Emma Howard: Hello, I am Emma Howard and I am joined by Dr. Su Laurent, who is a consultant pediatrician in Barnet Hospital in Hertfordshire. Hello, Su.
Dr. Su Laurent: Hello Emma.
Emma Howard: Got a question here about bed-wetting. Lots of parents will be interested in this answer. This question is from the parent with 5-year old, who is still wetting the bed, should I be worried they say and what should I do?
Dr. Su Laurent: I think the first thing to say is it’s very common for 5-years old to wet the bed, it is actually normal and most treatments for bed wetting, we don’t even start to the child of 7 because it is such a common and normal thing and at this stage the important thing is to make sure you are not giving your child lots of fizzy drinks because caffeine makes them wee more and if they wee more, they can be having fizzy drinks later on, the less likely to have bladder control at night. Make sure you are giving your child plenty of drinks during the day because getting good bladder control during the day be able to fill the bladder empty it regularly, it’s going to be helpful for the bladder control at night.
Emma Howard: So, training too much.
Dr. Su Laurent: Training it and don’t penalize them for wetting the bed, it’s not their fault.
Emma Howard: Do you have a cut-off point giving no drinks after 6’o clock or something like that?
Dr. Su Laurent: No, you should not, isn’t a particularly good idea and it is easy best to give them the normal drink pattern as long as they not giving caffeinated drinks to their children.
Emma Howard: And any other advice apart from not penalizing because shaming is a really bad thing to do for children,
Dr. Su Laurent: Shaming is a really bad thing to do because most of these children can’t habituated to look to your own family I would say, it’s very common if bed-wetting in parent, you also find that the parents who bed wet to live quite old.
Emma Howard: I know sometimes your own parents can’t remember what you did is a --
Dr. Su Laurent: They can’t remember or they have never told you but it is quite interesting and it is slightly common in boys and girls.
Emma Howard: Because I have seen those pants in the super market for children to wear protective pants at night and for boys they gave up to the age of sort of 7-9, its really nice to see it there so everyone know its is quite a common problem.
Dr. Su Laurent: It is a very common problem.
Emma Howard: And for girls too I know but also most like boys and there is a website and a helpline people for --
Dr. Su Laurent: Yes and I think this should be the first protocol for everybody, it’s called the Atmospheric Research and Information Centre or ARIC for shorts.
Emma Howard: Yeah, ARIC is easier to remember.
Dr. Su Laurent: Exactly, so go to their website or and you will get their number as well and they will send you information and I find it very helpful.
Emma Howard: Great advice Su, thank you very much and if you have a similar problem we hope we might have given you some help, but remember its always best to go and see your own doctor for medical advice. Thanks for watching, we will be back with more health questions and answers.
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