Does small bladder capacity cause bedwetting?
Capacity is not the controlling factor. Many bedwetters have undergone capacity testing with urologists and the capacity was typically found to be average or larger. Physicians generally recommend this test only for children who are wetting day and night because the procedure can be painful and very discomforting to the child. There are many people (children and adults) with small bladder capacity who don’t wet their beds. The effect of a small bladder may be increased frequency of urination day or night. The “normal” response at night is to awaken to the bladder signal and CHOOSE whether to get up and use the bathroom or go back to sleep until the need is more urgent. The enuretic simply does not awaken enough to make the choice, so the first priority in E.R.D.C.’s programs is to gain arousability. After the ability to awaken is achieved, increasing the bladder capacity is addressed for those who need it in order to obtain a balance between “wake-ups” and “sleep-throughs.” When the tr
