5 were 7-10 
        years old, and 5 did not give their age.  Votes were as follows:

    30 votes for: "If they are not dry by a certain age."   
        People voting felt that a child should see a doctor if the child has 
        not stopped wetting by age 4 to 21 years.   9 years old was 
        the average age at which people voting felt that a child should have 
        stopped wetting the bed or else see a doctor.

    14 votes for:: "If they tried an alarm and it didn't help."

    31 votes for: "Whenever the bedwetting starts to really bother the 
                     child or teen, or their parents."

    30 votes for: "If the child or teen has been dry for several years and 
                     then starts wetting again."

    40 votes for: "If the child or teen wets during the day."    

     5 votes for: "Never, because bedwetting is not a medical condition."

    31 said "Yes" to the question, "Have you ever talked to your doctor 
             about bedwetting?"

     5 had other ideas, such as:

Age 41: "I believe that bedwetting is something that most doctors can't help with, You should diaper the child and learn to live with it."

Age 17: "mother and father both wet the bed and had too sleep on a rubbersheet also"

Age 15: "Put on disposable diapers, kids & teen's can wear them until the age of 18. They get used to wear them after about 6 month's."

Age 14: "Lots of wetting problems are medical. Mine is cause i have a bad valve in my bladder. They want to wait till im grown up to see if it'll correct itself, but if not they can operate."

Age 10: " it is scary to see the doctor about wetting the bed but you have to check for doctor type problems."

In summary, 3 out of 5 people voting feel that kids and teens who wet the bed should see a doctor if: 1) They are not dry by about 9 years of age, or 2) Have been dry for several years and then start wetting again, or 3) Whenever the bedwetting starts to really bother either the child or teen, or their parents.  Four out of 5 people voting felt that kids and teens should see a doctor if they wet during the day.

If a child or teen has been dry for several years and then starts wetting again, this may be caused by diabetes, a bladder infection, sleep apnea, or bladder nerve problems.  It is therefore a good idea to have the child seen by a doctor.  Wetting during the day can be caused by an infection or an unstable bladder, so it is also a good idea for daytime wetters to be seen by a doctor.  There are medications, like Ditropan, that can help an unstable bladder.  A "Pediatric Urologist" is a doctor who treats children and teens with bladder problems.

Bedwetting can seriously affect a child's or teen's self-esteem and even permanently affect personality development.  Bedwetting also impacts on family life.  Therefore, many doctors now recommend that bedwetting be treated at any age, as soon as it starts to really bother either the child/teen or the parents.