Bedwetting in childhood in Maltese

What is bed-wetting?

Bed-wetting (also called nocturnal enuresis) is when the bladder empties while a child is asleep. This can happen every so often, or every night.

Bed-wetting is common. About one in every five children in Australia wets the bed. Bed-wetting can run in families and is more common in boys than girls before the age of nine years. It can be upsetting for the child and stressful for the whole family. The good news is that you can get help.

X’inhi t-tpixxija fis-sodda?

It-tpixxija fis-sodda (magħrufa wkoll bħala enuresi notturna) tiġri meta l-bużżieqa tal-awrina tiżvojta waqt li t-tifel/tifla jkunu reqdin. Dan jista’ jiġri kultant, jew kull lejl.

It-tpixxija fis-sodda hi komuni. Madwar wieħed minn kull ħamest itfal fl-Awstralja jpixxu fis-sodda. It-tpixxija fis-sodda tista’ tkun kundizzjoni ereditarja fil-familja u hi aktar komuni fost is-subien milli fil-bniet qabel l-età ta’ 9 snin. Tista’ tinkwieta lit-tifel/tifla u tkun stressanti għall-familja kollha. L-aħbar it-tajba hija li tista’ tikseb l-għajnuna.

What causes bed-wetting?

Wetting the bed is caused by a mix of three things:

• the body making a large amount of urine through the night;
• a bladder that can only store a small amount of urine at night; and
• not being able to fully wake up from sleep.

Children who wet the bed are not lazy or being naughty. Some illnesses are linked with bed-wetting, but most children who wet the bed do not have major health problems.

Day-time control of the bladder comes before night-time dryness. Most children are dry through the day by the age of three years and at night by school age. However, this can vary, and children may have accidents every so often, both day and night, up until they are seven or eight years of age.

X’inhuma l-kawżi tat-tpixxija fis-sodda?

It-tpixxija fis-sodda hi riżultat ta’ taħlita ta’ tliet affarijiet:

• il-ġisem jagħmel ammont kbir ta’ awrina matul il-lejl;
• il-bużżieqa tal-awrina tista’ taħżen biss ammont żgħir ta’ awrina matul il-lejl; u
• ma jkunx jista’ jqum għal kollox mir-raqda.

It-tfal li jpixxu fis-sodda mhumiex għażżenin jew imqarbin. Ċertu mard huwa marbut mat-tpixxija fis-sodda, imma l-biċċa l-kbira tat-tfal li jpixxu fis-sodda m’għandhomx problemi serji tas-saħħa.

Il-kontroll tal-bużżieqa tal-awrina matul il-ġurnata jiġi qabel in-nixfa matul il-lejl. Il-biċċa l-kbira tat-tfal jkunu nixfin matul il-ġurnata sal-età ta’ tlett snin u matul il-lejl meta jagħlqu l-età ta’ meta jibdew imorru l-iskola. Imma, dan jista’ jvarja, u t-tfal jista’ jkollhom aċċidenti kultant, kemm matul il-ġurnata u kemm matul il-lejl, sakemm jagħlqu seba’ jew tmien snin.

When should you seek help for bed-wetting?

It is best to seek help from a health professional with special training in children’s bladder problems, such as a doctor, physiotherapist or continence nurse advisor. They can help children with their bed-wetting from when the child is about six years of age. Before this time it can sometimes be hard to get the child to be helpful. However, in some cases it might be wise to seek help sooner, such as when:

• the child who has been dry suddenly starts wetting at night;
• the wetting is frequent after school age;
• the wetting bothers the child or makes them upset or angry; or
• the child wants to become dry.

Meta għandek tfittex l-għajnuna rigward it-tpixxija fis-sodda

L-aħjar ħaġa hi li titlob l-għajnuna minn professjonist tas-saħħa li għandu taħriġ speċjali fil-qasam tal-problemi tal-bużżieqa tal-awrina tat-tfal, bħal ngħidu aħna tabib, fiżjoterapista jew ners konsulent tal-kontinenza. Huma jistgħu jgħinu lit-tfal rigward il-problema tat-tpixxija fis-sodda minn meta t-tfal ikollhom madwar sitt snin. Qabel dan iż-żmien xi kultant jista’ jkun diffiċli iġġiegħel it-tfal jikkooperaw. Imma, f’xi każi tista’ tkun ħaġa tajba li titlob l-għajnuna aktar kmieni, bħal meta:

• it-tifel/tifla li kienu nixfin f’daqqa waħda jibdew ipixxu taħthom bil-lejl;
• it-tixrib fis-sodda jiġri spiss wara l-età tal-iskola;
• it-tpixxija tinkwieta lit-tifel/tifla jew tiddisturbahom jew tirrabjahom; jew
• it-tifel/tifla ma jridux ipixxu aktar taħthom.

