Bedwetting Alarm

Video 1 & Video 2

Unconfirmed, controversial, or mixed causes

§ Heavy sleeping
Many parents report that their bedwetting children are heavy sleepers. Research in this area has produced some contradictory results. Studies show that children wet the bed during all phases of sleep, not just the deepest (stage four, or stages three and four). A recent study, however, showed that enuretic children were harder to wake up. Some literature does show a possible connection between sleep disorders and ADH production. Insufficient ADH might make it more difficult to transition from light sleep to being awake

§ Food allergies
For some patients, food allergies may be part of the cause. This link is not well established, requiring further research.

§ Improper toilet training
This is another disputed cause of bedwetting. This theory was more widely supported in the last century and is still cited by some authors today. Some say bedwetting can be caused by improper toilet training, either by starting the training when the child is too young or by being too forceful. Recent research has shown more mixed results and a connection to toilet training has not been proved or disproved.

§ Dandelions
Anecdotal reports and folk wisdom say children who handle dandelions can end up wetting the bed. Dandelions are reputed to be a potent diuretic. English folk names for the plant are "peebeds" and "pissabeds". In French dandelions are called pissenlit, which means "urinate in bed"; likewise "piscialletto", an Italian folkname, and "meacamas" in Spanish.