Children's Health

Medical Terms for Bed-Wetting

Terms you may hear used for different types of bed-wetting include:

• Enuresis, which is the lack of control over the voiding of urine beyond the age at which control is normally achieved, usually 5 or 6.
• Nocturnal enuresis, which means bed-wetting, or the accidental voiding of urine during sleep.
• Primary nocturnal enuresis, which is accidental bed-wetting by a child who has never had bladder control for 3 months in a row.
• Secondary nocturnal enuresis, which is accidental bed-wetting by a child after he or she has been dry for a period of time. This may indicate emotional stress, a medical problem such as a kidney or bladder infection, or a birth defect that affects the urinary tract.
• Monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis, which is bed-wetting in the absence of any other symptoms. This accounts for 80% to 85% of nocturnal enuresis cases.
• Polysymptomatic nocturnal enuresis, which is bed-wetting associated with other bladder symptoms, such as back or belly pain, fever, cloudy or pink urine, increased urgency and frequency of urination, or crying or complaining when urinating.
• Diurnal enuresis, which is accidental voiding of urine while awake.