Reasons for Adult Bedwetting
Adult bedwetting is called nocturnal enuresis. It is defined as the involuntary voiding that occurs during the night as adults are sleeping. As many as two percent of all adults experience this medical problem, with many of them having the condition carry over from childhood. Others have bedwetting begin as an adult after never having any prior history of it, with this particular condition called Adult Onset Secondary Enuresis. Adult bedwetting has not been studied nearly as much as childhood bedwetting, but the reasons for it are becoming clearer.
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Significance
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There is significant evidence that adult bedwetting has a genetic link to it, with parents that had bedwetting problems at some point in their lives much more likely to produce offspring that go on to have adult bedwetting issues. Even when only one parent was a bed wetter the chances are good that offspring will eventually have a bedwetting problem.
Function
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A hormone called antidiuretic hormone signals the kidneys to reduce the amount of urine produced. This hormone's production is increased in the evening and allows people to be able to sleep through the nighttime hours without the need to urinate. But some individuals fail to produce enough of this substance as night, with urine levels staying the same as during the day. This is one reason for adult bedwetting, as the hormone abnormality doesn't keep urine production down and people urinate before waking up.
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Effects
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The medical term "smaller bladder" is used to describe a situation in which the bladder of a person holds a smaller amount of urine than normal before the bladder sends a signal indicating that it is time to void. The bladder itself however is not smaller than those of most people. Individuals with this condition have certain muscles in their bladder that do not relax fully, making it difficult for the person to have a normal bladder capacity. This hyperactivity of these bladder muscles is responsible for adult bedwetting as the contractions of these muscles make a person involuntary urinate.
Types
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There are certain things that tend to irritate the bladder, causing both instability and increasing urine production that leads to bedwetting. Caffeine and alcohol are two of these irritants and some medications have this effect as well. They come with the side effect of causing bedwetting in adults. Drugs that are prescribed for insomnia and psychiatric problems such as schizophrenia and brain injuries are among those that may contribute to adult bedwetting.
Considerations
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There are other factors that deserve consideration when looking for reasons behind adult bedwetting. Neurological disorders can make a person void as she is asleep. Also, men with prostate cancer often have an issue with bedwetting. Bladder cancer and enlargement of the prostate have been known to cause bedwetting. Diabetes along with such conditions as urinary tract infections and kidney stones are also at the heart of some adult bedwetting instances.
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