She advises: Ruling out medical conditions that cause incontinence, including diabetes, urinary tract infections and kidney disease, as well as certain anatomic abnormalities of the genitourinary tract and some neurological disorders that affect brain-bladder signaling Letting your child know that this is a fixable condition and providing lots of emotional support Eating a diet rich in fiber with plenty of raw fruits and vegetables every day Drinking plenty of water to ease urination: The marker of good hydration is urine color, which should be pale yellow or as clear as water Send your child to school with a bottle of water (flavored, if necessary, with a bit of honey or lemon juice) rather than sugar-rich drinks Stopping fluids about three hours before bedtime Emptying the bladder immediately before going to bed Keeping a toileting diary for several days before the visit to the doctor and writing down how often a child empties the bladder, along with the number of daytime and nighttime accidents

Although bedwetting can increase around back-to-school time, Wang says, the condition appears to be on the rise year-round.

"Anecdotally, we are seeing more and more patients referred to us by general pediatricians," says Wang.

While experts have yet to verify the increase scientifically or tease out the factors behind it, Wang believes that more awareness of the condition, combined with lifestyle choices are the two main drivers.

Poor nutrition and eating and voiding habits are major contributors, Wang says, and children with constipation are also prone to bedwetting because both interfere with control of the pelvic muscles involved in toileting.

SOURCE Johns Hopkins Children's Center