One in 50 teenagers still wet the bed

One in 50 teenagers still wet the bed and almost half of 19 year-olds who have the problem are wetting the bed every night, according to research published in the May issue of the urology journal BJUI International.

Professor Chung K Yeung from the Chinese University of Hong Kong teamed up with colleagues from the Prince of Wales Hospital to analyse the results of more than 16,500 questionnaires surveying children aged from five to 19.

He hopes that his findings will reassure parents of children with mild bed wetting problems, but stress the importance of seeking advice in severe cases, which can often be caused by underlying medical problems and continue into adulthood.

512 children – just over three per cent of those surveyed – reported night-time bedwetting and one in five of those also had daytime incontinence. 302 were boys and 210 were girls.

The researchers found that although bed wetting was less common as children got older, the percentage reporting severe problems increased with age.

Children and adolescents who wet the bed at night also showed a similar pattern when it came to daytime incontinence, with a higher percentage of problems reported in older age groups.

When the researchers looked in detail at the 512 children with bed wetting problems they found that:

* Mild bed wetting was much worse among younger children, with 58 per cent of five to ten year-olds and 18 per cent of 11-19 year-olds wetting the bed less than three times a week.

* But older children reported a higher level of severe problems, with 82 per cent of 11-19 year-olds wetting the bed more than three times a week, compared with 42 per cent of five to ten year-olds.

* Just over 16 per cent of five year-olds wet the bed, with boys (21 per cent) having almost twice as many problems as girls (11 per cent).

* By the age of 19, three per cent of boys and two per cent of girls were still wetting the bed.

* Just under a third of 11-19 year-old boys (32 per cent) also experienced daytime incontinence, almost double the 15 per cent recorded in the under ten age group.

* The figures for girls were lower but showed a similar trend, at 25.5 per cent for 11-19 year-olds and 12 per cent for girls under ten.

* Overall, 29 per cent of children aged 11-19 experienced daytime incontinence, compared with 14 cent of under tens.

“Bed wetting showed a general reduction as children got older” says Professor Yeung, who is also President of the International Children’s Continence Society. “However, this reduction was much greater in those with mild symptoms who wet the bed three or less times a week, compared to those with severe problems who were wetting the bed every night.

“Just over 14 per cent of five year-olds who wet the bed did so seven nights a week. By the age of 19, severe bed wetting accounted for over 48 per cent of teenagers who were still wetting the bed.”

21,000 questionnaires were distributed to 67 schools, with a greater emphasis on children over ten, and just under 79 per cent were returned by parents and children.

The average age of respondents was just under 14 and the largest number of responses were from teenagers aged 16-18. 24 per cent of the questionnaires concerned children under ten.

“Our findings challenge the myth that bedwetting will always get better and disappear as the child gets older” says Professor Yeung.

“In 2004 we published findings of a previous study in BJU International that showed that adults showed no significant decrease in bed wetting problems from the age of 10 to 40.

“These latest findings underline the importance of seeking help for children with severe bed wetting problems, especially if they continue into adolescence. If these individuals are left untreated, the evidence suggests that they will continue to experience ongoing problems when they become adults.”

From Blackwell Publishing


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653 thoughts on “One in 50 teenagers still wet the bed”

  1. I’m a 16 year old female and I still wet the bed most nights. I dont know what I would do without my two bestfriends, they arethe only people outside of my family who know. They understand that I can’t help it. When I first told them I was afraid that they wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore, but they didn’t even care. I have only ever had a sleepover with these two. Everybody needs a friend that they can talk to, and to trust. And I’m just lucky I have these ones :)

  2. My name is Jane and I am 15. Evevery friday and saturday night I am on disco. Mostly I am getting so drunk, that I have to throw up, and I am wetting my pants and my bed several times. And the boys can do with me what they want to. I was 11 when I first time had sex with a man. He was 58, but I didn’t care. I wanted to do that. [email protected]

  3. HELP! i am 15 and just started wetting the bed.my mom laid a bombshell on me that i am going to wear cloth diapers and plastic pants to bed every night for as long as i have the problem.i told her no way! that i will wear goodnites or pullups and she said they are too much money and she doesnt to have them in the trash and the the cloth diapers and plastic pants are washable and eco friendly.she then told me its either the cloth diapers and ‘rubberpants’ or nothing and that i have to change my own sheets and wake up in a smelly bed.i am beside my self and dont know what to do.i dread having to wear the cloth diapers and plastic pants,but dont want to have to change my sheets! any advice?