Can bladder control through the day be a problem?

Some children who wet the bed at night also have problems with how their bladder works through the day. They may go to the toilet too few or too many times, need to rush to the toilet in a hurry, have trouble emptying out all the urine or have bowel problems. Unless the child has wet underwear, families often do not know about these other bladder and bowel control problems. New day-time wetting by a child who is toilet trained should be discussed with a doctor.

Il-kontroll tal-bużżieqa tal-awrina matul il-ġurnata jista’ jkun problema?

Xi tfal li jpixxu fis-sodda bil-lejl ikollhom problemi dwar kif taħdem il-bużżieqa tal-awrina tagħhom matul il-ġurnata. Huma jistgħu ma jmorrux it-tojlit biżżejjed jew imorru iżżejjed, jkollhom bżonn jiġru lejn it-tojlit, isibuha bi tqila jbattlu l-awrina kollha jew ikollhom problemi bl-imsaren. Spiss il-familji ma jkunux jafu dwar dawn il-problemi oħra tal-kontroll tal-bużżieqa tal-awrina u tal-imsaren għajr meta t-tfal ikollhom il-ħwejjeġ ta’ taħt imxarrbin. Episodji ġodda ta’ matul il-jum minn tfal li kienu mħarrġa jużaw it-tojlit għandhom jiġu diskussi mat-tabib.

What can be done about bed-wetting?

Many children do stop wetting in their own time with no help. Most often, if wetting is still very frequent after the age of eight or nine years, the problem does not get better by itself. There are many ways to treat bed-wetting. A health professional will begin by checking the child to make sure there are no physical causes and to find out how their bladder works through the day. Then, there are a few ways to treat bed-wetting that are most often used:

• Night alarms that go off when the child wets the bed. These work by teaching the child to wake up to the feeling of a full bladder. The alarm is used either on the bed or in the child’s underpants. The results are best when the child wants to be dry, wets very often, has help from a parent through the night, and uses the alarm every night for several months. Some children become dry using an alarm but later start to wet again. Alarms can work again after this relapse.
• Drugs that change how active the bladder is or cut down how much urine is made through the night can be prescribed by a doctor. These drugs can be used to help the bladder work better at night. Drugs alone don’t often cure bed-wetting. Bladder function must be improved or bed-wetting may come back when the drug is stopped.

X’jista’ jsir dwar it-tpixxija fis-sodda?

Ħafna mit-tfal jieqfu jpixxu meta jkunu komdi huma u bla għajnuna ta’ ħadd. Spiss,jekk it-tpixxija tkun għadha frekwenti ħafna wara l-età ta’ tmien jew disa’ snin, il-problema ma tissolvix waħedha. Hemm numru ta’ metodi kif tikkura t-tpixxija fis-sodda. Professjonist tas-saħħa jibda jeżamina t-tifel/tifla biex jara li m’hemmx kawżi fiżiċi u jara kif qed taħdem il-bużżieqa tal-awrina tagħhom matul il-ġurnata. Imbagħad, hemm numru ta’ metodi biex tikkura t-tpixxija fis-sodda li jintużaw l-aktar ta’ spiss:

• Allarmi ta’ bil-lejljiġu attivati meta t-tfal ipixxu fis-sodda. Dawn jaħdmu billi jgħallmu lit-tfal jqumu meta jħossu l-bużżieqa tal-awrina mimlija. L-allarm jintuża jew fuq is-sodda jew fil-qalziet ta’ taħt tat-tfal. Jingħataw l-aħjar riżultati meta t-tfal ma jkunux iridu jpixxu taħthom, ipixxu ħafna ta’ spiss, jingħataw għajnuna mill-ġenituri matul il-lejl, u jużaw allarm kull lejl għal numru ta’ xhur. Xi tfal ma jibqgħux ipixxu permezz tal-allarm imma mbagħad jerġgħu jibdew ipixxu taħthom. L-allarmi jistgħu jerġgħu jibdew jaħdmu mill-gdid wara li jaqgħu lura.
• Il-mediċini li jibdlu kemm il-bużżieqa tal-awrina tkun attiva jew inaqqsu kemm issir awrina matul il-lejl jistgħu jingħataw bir-riċetta tat-tabib. Dawn il-mediċini jistgħu jintużaw biex jgħinu il-bużżieqa tal-awrina taħdem aħjar bil-lejl. Il-mediċini waħedhom, spiss ma jikkurawx it-tpixxija fis-sodda. Il-funzjoni tal-bużżieqa tal-awrina trid tittejjeb jew it-tpixxija fis-sodda tista’ terġa’ tibda meta ma tingħatax aktar il-mediċina.

