--- title: "Bedwetting Causes and Treatment | Sutter Health" description: "What causes bedwetting? My grandson (age 11) has wet the bed continuously. The medication he was given didn't help. He says he just can't wake up and sleeps right through it. I want him to feel good about himself, so I'm reaching out for any guidance." url: "/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067" --- 1. Home / 2. Bedwetting Causes and Treatment # Bedwetting Causes and Treatment * * * Medically reviewed by - Caroline Schreiber, M.D. ## Question What causes bedwetting? My grandson (age 11) has wet the bed continuously. The medication he was given didn't help. He says he just can't wake up and sleeps right through it. I want him to feel good about himself, so I'm reaching out for any guidance. ## Answer Bedwetting, or nocturnal enuresis, is normal even up to the age of seven. There is pretty clear evidence that it is genetic to a large extent, so children who take longer to grow out of it may have parents who were the same. Most children grow out of it without any treatment. Unfortunately, the older a child continues to wet the bed, the less likely he is to grow out of it without intervention. An 11 year old who wets the bed should initially be evaluated by his doctor to rule out rare causes of enuresis. Assuming no medical problem is found, there are a variety of training techniques. The most basic is for the child to limit drinking liquids in the evenings and empty his bladder immediately before bed. Some suggest waking the child once or several times during the night to use the bathroom. Medications can be effective, but typically only as long as the child takes them. They can be convenient for sleepovers or overnight camps. The most effective training for lasting dryness tends to be a bed-wetting alarm. Be prepared that this may take months, but ultimately, it has been shown to have the most success. ## Explore related topics Children's healthBed-Wetting ## Related questions View all questions - Health Q&A ### Circumcise an Older Child? I chose not to circumcise my son. Now the AAP issued a policy statement that actively endorses circumcision. While my son is only two years old, I worry that I made the wrong decision. Should I have him circumcised now? - Health Q&A ### Low-Carb Diet for Children? With all this talk about carbs being the enemy, is a low-carb diet appropriate for children? - Health Q&A ### Melatonin for Kids? My sister-in-law's pediatrician recommended melatonin to help her three-year-old go to sleep at night. She says it works well. 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View all questions ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bedwetting Causes and Treatment"}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalWebPage","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067#medicalwebpage","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067","name":"Bedwetting Causes and Treatment","description":"Bedwetting, or nocturnal enuresis, is normal even up to the age of seven.","inLanguage":"en-US","medicalAudience":{"@type":"MedicalAudience","audienceType":"Patient"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067#breadcrumblist"},"mainEntity":{"@type":"Question","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067#question","name":"Bedwetting Causes and Treatment","text":"What causes bedwetting? My grandson (age 11) has wet the bed continuously. The medication he was given didn't help. He says he just can't wake up and sleeps right through it. I want him to feel good about himself, so I'm reaching out for any guidance.","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067#answer","text":"Bedwetting, or nocturnal enuresis, is normal even up to the age of seven. There is pretty clear evidence that it is genetic to a large extent, so children who take longer to grow out of it may have parents who were the same. Most children grow out of it without any treatment. Unfortunately, the older a child continues to wet the bed, the less likely he is to grow out of it without intervention. An 11 year old who wets the bed should initially be evaluated by his doctor to rule out rare causes of enuresis. Assuming no medical problem is found, there are a variety of training techniques. The most basic is for the child to limit drinking liquids in the evenings and empty his bladder immediately before bed. Some suggest waking the child once or several times during the night to use the bathroom. Medications can be effective, but typically only as long as the child takes them. They can be convenient for sleepovers or overnight camps. The most effective training for lasting dryness tends to be a bed-wetting alarm. Be prepared that this may take months, but ultimately, it has been shown to have the most success.","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067","author":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067#expert"}}},"publisher":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization"},"reviewedBy":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067#expert"}} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Person","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/bedwetting-causes-treatment-1051061067#expert","name":"Caroline Schreiber","honorificSuffix":"M.D."} ```