    • I am 38 (I am a mom myself) and I used to wet the bed even through my teenage years. i remember the embarrassment. my advice to you is:
      since your mom does not seem to like the cleaning up afterwords, you will need to help with that so you don’t have to wear plastic pants. one solution is to buy a mattress pad that will protect the mattress, the sheets will still have to be laundered so that is were you come in and help. here is a link to a mattress pad that can do the job of protecting the mattress, its cheap, washer & dryer safe, got good reviews and hopefully will be a good solution for you. copy and paste this link in the address bar.
      http://www.bedwettingstore.com/Bedding/anchorband.htm

      Good Luck…

    • Annalea,I do not know what you have been told,but having a problem such as this,it is hard for many others to not understand that it is not your fault.
      Our society has always had a fear of discussing undergarments of any kind,and rubber/plastic pants the worst,yet they are the ones most used for all ages of people with anything from minor leakage problems to full day and night time wetting.
      look on the bright side Annalea,you only need them at night,many must wear them 24/7.
      As your mom pointed out,they are much more environmental than disposables and much easier to keep hidden.
      I fyou have any questions or just someone to talk to,please feel free to contact me.
      John

  4. At night before sleeping take 1 walnut seeds and 5 gram of raisin daily…after one week the effect can be seen. Try this out.

  5. daily take 1 dried date fruit before sleeping and have water. It will remove the problem of spoiling the bed. Fresh date fruit would not help but the “dried” one only.

    Date fruit

    Perichampazham in tamizh

    chuara in hindi.

  6. To stop frequent urination, there are so many ways, one natural way..

    take 150 gram of jaggary, put little water into it keep the vessel on fire boil it, filt the water boil again make it little bit thicker, sticky and into it 100 gram of crushed black sesame seeds, mix it thoroughly and make small balls like small lemon sized, have it one in the morning and one in the evening. Children can take one ball in a day. It will reduce the problem of frequent urination.

    For bed wetting, take daily at night before sleeping two black raisin dried. It would reduce the heat of the body. Continue taking this dried black raisin, remove the seeds inside. Best of luck.

  7. i’m 17 and still bedwetting….the thought of it fils me with shame…..i hate that this happens to me i wish i could stop, i’m always very cautious about everything because of this its really very embarrasing….please i would like advice on how to stop

  8. My best friend Ayden is 14 now. He’s wet the bed his whole life, once he was 8 his mom abused him horribly when he wet, once he was twelve and still wet she abused him worse and humiliated him. My family took him in and adopted him. I’ve comforted him whenever he has an accident(which is day and night) but he calls himself a baby and beats himself up whenever he wets the diapers my mother bought for him. Does anyone know what I can do to let him know we all love him and don’t care that he still wets?

  9. i desparetly need help! i am 15 and a bedwetter.i am going to be in my cousins wedding in september as her junior bride.my mom told me in no uncertain terms that i AM going to wear one of my bedwetting diapers and plastic pants under my dress for the entire time.when i asked her why she told me its in case i get nervous or something happens that causes me to wet.i told her i dont want to wear them but she is adamant about it.i dread walking down the aisle with a diaper and plastic pants on under my dress! can any one give me some advice?

    • candi, dont feel bad,i am 15 and finially made my first communion last may and i had to wear a cloth diaper and plastic pants under my communion dress.my parents required me to wear them because i was in the class with the little kids and they wanted me to be like the little girls.i had to wear lace socks and patent leather shoes and the plastic pants crinkled under my dress and it was embarrassing walking down the aisle.

  10. hi im a 14 year oold girl and i am still wetting the bed i feel so embarrased when it happens i just want it to all stop, but how do i make it stop? my parents dont know and i want it to stay like that but my yonger sister does know and she makes fun of me making me feel worse HELP!!!!!

    • Hey Jess!

      Listen- I know you don’t want mom and dad to know of your bed wetting- but….They may be able to help you find out why you do it and get some medicine and alarm to wake you in the night to remind you to Go, or just let you know that all will be OK down the road. You are not the only one with this problem, some people have this their whole life. A suggestion I will mak is not to drink anything after 6:30 pm and to go try to pee before bed. Set an alarm clock to wake you 1-2 times during the night to go to the bathroom and at least try to pee. I think once you train your body and are not drinking alot before bed- it could help. Good Luck Hun! and PLEASE- talk to mom or dad about this. Ok? God Bless! :)

  11. hi, im 17 and i still have problems with bed wetting. ive been trying to find out ways to stop, but nothing seems to work. i wetted the bed jus last night, and i could feel but shame for myself. i felt like its my fault for why it keeps happening. i get nightmares and thoughts of my laife being destroyed just from this problem alone. I WANT IT TO STOP!!!! i want to tell my mom or my doctor about it, but i dont know how they will respond to it( well my mom that is). i want some answers as to why im still bedwetting, and if there is any help that i can get i would love to know. besides i dont want to grow up with this problem, i want to enjoy and like my life without the stress or worries that this problem will re occur. i think part of the reason is because i dream that im in the bathroom or something. is my mind the reason why i wet the bed? or is it simply because i have bladder issues?

