Stay relaxed when the child wets the bed
When it comes to bedwetting, parents are often surprised by the point at which it is first mentioned. The good news is that if the child has been wetting the bed for a longer period of time, it's good news: It often only takes patience for the issue to resolve itself.
Bedwetting - this refers to the involuntary loss of urine during sleep. Many parents are surprised when they learn that a child has until their fifth birthday to become dry at night. Of course, many children manage it earlier, but bedwetting does not occur before their fifth birthday.
However, bedwetting is not uncommon in children from the age of five. Around 20 per cent of all children are not yet dry at night. But if the child is dry and clean during the day, there is nothing to worry about from a medical point of view and no special diagnostics are required.
In principle, this is a maturation disorder that often runs in families. If you ask closely, there is almost always a relative who also became dry very late. Overall, bedwetting is mainly an issue for boys.
If everything else is okay, from the fifth birthday onwards, primary "enuresis nocturna" - the technical term for bedwetting - depends on how much the child and the family are suffering. In practice, we tend to simply wait if the child is between five and six. The child should then put on a nappy and very often it gets better on its own and the issue disappears.
There are two treatment options if the child is suffering. One is the so-called bell pants. The other is a hormone tablet, which the child takes in the evening and which regulates the water balance so that the child produces less urine and therefore becomes drier.
Overall, the tendency to improve over the years is very good. The proportion of adolescents who have not yet become dry is far below 1 per cent. At this age, additional psychological therapy is sometimes required. My old head physician, Professor Burkhard, always said: "The most important thing is that everyone stays relaxed. Because everyone gets sober one day.
Further interesting tips
Tics
Today we are talking about tics - a topic that causes great anxiety among parents. So let's start with the good news: for most children, a tic disorder is only temporary. And in most cases, it resolves itself. Sometimes after weeks, sometimes after months - but it goes away again.
Sun protection
When it comes to sun protection, as is so often the case, there are rules - but you also have to approach things with common sense. Please don't lock your children up out of panic about UV damage. Because both are possible: outdoor exercise and safe sun protection - if you follow a few rules. What never hurts: when adults set a good example.
Recognising diabetes
Today we're talking about a disease that everyone knows from hearsay - but certainly not everyone would recognise in their own child: Type 1 diabetes mellitus, also known as diabetes. There are four warning signs of this disease that you should be aware of.