Regardless of which side you’re on, you have to get one thing straight: you can’t cure night-time incontinence or wish it away. Now that that’s out, here is what you, as a parent or a sufferer of teen incontinence, should be doing.
For Parents Before you learn how to ensure fewer night-time incontinence “accidents”, you need to start teaching yourself a little bit of patience. You need to make sure that you don’t scold your teen no matter how tired you feel. Also, you can take turns with your spouse to ensure that you don’t turn bitter and angry every time you get up at night.
Once you’re done with tackling yourself, here are some tips to help you manage your teen’s incontinence during the night:
· Invest in waterproof bedding so that you don’t have to worry about wet sheets and unhygienic mattress. To further ensure the protection of your child’s bed, use washable underpads or a waterproof mattress cover.
· If you don’t have the time or energy to wash bedding or dry clean mattresses every time, you can check out numerous absorbent incontinence products and ensure that your child’s bed remains dry.
· Make sure that your child’s path to the bathroom is clear. That way they won’t trip on their way or feel dissuaded to leave their bed because they’re worried about falling. You can also install nightlights from your teen’s room to the bathroom so that they can see clearly.
In addition to these tips, consider talking to your child about using night-time incontinence products like disposable briefs, protective underwear and washable pants that come with disposable pads. These are less awkward to use in comparison with adult diapers, so your child won’t feel too embarrassed using them.
For Teens You may have feared night-time incontinence, especially since it makes you feel like a bedwetting baby. However, incontinence was never your choice and you can’t cure yourself completely from it yet. Therefore, here are some tips to help you manage this issue without making you feel conspicuous:
· Avoid caffeinated and carbonated drinks hours before you sleep. You can also reduce your liquid intake three hours before you sleep so that you have a relatively less full bladder. However, don’t forgo drinking water altogether or else dehydration will affect your bladder even worse.
· You probably didn’t know this, but you can retrain your bladder and increase its capacity. Simply use the bathroom every hour throughout the day and don’t go when you’re not scheduled to. Slowly start increasing the time period between bathroom breaks until you can control your bladder more effectively.
· Consider emptying your bladder twice before you head to bed. This will reduce your chances of a wet night,
· Be open to using absorbent undergarments and bedding. Your parents will suggest them to you, so don’t feel as if they’re trying to get rid of your responsibility. In fact, as these are easy to dispose of and clean, you can handle them on your own rather than have your parents involved.
Aside from these measures, parents and teens alike need to talk to the physician regularly so that they can have medical guidance as well. So, don’t cut your doctor out of the equation and be open to everything to be able to manage your or teen’s incontinence.