Question
My child is now four and a half years old. He urinates excessively during his afternoon nap, needing to urinate four or five times a night. During his two-hour afternoon nap, he has to urinate two or three times. This often leads to bedwetting, and each time he urinates, the amount is quite large. What should I do? My son doesn’t like eating meat, and he prefers vegetables. I wonder if his dislike for bedwetting is related to his lack of meat intake and not keeping up with nutrition? I hope the doctor can clarify this issue for me, thank you very much.
Answer
Bedwetting refers to the involuntary urination during sleep that is only noticed upon waking up, hence also known as enuresis. It is a common condition among children aged 3 to 12. The causes can be functional or organic. The former is related to genetic factors and often occurs in nervous children; the latter is a symptom of certain diseases. Conditions such as congenital brain development disorders or various factors leading to brain dysfunction, the disappearance of the reflex arc in the spinal cord, or lesions affecting the urinary system and its surrounding areas can all lead to bedwetting. Guidance: Children under three years old may experience reflexive urination due to the incomplete growth and development of the central urinary function, which does not fall under this condition. In traditional Chinese medicine, this condition is also known as “enuresis” or “bedwetting.” It is believed that bedwetting can occur when the kidneys and bladder are weak and cannot control the waterways, or when the spleen and lung Qi are weak and cannot control the waterways.