Causes of Bedwetting (Enuresis)

Bedwetting is the failure of the body to waken when the bladder signals to the brain that it is full and is releasing accumulated urine.

Contributing factors include:

• Deep sleeping - when a person has difficulty waking from sleep the signal to the brain may not be emphatic enough to cause the person to wake. However, the signal may be strong enough to cause the person to seek a bathroom in his or her dreams. Once "found" the bladder may be almost "consciously" released.
• Stress is more a factor in adults, but may also affect children.
• There may be problems with the central nervous system. In older adults this can be a part of aging. However, in children this is usually caused by slower than normal development of the central nervous system. Often children will grow out of this phase.
• In most people an "antidiuretic hormone" called "arginine vasopressin"¹ is produced at night, during sleep, that slows the amount of urine production. When insufficient amounts of this hormone are produced, urine builds up more quickly in the bladder.
• Urinary tract infections can be a problem for all ages, causing the bladder not to function normally.
• In boys, there can be abnormal development of the urethral valves. The problem could be the ureter in girls or boys.
• Abnormalities in the spinal cord can prevent the appropriate signals from the bladder to the brain.
• A small bladder makes more frequent runs to the bathroom more necessary, and thus more often ignored by the brain.
• Genetics is involved in many of the above factors. It is well known that bedwetting tends to run in families, especially considering developmental factors in children.

Knowing specific causes can be helpful in determining solutions to the problem of bedwetting. Solving the root problem often ends the enuresis.

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1. Antidiuretic Hormone (Vasopressin)