The term is generally used for bed-wetting also and should not be confounded with polyuria (Production of large volumes of urine which is quite dilute and of (light) pale colour). Enuresis is a. condition that is common to bed-wetting of children at night and may extend upto teenage but may occur (though rarely) in old and aged persons who, like children, also lose control of bladder activity. The condition may occur to ladies who have borne many children and have also crossed 50th year of age. All said and done, all cases of ‘bed-wetting’ should not be taken as of enuresis be-cause, in many cases, urine may spurt out due to laugh, fright, sneezing coughing also.
Causes
– Excessive intake of water or other liquids at night, before retiring to bed.
– People who live mostly (if not always) on liquid diet.
– Not voiding the bladder before retiring to the bed.
– It may simply be a matter of habit only.
– Suppressing desire to urinate for long time.
– Not attending to the calls of nature.
– Degenerative changes in the spinal cord. Management (Non-medical)
– Do not take any liquid – at least two hours prior to the time of retiring to bed.
– Void urine/bladder immediately before one retires to bed.
– If the condition occurs during winter alone, take something hot (not liquid) before retiring to bed.
– Keep the back, pubic region and sides fully covered with some cotton sheet or blanket.
– Do not take any medicine to control the symptom, rather adhere to supportive measures only.
Treatment
No treatment is called for curing the malady, except observing and complying with measures, stated above, be tried. In children, fright or some psychic factor is sufficient to trigger this complaint. A few cases have been seen where urine spurts out in children due to bashing, threat of reprimand by elder members, teachers, parents etc. This condition can be normalised if the elders and more dominating persons adopt a caring, sympathetic and conciliatory approach by reassuring the child by taking away his sense of fear psychosis.