Teenage Bedwetting
What You Need To Know About Teenage Bedwetting
There are a number of misconceptions regarding teenage bedwetting. Some are lead to believe that individual involved simply wasn't given adequate toilet training when younger. Others come to the conclusion that the teenager either doesn't know any better or doesn't care. Some look upon bedwetting as simply a bad habit that with a little effort can be overcome. Still others see teenage bedwetting as a symptom of a mental disorder of some kind.
More Common Than Supposed - None of the above reasons given are correct, although mental problems can in some circumstances play a role. What most do not realize is that teenage bedwetting is far more common than thought. Approximately 1% of all teenagers are believed to experience this problem. While the percentage may at first seem small, that's still an awfully lot of teenagers who experience bedwetting problems. Some have learned to live with the problem, knowing that it's not their fault and that it is treatable. Others feel a deep sense of shame and are convinced that they are not normal and something is very wrong with them.
Though most teenagers don't experience the problem, or may have only experienced it once or twice, teenage bedwetting is not in the strictest sense an abnormality. It has to do with growing up, and in growing up some parts or functions of the body develop and mature more slowly than others, and often more slowly than is the case with an "average" person.
The ADH Hormone - The exact cause of teenage bedwetting is somewhat of a mystery, although it has been suspected for a long time that there is something not quite right about the "link" between the brain and the bladder. What is known is there is a hormone involved. It's called the anti diuretic hormone, or ADH, and it controls the way in which the bladder operates during sleep. As the bladder fills, it sends a message to the brain, telling the brain it is nearing time for the bladder to empty. If the brain says "OK", the bladder will contract and empty. The role the anti diuretic hormone plays is to regulate the bladder so that it will not fill during the hours we are sleeping to the point it needs to be emptied. Instead the brain receives the message upon our awakening. That's why our first waking act in the morning is to head for the bathroom.
A Hormone Deficiency Is Key - Teenagers are not only known for having "raging hormones", but from a more scientific point of view, are known to have hormones that are not yet totally stable. That is just part of growing up and the body maturing. Some teenagers, for whatever reason, produce an insufficient amount of the ADH hormone. When this is the case, the bladder's activity is not regulated during the hours of sleep as it should be. It will fill more than it should, send a message to the brain, and receive a go-ahead from the brain to discharge. This is of course a simplified look into what is going on, but a reasonably accurate one. What is not well understood though is why there is a deficiency of the ADH hormone in the first place, and what can be done about it, though there is a medication which when taken, mimics the ADH hormone function. There are also other considerations, such as emotional issues and genetics which can play a role, and tend to make understanding of the process even more cloudy.
What Goes On Here, Stays Here - Those of us who have ever been teenagers, and that is probably most of us, recall that during that period in our lives it didn't always take much to deliver a painful blow to our self esteem. Teenage bedwetting is not to be condemned, fussed over, laughed at, or considered abnormal. It is no more abnormal than is growing to full height in the late teens instead of in the early teens, as is the case with most people. Teenagers afflicted with the problem may need professional advice, not because there's anything wrong with them, but because they need someone who can help them overcome the problem they face. You may be acquainted with a teenager who has the problem, but you might not even be aware of it, and the teen probably isn't going to tell you about it. If you do find out about it though, don't make a big thing about it. Better yet don't make anything of it unless your opinion is solicited. As they say in Las Vegas, what goes on here, stays here.