There are signs that reveal an adult to suffer bedwetting. There is the distinct smell of urine inside the bedroom. There will be stains in the sheet. And these adults avoid or are reluctant to sleep overnight in another person’s house.
Adult bedwetting, medically called nocturnal enuresis, is sometimes considered a more shameful condition than incontinence. The reason for this is that incontinence is associated with old age, and senior citizens are permitted many things due to their late stage in life. When adult bedwetting happens to senior citizens, such is accepted as normal and expected. But when adult bedwetting happens to men and women who are considered at the “prime of their life”, then something must be terribly wrong.
Yet, adult bedwetting is not a rare occurrence. According to a study, in the United States alone, there are approximately twelve million adults who have problems in controlling their urination and their bladder. This number may even be lower than the actual number of bedwetting adults simply because many adults keep their bedwetting a deeply guarded secret.
A 100% effective cure for adult bedwetting hasn’t been identified yet. Fortunately, the causes of adult bedwetting have been studied. This is a positive step towards helping the adult bedwetters. The causes of adult bedwetting can be classified to three categories: medical problems, physiological changes, and emotional stresses. To determine which is the cause of a certain adult’s bedwetting, a complete medical examination must be carried out.
Medical problems include the following:
- Diabetes – abnormal levels of insulin or sugar in the blood
- Cancer in the bladder – which leads to the malfunction of the bladder and the likely overproduction of urine
- Infection in the urinary tract – which makes the release of urine painful and uncontrolled
- Enlargement of the prostate gland – which disrupts a person’s control over his urination
- Presence of stones in the urinary tract – which interferes with the normal functions of the excretory organs
- Defects in the nervous system, particularly the central nervous system – which makes the process of urination uncontrolled by the brain
Physiological changes that trigger adult bedwetting are usually accompanied by aging. Some of these are the following:
- A radical change in sleep patterns which leads to the inability to hold in the urine
- Shifting biological clocks characterized by sleeping too early or waking up at dawn. Such may also meant that the brain has drastically changed the body’s patterns
- Changes in the levels of hormones result to old adults having trouble falling or staying asleep
When no medical problems or no physiological changes are seen in an adult, the bed wetting may be caused by extreme emotional stresses. Rejection, dismissal, death of a loved one, and other similar problems may have brought about the adult bedwetting. If such is the case, the adult must honestly discuss with the right doctor his psychological issues.