Pose your questions on Ask, Answer, Learn to Dr. Greene and the DrGreene.com community.
Ask DrGreene
Dr. Greene will be chatting live for one hour on Tuesday February 16th at 10:00 a.m. PT (Noon CT) (1:00 p.m. ET). Click Here to chat with Dr. Greene
Fast Fact
Contrary to popular opinion, bed-wetting is a very common problem. It affects somewhere between five and six million children.
Bed-wetting, or nocturnal enuresis, can be divided into two types: primary nocturnal enuresis and secondary nocturnal enuresis. These two types are very different in their causes and treatments.
In primary nocturnal enuresis, children have never achieved complete nighttime control - always wetting at least two times a month.
Secondary nocturnal enuretics are completely dry at night for a period of at least six months and then begin wetting again.
The great majority of bed-wetting children are primary enuretics. For primary enuretics, the cause is decidedly NOT stress or behavioral concerns.
In a survey of 9,000 parents of kids ages 6 - 17, 22% stated that they thought the reason their child wet the bed was laziness (survey conducted by ICR Survey Group from July 10 1996, through August 6, 1996). I am happy to tell you that this could not be further from the truth!
Research has shown that primary nocturnal enuresis is often inherited. If both parents were bed-wetters, 77% of their children will be. If only one parent was, 44% of their offspring will. If neither parent wet the bed, only about 15% of their children will wet the bed.
With primary nocturnal enuresis one almost always finds another relative who was a bed wetter. This corresponds to what is called an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern.
In recent years, researchers have identified an association with bedwetting and two genes named ENUR1 and ENUR2. In studying certain families with primary nocturnal enuresis, researchers discovered that members who wet the bed were more likely to have the ENUR1 or ENUR2 gene than those who did not. More recently, the possibility of a third primary nocturnal enuresis-related gene (ENUR3) on chromosome 22 has also been uncovered. Presumably these genes affect either whether children will need to urinate at night or how easily they can wake up when their bladders are full.
My 2-year-old has had a very deep cough only at night and can only sleep propped with pillows. She's fine during the day and doesn't have any other symptoms. What could be causing this and does it warrant a doctor's visit when she doesn't appear sick?
Coughing at night can come from several sources, including post-nasal drip (either from allergies or an infection--cold or sinus infection). The mucus drains down the back of the throat while the child is lying down, causing the nighttime cough.
The nighttime cough can also come from allergies--usually dust mites in the pillow or mattress. Or, nighttime cough can be the only symptom of asthma.
When the cough has lasted for less than 10-14 days, it is usually a response to an infection, but even so, it could be reactive airway disease or asthma. If so, an entirely different type of medicine is used to treat the cough than if it were caused by a cold. (Colds, however, are the most common trigger at that age.)
When kids are coughing enough to need two pillows at night, it is wise for them to be checked, even if they are fine during the day. Even if nothing turns up, it is the wisest choice.
So should we be concerned about a little boy who wants to be called a girl...
I walked without crawling when I was a kid and I think my daughter is on the...
I'm sure you will check with the baby's pediatrician, but you can also check...
Does she have any friends or cousins who are potty trained? My daughter...