  12. hi, i just started wetting the bed due to some emotional problems two weeks ago and i am wearing cloth diapers and plastic pants to bed every night.my parents told me thats what i had to wear.can anyone tell me how i can get over feeling like a baby with them on ot bedtime?

    • neurobion tablet is good for nerves. Dried fig fruit can be taken daily. soak 4 or 5 in water before sleeping and have it in the morning alongwith the water in which the figs are soaked. Soup of vegetables with pepper powder is good. pepper can remove the weakness of nerves. Pomegranate juice mixed with honey is also good. Food full of vitamin-B should be taken.

  13. My best friend Ayden is 14 now. He’s wet the bed his whole life, once he was 8 his mom abused him horribly when he wet, once he was twelve and still wet she abused him worse and humiliated him. My family took him in and adopted him. I’ve comforted him whenever he has an accident(which is day and night) but he calls himself a baby and beats himself up whenever he wets the diapers my mother bought for him. Does anyone know what I can do to let him know we all love him and don’t care that he still wets?

  14. I’m 17 and I still wet the bed. It is an occasional problem though, but when it happens, I still get pissed. Sometimes I can go like 3 mo. w/o wetting the bed and then it might happen once every 2-3 weeks. I am a very deep sleeper and I have been realizing that I be having dreams of people taking a piss and that is when it usually happens. Luckily it doesn’t happen every night but it would be nice if there is a way I can make it stop on my own. My parents do not know I still wet the bed and I would like to keep it that way. I ALWAYS take a piss right before I go to bed, but no matter how dry I might be when I go to sleep, I can still have that problem, like this morning for example. I woke up, it was around 4:30 am to turn off my TV, I was dry then. I finally woke up around 7:50 and realized I was wet. I want to break this about, even though it is an occasional issue. I do not want to go off to college with this issue. Please if anyone has any suggestions, it would go a long way!

    • I experience the same thing you do. Im 16 Male, and i have the same issue, im a deep sleeper, and every month or so, i’ll Piss the bed. I just want to let you know your not the only one out there. Someday, someone will have the answer for people like us.;

  15. i wet my bed i am 15 and i just don’t worry about it now i do have emotion brake down during school bout like once a week

  16. In my view, There are several reasons that it happens with the children. first the marriage within the relatives that is found very specially in Sub Continent. Second these children or adults have less confidence than normal adults. they alwasy fear to do anything. they get maturity late mentally.
    I think still we just can use bed wetting alarms that can be beneficial because still no discovery has been made regarding bed wetting specially.

  17. Im going to be 21 years old. There are weeks where i wet the bed every night, and then there are a few days that i dont. It sucks, and is so embarrassing. I dont eat or drink past a certain time, and i make sure i use the bathroom. Also there are times where i work 4am-11am, then go home and sleep untill maybe 3 and i happen to wet the bed. I really have no idea what to do.

    • Hey Erin,

      I know exactly how you feel! I’m 26 and wet my bed almost every night too! If you’d like to chat email me. robkesack @ gmail . com

    • Hey Erin,

      I’m 18 almost 19, and I still wet the bed.. It is very embarrasssing. Iv had sleepiness and it’s happened in their bed which is the most embarrassing thing I can think of. They say it’s okay, but I’m so old. I want it to stop, I can have a night where I wet the bed a tiny bit, it just stays in my pjs, and some nights where I wake up in a massive puddle. And I’m scared for when my boyfriend finds out, I know he’s very understanding.. And I know he hopefully won’t leave me for it.. But I hope he finds out once we are dating for a loooooong time. But for now, I just use the washroom every day before I go to bed. And I make sure I go to sleep right after I go pee. Cause if I wait an hour or more I’ll wet the bed. But feel free to email me. [email protected]

  18. I am a teenager 15 soon will be 16, and I wet the bed sometimes I can go a long period of time w/o wetting the bed but then it happens again. Alot of times I dont even drink late, I try to stop drinking by a certain time but even then I still wet the bed. It’s really embarassing especially when I have family gatherings and I spend the night and wet the bed. I am not lazy, I actually care and want it to stop. Does anyone know ANYTHING I can possibly do to make this not happen ? Ive even go to bed before I go to sleep, but alot of times when I try to wake myself up I cant do it I really want an answer someone please help me, Im desperate this is extrememly embarassing !

  19. my best friend is wetting the bed, and he is 16. he says he can deal with it, but i can tell its hurting him inside. i told him at week 7 that by week 9 he should tell his mom, but hes afraid that his mom will yell at him and disown him. it is currently week 12 for him and it has gotten progressively worse! and is still afraid to tell his mom! i am the only one hes told and i am doing research on whether or not its normal. is there anything i can do to help him in this, or do i just watch and let it happen? someone please contact me on facebook.

    http://www.facebook.com/Parrot#!/profile.php?id=100001624806904

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