🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Childhood Enuresis: Consolidate the Foundation, Stop Urinary Incontinence
Enuresis, commonly known as "bedwetting," refers to involuntary urination during sleep in children aged three and above, with awareness only upon waking.
Generally, normal infants should gradually gain control over urination after 18 months of age. However, inability to control nighttime urination before age three is still considered a normal physiological phenomenon. If a child over three years old still cannot voluntarily control nocturnal urination, especially if this persists beyond age five, it becomes pathological, as children over three have increasingly developed qi and blood, and organ systems mature, enabling bladder control and expression. Of course, occasional enuresis in school-aged children due to excessive daytime activity, mental fatigue, or drinking large amounts of fluids before bedtime does not fall within the pathological category.
Some children with enuresis have had bedwetting since birth, while others may have been dry for over a year but relapse due to emotional stress or fatigue, persisting until adulthood. Rarely, adults still experience bedwetting. Chronic enuresis can lead to psychological distress, self-esteem issues, negatively affecting mental and physical health, and impairing intellectual and physical development.
According to international surveys, approximately 10–15% of children suffer from enuresis. Domestic data indicate an average incidence rate of about 10.77% among primary school students. Therefore, parents should clearly understand enuresis. If their child has enuresis, they should seek medical evaluation to rule out urinary tract infections, spina bifida (occult or associated with spinal cord herniation), spinal cord injury, epilepsy, or brain developmental abnormalities. Timely treatment is essential when indicated. Notably, the prevalence of occult spina bifida is high among enuretic children, and traditional Chinese medicine has shown good efficacy. For functional enuresis, TCM classifies patients into four types: Kidney Qi Deficiency, Spleen-Pulmonary Qi Deficiency, Liver Channel Damp-Heat, and Heart-Kidney Disharmony.
For children with Kidney Qi Deficiency, nightly bedwetting occurs multiple times, with clear, long urine and mild odor. During cold weather, frequent urination is common. Pale complexion, lack of luster, fatigue, cold limbs, cold sensitivity, or weak legs, slightly below-average intelligence compared to peers, pale tongue with white slippery coating, etc. Treatment: Warm and tonify kidney yang. Herbal formula:
Yizhi Ren 10g, Buyouzhi 10g, Fu Ling 15g, Shan Rong Yu 10g
Dousizi 10g, Wuweizi 6g, Bai Guo 10g, Sang Piaoxiao 15g
Rou Gui 3g
Dietary therapy: 9g of Welsh onion seeds ground into powder, mixed with flour to make pancakes, consumed in two portions daily for 6–7 days, then adjusted based on condition. Or use one sheep stomach, cleaned and boiled into soup with seasoning, eaten on an empty stomach once daily for 7–8 days.
If the child also exhibits signs of Spleen-Pulmonary Qi Deficiency, such as shortness of breath, lethargy, pale yellow complexion, poor appetite, loose stools, sweating easily with slight exertion, pale tongue with thin white coating, then treat by tonifying spleen and lung to consolidate urinary control. Formula:
Dang Shen 10g, Huang Qi 10g, Bai Zhu 10g, Chen Pi 10g
Yi Zhi Ren 10g, