Sunblock at School and Betwetting in the Older Child.

Hi Everyone!

Here's some random readers questions that I have been getting lately.

Sunblock at School?

Dear Dr. Cason-

My 7 y/o daughter came home with a bit of a tan after playing in her school's playground. She was outside for about 30 minutes at 3pm. I am thinking about sending her to school with a hat and some sunblock. What do you think? - AT

Dear AT,
Sounds good to me. Kudos for being so proactive. Most of the skin damage people suffer from were from exposure as a child. Blistering sunburns are the worst. Make sure you apply the sunscreen at least 20 minutes before they are exposed to the sun.


Bedwetting in the Older Child

Dear Dr. Cason,

What can help when the child is no longer a child but a teen that still wets the bed. A friend of mine has a 14 year old daughter whom still wets the bed. The Dr says there is no medical reason that it must be a habit situation. Can you offer any advise on how to help this young lady. From what I understand this occurs almost every night. - JH

Dear JH-

The most important thing when you get a child persistently wetting the bed is to visit a Urologist that specialized in bedwetting (AKA Nocturnal Enuresis). I treat the older child the same as the younger child but I'd be more apt to put them on medication if warrented. Here are some other tips.

1. Limit caffeine and Juices in the evening. They are bladder irritants.
2. Limit fluids 2 hours before bedtime.
3. Practice timed voids- Urinate every two hours during the day. The bladder is a muscle and if your child tends to hold their urine during the day, then it is fatigued at night when it really needs to "work".
4. Purchase an alarm that wakes then up when urine is felt. This trains the brain to feel the bladder and hold the urine. This has been shown to be very effective.
5. Look for constipation. This is linked to enuresis in children and it's necessary to solve this problem BEFORE you solve the bedwetting issue.
6. Avoid scolding or repriminding your child. If they could help it, they would.
7. If your doctor approves then consider DDAVP administration. DDAVP is secreted by the brain and helps to concentrate urine. The bodies of some kids that wet the bed don't secrete this until they are older and may benefit from adminstration.
8. Don't ignore the problem. Years ago we used to say it was no problem and don't treat it because they will eventually outgrow the issue. But now we know that if the child is bothered by it, then the psychological effects of bedwetting can be lifelong. Therefore if you feel your child or teen is bothered by the bedwetting, then seek medical attention and a solution sooner rather then later.

Sheila Cason MD