BED-WETTING: A Guide for Parents

As bed-wetting probably has a variety of causes Dr. Rowan offers no single solution, and he is skeptical about the drug therapy, conditioning devices and bladder stretching regimens currently promoted. For parents who will be satisfied with some generalized background and equally generalized advice, he reviews several possible causes (most enuresis is a continuation of toilet training conflicts but physiological reasons must be eliminated before such a diagnosis can be made) and fills in with simple explanations of Freud's developmental stages, the structure of the urinary tract, and various lab tests and (rare) surgical procedures that might be required. As for treatment, parents should first search the child's environment for sources of tension (not always that easy for someone who is part of the problem), see a pediatrician if they can't clear up the conflicts on their own, try three months of psychiatric therapy if the doctor finds no evidence of disease, then consult a urologist if the therapy doesn't work. Not the instant answer parents will be hoping for, but honestly undogmatic.