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Every so often I hear from a Scouter or parent about a Scout who has a problem with bedwetting.
It goes without saying that I am not a medical expert, but I did a little research and several sources agree an estimated 3.75 -5.25 million boys (and a smaller number of girls) in the United States have a medical condition known as nocturnal enuresis (NE) or involuntary urination during sleep, commonly called bedwetting.
At those numbers NE is one of the most common pediatric health issues. Once considered a psychological problem NE is most likely caused by a developmental delay in the bladder that children eventually outgrow. While disease is rarely the culprit a number of other factors may cause or aggravate NE. Most experts advise parents to simply wait out the problem. Nearly everyone with NE eventually outgrows it, even without treatment.
A change in routine (like going to camp) could trigger an unexpected episode in a child with NE who has had a long stretch of dry nights. As you may imagine, this could be scary or discouraging, but we should all understand this is normal. Routines effective at home like limiting beverages at night, limiting caffeine, going to the toilet twice before bed, may be hard to follow at camp. A long, active day in camp may cause deeper than usual sleep and a Scout may not wake up quite so easily to the sensation of a full bladder.
What’s important is the understanding NE is not a lack of willpower, or a personality flaw, it’s a common physical condition that isn’t within the child’s control. The only real harm that can come from NE is how we characterize the problem and our reactions.
If one of our Scouts had a broken arm or leg, or a physical disability we’d make adjustments so the Scout could participate, we’d encourage their fellow Scouts to be understanding and accommodating – we’d encourage empathy. If we take the time to understand NE and help our Scouts understand it we defuse the possibility of stigmatizing shame.
Here’s the story of a Scout with NE and how the condition was resolved at summer camp. (I found this story online, and have edited here for clarity and length.)
Many years ago I was an eleven-year-old boy with NE eager to go to Boy Scout camp for my first week. I had not had a problem recently, but I was still worried. The first night at camp I had an accident, and several nights later it happened again. I told no one. At the end of the week (for obvious reasons) my Scoutmaster asked about my sleeping bag. He wanted to make sure I knew he understood, it was not a problem and other campers had the same challenge.
I had few accidents the year I turned 12, and I was eager to go to Scout camp that summer. Before I did my parents told me they discussed my NE with the Scoutmaster, and had agreed on a plan. I was a little dubious about this, but before she left me at camp my mother quietly told me she had packed some special protection in my bag I was to wear each night.
Once my parents left my Scoutmaster told me that I would share a tent with a Scout who had the same challenge. The other boy and I grabbed our bags, went to our tent, and once inside the Scoutmaster asked us to take what our mothers had packed for us. We unpacked, and shared the mutual dejection of finding three pairs of plastic under shorts in each of our bags. Both of us just kind of went “you too?”
That night the Scoutmaster reminded us privately to put on our shorts over our underwear. It was embarrassing at first, but being with another boy who had the same challenge was comforting. Neither of us liked the shorts, but we agreed they might make camp better. We both went to the showers every morning. If we had an accident rinsing our underwear and the shorts in the enclosed stalls was no big deal. Our Scoutmaster left a bag in our tent for our rinsed-out underwear and plastic shorts and he causally picked it up each day and laundered the contents.
My tent buddy and I had a great week. When my parents picked me up I told them I appreciated the shorts, and wore them for the next several months at home.
I was almost 14 by the time summer camp came around the next year. My previous tent buddy wasn’t with us, and my Scoutmaster talked privately with me as he had before. I told him I had brought my shorts. I changed in the bathroom before going to bed, rinsed them in the morning if needed, put them in the bag, and dropped it into the Scoutmaster’s tent. I had a few accidents that week but was very glad I had my plastic shorts and no one ever said anything (I still think they did not know).
The following year my accidents dropped off and I stopped wearing the shorts about 2 months before summer camp. I still took them to summer camp to be on the safe side. I only had one accident that week. Although I had no accidents after that I did pack those shorts up to my final Scout camp when I was 16.
I think we all admire the approach the Scoutmaster took, and the work he did to help those Scouts. The story above happened before disposable underwear for older children was commonly available, or NE was so openly discussed, so our approach to the problem would, hopefully, be even simpler today.
