Enuresis in children and adults: causes and treatment

Enuresis is called incontinence.In this condition, a person is unable to control the process of urination.Children's enuresis at an early age is not considered a pathology, but is considered as a physiological stage of development, when the child learns to manage the functions of his own body.Children should be able to control urination somewhere to six years, but about 10% of them at this age still have episodes of nocturnal enuresis.

For a number of reasons, enuresis develops in adults.According to statistics, one person in 200 has episodes of urinary incontinence at night.In older people, this condition is more common, especially among women.

Usually, in children and adults, incontinence is manifested at night.Daytime enuresis is much less common, as a rule, this state is the result of some psychological shake-up and a nervous breakdown.Consider the main types, causes and methods of treatment of the disease.

Table of contents: Classification of enuresis Enuresis: causes of disease at different ages Treatment of enuresis in children How to treat enuresis in adults Treatment of enuresis with folk remedies

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Classification of enuresis

Several forms of enuresis in children stand out:

• Primary and secondary.The first form is considered the most simple and passes without special treatment in almost 99% of cases.Secondary nocturnal enuresis in children occurs after a period after the child has already started to control his bladder.
• Uncomplicated and complicated.In the first case, in addition to urinary incontinence, there are no other pathological symptoms, in the second there are other deviations in the physical and mental development of the child.
• Neurotic enuresis - occurs mainly in children prone to increased anxiety.Due to the fact that at night the bed often becomes wet, the baby is afraid to fall asleep, his sleep becomes superficial.
• Neuro-like enuresis - most often occurs in nervous children, prone to hysterical behavior.If the problem persists until adolescence, the child experiences severe psychological discomfort, becomes withdrawn and unsociable.
• Organopathic - occurs due to impaired renal function or other organs of the urinary system.
• Endocrinopathic enuresis - associated with hormonal disorders in the body.
• Epileptic - develops against the background of epilepsy.

Enuresis in adults also occurs in several forms.Isolate the so-called stress urinary incontinence, resulting from any physical impact, for example, when lifting weights.

If the urge to urinate is too strong and sudden, it is an urgent enuresis.Sometimes there are signs of both forms, then a mixed enuresis is diagnosed.

Enuresis: causes of the disease at different ages

Before talking about how to treat enuresis, you need to understand what factors provoke its appearance.

In adults, the ailment occurs for the following reasons:

• congenital features of the development of urinary organs, for example, too small a volume of the bladder;
• presence of tumoral neoplasms that disrupt the transmission of nerve impulses;
• is an elderly age, accompanied by natural age-related changes in the spinal cord and brain;
• hormonal imbalance in women in the menopausal period;
• weakened pelvic floor muscles, for example, after childbirth or in old age;
• is a weakness of the sphincter of the bladder that develops due to age-related changes.

Important ! If we talk about nocturnal enuresis, then in adults it appears for two reasons: either the person did not have a reflex that would make him wake up when urge to urinate, or the body has some pathologies leading to the disorder in question.

In childhood, enuresis is more common in boys.

There are several main factors that contribute to its development in children:

• not fully formed conditioned reflex;
• excessive excitability, hyperactivity;
• stressful situations, severe psychological upheavals;
• lack of attention from the parents or, conversely, excessive parental care;
• hormonal imbalance, malfunctions in the functioning of endocrine glands;
• injuries of the spinal cord and brain, obtained during labor;
• is an inflammatory process in the bladder or kidney;
• too long wearing diapers;
• genetic predisposition is noted in more than 70% of cases of enuresis in boys.

Girls, as a rule, can quickly learn to walk on a pot.If there is a problem of urinary incontinence, most likely, it is associated with a not completely formed nervous system.

Mental trauma, the use of large amounts of fluid, and hereditary predisposition may also contribute to the onset of enuresis.Due to the peculiarities of the urethra structure in girls, enuresis appears in a number of cases against the background of inflammatory and infectious pathologies of the urinary system.

Treatment of enuresis in children

Children should be treated after a comprehensive examination.This need arises when, after six years, the reflex is still not formed, and the child can not control the process of urination independently.

With an uncomplicated form of the disease, so-called treatment regimens are effective.First, the baby must be protected from any stresses, because even strong positive emotions can cause enuresis.Secondly, you need to strictly observe the regime of the day: go to bed at the same time, do not drink a lot of liquids after five o'clock in the evening, avoid active games three hours before going to bed, before going to bed the child must definitely visit the toilet.At night, it must be awakened and planted on a pot.If on the morning the bed is still wet, in no case should you scold the baby, so that he does not experience even more stress.

