If your tot is under 6, bedwetting is to be expected and not a cause for concern. After that, it’s important to check to see if something is bothering your child. Perhaps it’s a new sibling or problems at school (or home). Other causes can include kidney or bladder problems and food allergies. These tips can help your child feel better and more in control.
HERBS FOR BEDWETTING
Certain herbs can help soothe bladder inflammation and promote the strength and integrity of the bladder. These include corn silk, fennel seed, horsetail herb, marshmallow root, and parsley leaf. It’s easier for kids to take an herb as a tincture than to swallow pills or drink tea. Follow the children’s dosing guidelines in the beginning of this chapter and give the child’s dosage three times daily.
OTHER NATURAL REMEDIES FOR BEDWETTING
Give your child 1 tablespoon (20 g) of honey before bed to help the body retain fluid. (Note: Don’t give honey to infants under 1 year of age due to the slight possibility of botulism spores.)
Chewing on a cinnamon stick before bed can also be helpful as it has a drying effect. Also limit beverage consumption after 5 pm.
Check at your health food store for homeopathic Hyland’s Bedwetting Tablets, which also help deter bedwetting.
WHEN TO SEE YOUR M.D.
If bed-wetting persists, you’ll want to see your pediatrician to rule out the possibility of infection.
Due to their rich multi-spectrum mineral content, black beans, miso soup, celery, chia seed, pumpkin seeds, and wild rice help to strengthen the kidney and bladder. Add these to your child’s diet on a regular basis.
SOOTHING PRACTICES FOR BEDWETTING
Nighttime can be particularly stressful for little ones. But these tips can help:
• Use acupressure. When putting a child to bed, take their pinkies with your thumbnails and apply pressure on the two lines of each hand for about 30 seconds to affect the meridians. Teach kids how to apply pressure to the acupressure point on the topside between the little finger and ring finger.
• Put a portable potty close to the bed. This will help your child to urinate without having to travel to the toilet in the middle of the night.
• Have your child try sleeping with his or her legs slightly elevated by putting them on a pillow to reduce the gravity force of urinating.
• Teach your child to do Kegel exercises. To practice Kegels, tighten and then release the muscles that control the flow of urine. To find them, tell your child to stop midstream the next time he or she is urinating. Then release. Suggest they do 7 to 21 Kegels sets three times daily.
• Be sure and provide a night light in the bathroom so it’s not scary to go to the bathroom.
• A parent can take the child to the bathroom before they retire for the night.
KEEP IN MIND
Scolding kids tends to make them more uptight and more likely to wet the bed. A mother recently told me that she would put on several layers of sheets covered with plastic so she didn’t have to completely change the bed in the middle of the night or get overly resentful about having to do laundry so often. Kids older than eight who have to change their own sheets are likely to get more proactive about the situation. Help your kids stay positive too by using an affirmation. “I will wake to go to the bathroom.”
This How To Stop Bed Wetting article is taken from :
The Country Almanac of Home Remedies - Brigitte Mars
