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Introduction

Enuresis is the involuntary discharge of urine by day or night in a child of 5 years or over. This most commonly occurs at night and is referred to as ‘nocturnal enuresis’. It is a very common problem. There is a wide variation between individuals in how quickly bladder control is gained.

This is a very common problem, which improves with age.

The development of good bladder control is a complex process and the child often has little control over many aspects of this. We know that it is very common in some families and not in others. It is extremely rare for the child to be ‘doing it on purpose’. We do however need to enlist the help of the child in solving the problem and occasionally we will delay interventions until the child is mature enough to assist the management.

We hope to

·       ensure there are no underlying medical problems, such as

-      constipation,

-      urine infections,

-      other problems (rare).

·       assess for day-time wetting (including urgency and frequency),

·       ensure a positive attitude to the problem,

·       minimise night-time urine production,

·       ensure efficient bladder emptying,

·       speed-up normal development of night-time bladder control.