Boise Dentist Blog
The professional blog of Doctors Dan Bruce, Steve Bruce, Rosa Pothier and Rob Ririe
Bedwetting in Children With Sleep Apnea
Research shows that some children with sleep apnea who also wet the bed can be helped by tonsil and/or adenoid removal. One study demonstrated that fifty percent of children with sleep apnea who were bedwetters stopped wetting the bed after surgery to remove their tonsils and/or adenoids. Those children whose bed wetting was not improved by the surgery were likely to have been born prematurely, be obese, male gender, and have a family history of bed wetting.
Bed wetting can be caused by several different factors - bladder issues, sleep-related problems and the kidneys. Therefore, not all kids who wet the bed would benefit from tonsil and adenoid removal. However, if your child suffers from bedwetting, he or she should be evaluated for sleep apnea. Anything that depresses sleep can lead to bedwetting.
According to Dr. Linda Dahl, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, "snoring in children is abnormal. Children snore because their tonsils and adenoids are enlarged, and they end up getting other behaviors that go along with sleep apnea, including bedwetting."
Source: U.S. News and World Report Health