Dealing With Adult Bedwetting

Waking up only to discover you had been swimming in a pool of your own urine for the better part of your night can mean different things. For my neighbour’s two year old son, it means he had a good night’s rest. He doesn’t hesitate to yell at me: “Aunty Anu, I sleep well!” from the balcony while I walk past and wave at his mom – who is once again saddled with doing some ‘urinic’ laundry.

For my 11 year old self, it meant several things. Firstly, I had made it ‘rain’ on my poor bunkmate below who was definitely going to visit my face with a couple of dirty slaps. It also meant I was going to do the early morning walk of shame down the dormitory corridor with my dripping mattress. To a woman, thrown out of her matrimonial home, it probably isn’t funny. The shame and stigma is unbearable, as our society has many explanations as to why a grown woman wets the bed. No amount of mattress flipping or iron-drying or blanket heaping (is it obvious how experienced I was?) on the “crime scene” can save the day. It is out in the open, she is a chronic and unrepentant bedwetter or even a witch who has to jump naked, legs wide apart over flames of fire to make the evil stop so suitors won’t reject her.

Enough of the ridiculous reasons biko! I discovered that my love for midnight snacking and laziness to report to the Ladies when nature called got in the way of my greatness and I made up my mind to end it.I remember having those dreams in which one is pressed and voila…one finds oneself before the white porcelain monster.

Anyway, whether man or woman, these are the causes of adult bedwetting according to my fuel research

Emotional Factors

Fear, stress and anxiety contribute to adult bedwetting. Fear of what? Well, sadly, some adults still nurse the fear of being alone in the darkness or silence that accompanies night time. Stress from or anxiety over work, family or a frustrating situation can also cause the involuntary loss of one’s control over the bladder.

Genetic Factor

My people, this is another one I discovered o! One can actually inherit bedwetting genes or at least that’s what science says. I don’t even know what to think of this. Now moving on!

Diseases

Adult bedwetting can also be an indicator that one has some other disease. Diseases such as: Type I Diabetes, Urinary Tract Infections, bladder stones, bladder and prostrate cancers are more popular in this regard but other cases might include: spinal cord injury in which a person is totally paralysed, post-natal vaginal flatulence (when the muscles of the birth canal have not got their strength back), side effects of some drugs and suprisingly, caffeine overdose. Yes o! Coffee lovers especially. One of the things an overdose of caffeine can do to you is cause uncontrollable muscle movements and your bladder muscles are not spared.

While my list might not be exhaustive, it should at least educate the other women who clap over that woman’s head calling herAtole;the husband or boyfriend who simply doesn’t understand how or why a grown woman should wet the bed or even the young lady that ran for her dear life when she discovered that her crush for years wets his pants.

For you who finds yourself in this embarrasing predicament, my advise to you would be to seek medical help. Surgery has succeeded in correcting a good number of cases of enuresis and some other temporary options like alarms, adult diapers or plastic pants have also helped.

Finally, dear public, please be nice enough to help someone through enuresis a.k.a bedwetting instead of stigmatizing or ostracising him or her.