I’d imagine that parents of children with NE are way ahead of me, but here’s some links for all Scouters so we can all be aware of the number of resources and products available.
GoodNites
UnderJams Absorbent Nightwear
Bedwetting resources at Medline Plus
If you have a story to tell, or a question about how to help Scouts with NE, feel free to leave a comment below or contact me.
Thanks to Scouter Carroll, pediatrician, wife of an Eagle Scout, and mother of an Eagle Scout, who advised me on this post!
Clarke –
Great article. As a long-time SM, I have had this issue come up a number of times. I found this “system” seems to work well – especially when there is not an ability to put two Scouts with NE in the same tent.
The Scout brings a few “adult diapers” discretely stuffed into the bottom of his sleeping bag along with a few plastic bags (like from the grocery store). He can change into/out of his undergarment while inside his sleeping back. And, if he happens to have an accident, he puts the undergarment into the bag, ties it up, and leaves it in the top of his sleeping bag. At breakfast, he discretely lets me know that there is a bag in his sleeping bag and, when all of the Scouts are out of camp, I throw it away in the trash.
Very easily handled – and no one is the wiser.
I had a Scout who would wet his sleeping bag every night. What I did to try and help him, was at night before going to bed, I would watch he march up to the latrine and go before getting in his speeping bag. Then about 2AM, I would tell my A/SM, I’m going to wake Andy up and have him use the latrine. It worked, and no longer have to get him up in the middle of the night. No more issues with wet sleeping bags.
I also was very discreet, and asked him about if his sleeping bag was dry out of earshot of other scouts, so as not to embarass him.
Have had no issues after trying this method. His parents are happy as well as he doesn’t wet his bed either.
Great article, Clarke!
I worked at a Webelos specific adventure camp for 5 years and this is a problem we frequently saw with scouts in their first overnight camp setting. You do a great job of reminding the leaders to empathize and make extra efforts to accommodate the scout so that he can have an enjoyable week at camp. Also remember that the camp staff sees this often, and are willing to help you with access to laundry facilities and other needs. The biggest thing I can speak of from personal experience on the scout side is the need (and want from the scout) for discretion. Lots of other great comments here as well!
Good article. Some parents also opt to use medications to stop bedwetting. The most effective medication (ddAVP) works by decreasing how much urine is made by the kidneys. During this past Jamboree, our Basecamp had to treat a Scout who had a seizure, partially triggered by taking this medication. It had been so hot the first several days of the Jamboree that Scouts were constantly being reminded to drink water. The ddAVP prevented his body from making a dilute urine so that Scout had a very low sodium.
Clark thanks for the post it will be very helpful I’m sure.
Here is another resource another scouter gave me that maybe helpful as well.
http://bedwettingstore.com/waterproof-sleeping-bag-liners.html
We have two Scouts in our family who had NE. We worked diligently at home, and in a year or so the problem fixed itself. We always prepared them with GoodNites and plastic brown bags to discretely discard, tied up in the bag into the bathroom trash. It made it concealable.
Our problem in our Troop currently, is a NE who’s parents won’t send him with any helpful items or a plan. Even though he does it still at home, they don’t prepare him with a way to fix it at Camp. Their comment is “He shouldn’t do it if he doesn’t drink and takes his medicine.” Though this is the same family who is habitual forgeters of the meds (even the adhd meds). If the parents don’t want to help with a plan, thinking it will go away, how can we as leaders help? We try to help him hang items to dry, and have asked for him to bring his own tent to share with a buddy since others keep needing to be cleaned, but they have never brought a tent and the problem (meds or not) still don’t fix. Any suggestions on what to do?
Tell the parents camping out is different than sleeping at home, Scouts need the right gear to sleep comfortably. If a Scout has NE, and has had accidents, the it’s important he have GoodNites or something similar. Their refusal to send him camping with the right gear is making things stressful and difficult for their son. It’s kind of silly to go to all these other measures when the solution seems to be pretty obvious.
Awesome