Constipation and Wetting

The correlation between constipation and wetting is very commonly overlooked.  Sampaio, Sampaio Sousa, Fraga, Veiga, Netto & Barroso (2016) interviewed 829 children and 9% had urinary symptoms.  Of those children with urinary symptoms 35% also had constipation.  Only 8% of kids without urinary symptoms had constipation alone.  Kids that void infrequently and are considered “holders” are more likely to also have constipation.  More specific to bedwetting, 12% of bedwetters also had constipation though this was not considered statistically significant.

My opinion: I often see kids for bedwetting with their prior records that say “nighttime wetting only.” Once I start talking with the child, I find out they are too embarrassed to admit to daytime wetting or problems with pooping. Even though there is a low correlation of kids with only nighttime wetting and constipation, I find that most of my bedwetters have daytime symptoms that are not noticed.  Therefore, I tend to assume a child is constipated until proven otherwise. A child (not a parent) has to really convince me they have daily soft bowel movements. 

Sampaio, C., Sousa, A. S., Fraga, L. G., Veiga, M. L., Netto, J. M., & Barroso, U. (2016). Constipation and Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction in Children and Adolescents: A Population-Based Study. Frontiers in Pediatrics,4. doi:10.3389/fped.2016.00101