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sxc.hu | author: Carla Peroni
Bed-wetting, or Nocturnal Enuresis, is a nuisance when parents are starting to potty train. But for many families this inconvenience stretches for many more years. As bed-wetting children age it becomes even more apparent to them that there is something wrong.
There is a shame that runs deep among those that grew up with plastic mattress covers and a second set of spare sheets already underneath them. It is a secret society of members that hold on to their anonymity for life. As adults they remember sleep over parties and vacations that were always wrought with anxiety. A bed-wetter knows when they to go to sleep that more than likely they will awaken hours later wet and embarrassed, and it is completely out of their control. Or is it?
This subject is of utmost importance to me because I myself was a chronic bed-wetter as a child until I was over six years-old. In my case I had a congenital urinary condition that was corrected by surgery at six. Surprisingly, it did not immediately correct the nocturnal enuresis. That continued, with less frequency, until I was nearly nine years old. I can firmly remember wetting myself at a sleepover and having to ask my girlfriend’s mother to help me get fresh sheets. I was in the third grade.
Bed-wetting was common in my family, and I was always reminded that older relatives had also suffered. Eventually I was told it would cease and it did.
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Thirty years later, soon after my son was potty-trained, he began nightly bed-wetting episodes. To alleviate his distress we got into the habit of night-lifting him to urinate about three hours into his sleep. If we were late or forgot he would wet. Then something surprising happened. Six months ago we put him on a gluten-free, corn-free, Feingold diet to help him recover from re-occurring illnesses. Within 24 hours of complete avoidance his nocturnal enuresis ceased. Was this a coincidence, I wondered? Since that time there have been a handful of occasions when my son has inadvertently eaten wheat or corn. He always wets the bed that same night, and then resumes normal sleeping and cessation of bed wetting when he resumes a gluten-free corn-free diet.
According to Dr. Douglas N.Tietjen, M.D., and Douglas A.Husmann, M.D. from the Department of Urology at the Mayo Clinic,
“In a small minority of patients, nocturnal enuresis may be linked to dietary allergies that provoke bladder instability.”
Tietjen and Husmann explain that all the patients in the report stopped bed-wetting when they began food-restricted diets and the wetting re-occurred when the patients resumed regular diets. Tietjen and Husmann claim that
“Urodynamic studies performed while these patients were receiving general diets revealed the presence of either a 50% reduction in bladder capacity for age or uninhibited bladder contractions. In contrast, urodynamic studies performed while these patients were receiving a restricted diet demonstrated normal urodynamic factors.”
So if you have a child who is a chronic bed-wetter and also suffers from digestive problems, skin rashes, asthma, or has histamine reactions to food, then a good course of action may be to have a food allergy/intolerance test done. A diet without offending foods may do more than cure what ails your child. It just might set him or her on the right path toward good restful sleep and stress-free overnight trips with friends and family.
Tags: Allergy, Bed-wetter, Bed-wetting, Bladder Instability, Child, Children, Congenital Urinary Condition, Corn, Corn-free, Diet, Dietary Allergy, Digestive Problem, Doris Rapp, Feingold Diet, Gluten, Gluten-free, Histamine Reaction, Intolerance, Nocturnal Enuresis, Urodynamic Study
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- Joel Stein of the L.A. Times Insults Parents of Allergic Children
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It was not my child but my dog, a Cairn Terrier, who was having problems with wetting. She would urinate while asleep. The vet said it was common to see this in spayed female dogs and not to worry about it. Then she started having difficulty walking. I decided to put her on a GF diet. I was GF and my neurological and other health problems greatly improved so why not the dog? Amazingly, she is not having any problems walking now and her wetting while asleep has totally resolved. Gluten = poison, IMHO.
Very interesting! I have a 10-year-old who has flare-ups of eczema if he eats barley, artificial coloring, nitrites and sulfites. I took him to an allergist, but they don’t have tests for these allergies. He was skin tested for wheat, milk, etc. but only showed an allergy to dust. He also wears pull-ups to bed. Or I “lift” him once or twice a night. My husband and I both wet the bed until about 7 or 8. I’m not sure I can deal witha gluten-free diet, but I could be more careful about avoiding what he is allergic to. I have 5 kids and the youngest is having some issues that take all my time right now. Any advice about where to start? Or links to something that would explain more about his sensitivities?
We did an IgG food intolerance test (ALCAT) for our oldest son. It is different than the typical IgE test done by most allergists. Food intolerances run in families– this is what our doctor told us. Our oldest is diagnosed with Celiac and when we did genetic testing we found out the whole family has varying degrees of gluten intolerance. It is hard in the beginning, but we did get used to it. With a family of seven it can be quite expensive to do if you buy all the prepackaged products. I do a lot of my own baking, but with a new baby that is not something you have time for right now! Our forum has a thread for gluten-free recipes on a budget (no special ingredients.)
CornAllergens.com has several ingredient listings pages for folks who need to avoid corn.
You could have your 10 yr. old son keep a food journal as a sort of ‘fun’ experiment. He can write what he eats and then comment on any reactions he might have afterwards. For example, his skin might be on fire after Friday night pizzas every week and he may have a particularly hard time controlling his bladder function– maybe he has to pee every hour– and really wets at night.
I found your website while searching the web and would like to let your readers read my story. I am 50 years old and I was a bed wetter until I was 8 or 9 years old. Up until that time my parents only allowed us to drink milk with our breakfast and dinner. My mother took me to the doctor because I was having a lot of gastrointestinal problems and the doctor suspected the milk and suggested they try giving me less milk. Well not only did it stop my stomach problems but also stopped my bed wetting.
Because there was no way to test back then we were not sure of the cause and was sure it was related to the milk. I am not lactose intolerate but still will get an upset stomach if I drink milk. (especially whole milk)
I have a 12 yr old son who frequently wets at night 5 out 7 nights a week…large amounts. Has skin issues, mild asthma and constipation/gas/bloating issues. We have been contemplating going gluten free.
Can you tell me where to get a test that I can do for my son. I already know he has a dairy allergy… but i’m suspecting corn as well. He is also a bed-wetter. Thanks for any help!
Boy I wish I had found this earlier. We completely stumbled into figuring out that food allergies can cause bed wetting….
Our 11 year old daughter was a nightly bedwetter. We tried the alarms, both sound and vibration (NightHawk), and while they woke her, they didn’t stop the wetting. Long story short, after switching pediatricians to one who finally didn’t give us the typical “she’ll out grow it,” the new doctor did an abdominal xray which showed an enlarged colon. We were referred to an allergy doctor, had my daughter tested, and found out that she was allergic to several regular foods (despite the fact that she didn’t show classic external allergic reactions.) When we eliminated those foods from her diet (for her it was eggs, chicken, beef, oats, wheat and green peas), she stopped wetting the bed nearly 100% of the time. It has been a huge relief. We are aware of another 10-year old boy who also discovered a food allergy (in his case, milk) and when it was eliminated from his diet it solved both his enlarged colon problem, and his bed wetting.
I just pass this along as I was not previously aware of any information out there that suggests bed wetting could be tied to food allergies. This, despite my extensive efforts to research bedwetting in an attempt to help our daughter. We came across this by accident, but we are so thankful to have it figured out.
Note: our daughter did not show any external signs of a food allergy other than a little eczema when we lived in a drier climate than we do now. We were really surprised to learn she had allergies to foods.
Thanks for helping to get the word out there!