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By: Elizabeth Radisson
Urinating while asleep, or bedwetting, is common in children. It is messy and bothersome, but as it is unintentional, it is simply a sign of a growing body growing accustomed 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 sign of deeper troubles in a teenager or adolescent. What causes bedwetting? To understand the phenomenon, one has to know how the kidneys and their corresponding hormones work together. One particular hormone, the antidiuretic hormone, controls the body's release of water. The antidiuretic hormone participates in a hormone cycle that ensures that the bladder will not be full until the morning; this in turn ensures that a person will urinate upon awaking. This antidiuretic hormone cycle, however, is not completely operational in babies. It develops as children age; in some cases, it stabilizes by the end of puberty; in very rare cases, the cycle will not be established at all. These unusual scenarios are potential causes of adolescent bedwetting. Another means of controlling urination is through the brain itself, which, for its part, controls the body's capability to awaken before urination. In children, this is learned by the brain, as it becomes more and more aware of the body's hormone 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 may consider the following treatments. The first consideration in adolescent bedwetting is the body's incapacity to create the antidiuretic hormone cycle, or the brain's incapacity to recognize it. Physicians may recommend antidepressants such as Nortriptyline and Amitriptyline, both of which can treat bedwetting for 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 adolescent bedwetting is the brain's incapacity 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 nighttime gadget can aid adolescents 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 adolescent bedwetting. The third consideration may be the body's total incapacity to control bedwetting, which is relatively rare. In this case, health care professionals advise using diapers or pads, which will help reduce the discomfort associated with bedwetting. Although this lessens the shame, it will not stop bedwetting completely, and additional steps should be taken to eliminate the problem. The last consideration may be the brain's incapacity to control urination or recognize the antidiuretic hormone cycle due to psychological conditions. Such conditions may be brought about by stress; if this stress stems from physical or sexual abuse, your child may not want to talk to you about it. Psychiatric care and therapy is advised in such cases; though treatment may not directly target the problem of adolescent bedwetting, it may give you and your child closure on any problems that are brought to light. Teenage or adolescent bedwetting is a treatable disorder, and it requires both patience and consideration on the part of the concerned parent. If your teenager 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 teenager will bedwetting.
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Elizabeth Radisson is a contributor to www.OurGoodHealth.org OurGoodHealth provides information and resources about a variety of topics, such as bedwetting.
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