What can parents do?

• Seek help from a health professional with special training in children’s bladder problems, such as a doctor, physiotherapist or continence nurse advisor.
• Watch for constipation as this can make the bladder problem worse. Seek medical help if it is an ongoing problem.
• If your child is using a bed-wetting alarm, get up when it goes off and help to wake them up and change their clothes or sheet. Make sure there is enough light at night so it is easy to get to the toilet.

There are some things which do NOT help:

• DO NOT punish for wet beds.
• DO NOT shame the child in front of friends or family.
• DO NOT lift the child at night to toilet them. This may cut down on some wet beds, but it does not help the child learn to be dry.
• DO NOT try to fix bed-wetting when other family members are going through a stressful time.

X’jistgħu jagħmlu l-ġenituri?

• Jitolbu l-għajnuna mingħand professjonist tas-saħħa li għandu taħriġ speċjali fil-qasam tal-problemi tal-bużżieqa tal-awrina tat-tfal, bħal ngħidu aħna tabib, fiżjoterapista jew ners konsulent tal-kontinenza.
• Tkellem mat-tifel/tifla tiegћek dwar kif jaħdem ġisimhom.
• Jekk it-tifel/tifla tiegħek jibdew jużaw allarm tat-tpixxija fis-sodda, qum meta jiġi attivat u għinhom iqumu u biddel il-ħwejjeġ jew il-lożor tagħhom. Ara li hemm dawl biżżejjed bil-lejl biex ikunu jistgħu faċilment imorru t-tojlit.

Hemm xi affarijiet li tista’ tagħmel li MHUX ser jgħinu:

• TIKKASTIGAHOMX għax ipixxu fis-sodda.
• TĦAMMARX WIĊĊ it-tfal quddiem sħabhom jew membri tal-familja.
• TERFAX it-tifel/tifla bil-lejl biex imorru t-tojlit. Dan jista’ jnaqqas l-episodji tat-tpixxija fis-sodda, imma mhux ser jgħallimhom biex ma jpixxux.
• TIPPRUVAX issolvi l-problema tat-tpixxija fis-sodda meta membri oħra tal-familja jkunu għaddejjin minn żmien stressanti.

Seek help

Qualified nurses are available if you call the National Continence Helpline on 1800 33 00 66* (Monday to Friday, between 8.00am to 8.00pm Australian Eastern Standard Time) for free:

• Information;
• Advice; and
• Leaflets.

If you have difficulty speaking or understanding English you can access the Helpline through the free Telephone Interpreter Service on 13 14 50. The phone will be answered in English, so please name the language you speak and wait on the phone. You will be connected to an interpreter who speaks your language. Tell the interpreter you wish to call the National Continence Helpline on 1800 33 00 66. Wait on the phone to be connected and the interpreter will assist you to speak with a continence nurse advisor. All calls are confidential.

* Calls from mobile telephones are charged at applicable rates.

Itlob l-għajnuna

Hemm nersis ikkwalifikati jekk iċċempel lin-National Continence Helpline fuq 1800 33 00 66* (mit-Tnejn sal-Ġimgħa, bejn it-8.00am to 8.00pm AEST (Ħin Standard tal-Lvant tal-Awstralja)) mingħajr ħlas:

• Informazzjoni;
• Pariri; u
• Fuljetti.

Jekk ikollok diffikulta’ biex titkellem jew biex tifhem bl-Ingliż jista’ jkollok aċċess għall-Helpline permezz tat-Telephone Interpreter Service fuq 13 14 50 b’xejn. It-telefon ikun imwieġeb bl-Ingliż, għalhekk għid liema lingwa titkellem u stenna fuq it-telefon. Tkun ikkonnettjat/a ma’ interpretu li jitkellem il-lingwa tiegħek. Għid lill-interpretu li tixtieq li ċċempel lin-National Continence Helpline fuq 1800 33 00 66. Stenna fuq it-telefon biex tkun ikkonnettjat/a u l-interpretu jgħinek biex titkellem ma’ ners li tagħti pariri dwar il-kontinenza. It-telefonati kollha huma konfidenzjali.

* Telefonati minn fuq telefonijiet mowbajl ikunu ċċarġjati r-rati li japplikaw.