Stress, excessive alcohol intake… factors that could cause bed-wetting in adults

Samuel Adeolu, a general medical practitioner, says stress and excessive alcohol intake can cause bed-wetting in adults.

In an interview with NAN on Thursday, Adeolu said adult bed-wetting could be a hereditary or medical issue.

According to him, studies have shown that someone with two bed-wetting parents has a 77% chance of becoming a bed-wetter.

“When one parent bed-wets as a child, his son or daughter is found to have a 40 per cent chance of becoming a bed-wetter. These probabilities carry into adulthood as well,” he said.

According to Adeolu, excessive production of urine during sleep was also known as nocturnal polyuria.

“This abnormality can cause nocturnal enuresis in adults, but it is also a symptom related to type I diabetes. Patients with a smaller bladder are often dealing with primary nocturnal enuresis.

“The physical size of the bladder is not actually smaller, rather the Functional Bladder Capacity (FBC) can hold a smaller volume of urine.

“Related to FBC, if the muscles of the bladder, known as detrusor muscles, are overactive, nocturnal enuresis can occur.

“In fact, detrusor over-activity has been found in up to 70 to 80 per cent of primary nocturnal enuresis.”

The doctor listed psychological issues that could cause adult bed-wetting as stress, fear, anxiety, side effects of certain medications, excessive ingestion of alcohol and irritable bladder.

He said medical issues that could cause the condition are diabetes, urinary tract infection, urinary tract stones, neurological disorders, anatomical abnormalities, urinary tract calculi, prostate cancer, prostate enlargement, bladder cancer, or obstructive sleep apnea.

He, however, said that the disorder among adults could be treated surgically with medication and a change in daily lifestyle routine.