Few conditions are as misunderstood and mismanaged as nocturnal enuresis, aka bedwetting. Parents are told their child will “outgrow it,” that bedwetting is a “normal part of childhood development” and doesn’t warrant treatment until age 7, 10, or older. Common explanations run the gamut: an underdeveloped bladder, deep sleep, hormone imbalance, a bladder that “hasn’t caught up with the brain,” emotional stress or anxiety. All those explanations are wrong.  

My older child has struggled so much with enuresis and encopresis that I would do anything to avoid all that misery with my youngest. What advice do you have to potty training to prevent constipation?

Goodnites' ad campaign is insidious. It’s designed to “tackle social stigma in a way that is sophisticated and thoughtful,” a worthy aim, to be sure. But what the project actually does is perpetuate medical misinformation and leverage families’ distress for the purpose of selling product.

As a doctor with many teenage bedwetting patients, I have two observations: 1.) Silverman’s story of shame and isolation rings true, and 2.) The Bedwetter, like many movies and TV shows, reinforces damaging myths about bedwetting.

By Steve Hodges, M.D. It's a myth that Ex-Lax is unsafe for children with chronic constipation. Parents often ask me how long children...

I’ve treated enuresis and encopresis for 20+ years, and if there’s a one insight I could share, it’s this: Miralax won’t cut it.

When a child’s constipation has resolved, medication tends to work well; when a child’s rectum remains clogged with stool, drugs are pointle

Enuresis causes anxiety, not the reverse. Enuresis is actually caused by chronic constipation

Are children at increased risk for bedwetting if they feel emotionally stressed or drink caffeine? Certainly not.

We covered poop and pee withholding, bladder medication, Ex-Lax and Miralax, a recurrence of accidents in a teenager, and explosive pee acci