Medical Causes of Bed-Wetting

Topic Overview

Medical conditions may cause a child to begin wetting the bed after a period of time in which he or she has had bladder control (secondary nocturnal enuresis).

Some medical conditions that may cause bed-wetting include:

• Diabetes, especially if the child is urinating more often than normal and/or is more thirsty than normal.
• Bladder or kidney infections (urinary tract infections), especially if the child is urinating more often than normal and/or complains of pain when urinating. The child may also have accidental wettings or may leak urine (have damp underpants) during the day.
• Constipation, especially if the child complains of abdominal (belly) pain and has large, hard stools or watery stool leaking from the bowel. Children who have stool less frequently than every 2 days may need to be checked for constipation.
• Bladder stones (calculi), especially if the child has a weak urine stream and complains of pain.
• Abnormal activity of the bladder muscle, especially if the child:
  • Urinates more often than normal (frequency).
  • Cannot hold urine when the urge to urinate occurs (urgency).
  • Has leakage of urine.
  • Has pain while urinating.
• Allergy to bubble bath or soap, especially in young girls. The symptoms may include belly pain, vaginal burning, and redness of the genital area.
• Infection of the vagina, especially if the girl has discharge from the vagina.
• Side effect of medicine.
• Seizures.