Depending on the cause of enuresis, a child may be prescribed a drug correction.If infectious diseases of the urinary system are detected, a course of antibiotics is prescribed, with hyperactivity, tranquilizers are sometimes indicated.The administration of nootropic medication is necessary for the revealed abnormalities in the development of the nervous system.

There are also physiotherapy and psychological correction methods.Electrosleep, electrophoresis, therapeutic exercises, massage - all these methods are aimed at improving the nervous function and activity of the urinary system.The child psychologist will teach the child the ways of self-hypnosis and relaxation.Parents should take care that the baby adheres to a healthy diet and a proper drinking regime.

How to treat adult enuresis

Complex therapy of enuresis in adults also includes regimens, medications, physiotherapy and psychotherapeutic methods.If you want, you can supplement therapy with folk remedies.

Sometimes it is enough just to adjust the regime of the day: use less liquid in the evening, limit the diets in products with a diuretic effect.There is a diet developed by N. Krasnogorsky, suggesting the use before breakfast of bread with salt or salted fish.This will help to delay fluid in the body at night.

Please note! When enuresis, it is important to properly arrange a place to sleep.To support the spine, you need a hard enough mattress, in the leg area, you need to make a slight elevation by placing a pillow.Such a simple measure will reduce the pressure on the sphincter of the bladder.

When enuresis also widely used methods of hypnosis, methods of behavioral psychotherapy, self-hypnosis, therapeutic exercise to strengthen the urinary sphincter.There are special simulators for the development of pelvic muscles in women.Among the physiotherapy methods, darsonvalization of the bladder region, electrosleep, magnetotherapy, various types of electrophoresis, acupuncture, etc., are effective.

If necessary, the doctor can prescribe medication.Preparations and their dosage are selected individually.

The most commonly prescribed medicines are from the following groups:

• antibiotics( if incontinence is associated with infectious processes in the organs of the urinary system);
• Nitrofuran medicines are prescribed for kidney disease;
• nootropic drugs;
• antidepressants and tranquilizers;
• preparations containing a synthetic hormone desmopressin to reduce the volume of urine released at night;
• M-holinolitiki for relaxing muscles and relieving bladder spasms.

Treatment of enuresis with folk remedies

Folk medicine knows many methods that can help with the pathology in question.

Consider the most popular and effective recipes:

• Decoction of twigs of cherries and blueberry stems.It is necessary to collect cherry twigs and young stalks of bilberry bushes( not in the flowering period).Dried plants pour steep boiling water, insist half an hour.Take one glass five times a day for adults, two to three times for children.The recommended course of treatment is a month and a half.
• Tincture of scallops.Take 40 g of pharmacy crochet seeds, pour a liter of red dry wine.To insist the drug is necessary for 14 days.For adults, this folk remedy must be taken to treat enuresis 50 g three times a day before meals for two weeks, after the break, repeat the course.
• Tea from corn stigmas.A teaspoon of stigmas of corn insist half an hour in boiling water, add a little natural honey and drink in the morning before breakfast, the same thing to do in the evening.The recommended course of treatment is 30 days.
• Fennel broth.Two spoons of fennel seeds should be dried in a pan for a few minutes, then pour half a liter of boiling water and insist for several hours.Portion divided into two parts and consumed throughout the day.Taking a drug is recommended every day for two weeks.
• Decoction of yarrow and St. John's wort.Dried stems and flowers of plants are mixed in the same proportion( one glass each), pour a liter of boiling water, then insist 3-4 hours under the lid.Use the decoction in the treatment of enuresis preferably 4 times a day before meals for two weeks, then another ten days, once a day.
• Tea from cowberries.For the preparation of this traditional medicine, the dried powdered leaves and berries of the plant are mixed in equal proportion with the shredded herb of St. John's Wort.Now you need to take two teaspoons of the mixture, make tea in a glass of boiling water.Use it for the treatment of enuresis, preferably three glasses a day for a month.

Important: do not self-medicate!When there are signs of enuresis, it is recommended to consult a urologist as soon as possible.In some cases, it may be necessary to consult a neurologist, an endocrinologist and a psychotherapist.When the urine is incontinent in a child, it should be shown to the pediatrician.The doctor will appoint the necessary examinations to determine the nature of the pathological condition and, if necessary, prescribe the appropriate treatment.

Chumachenko Olga, medical reviewer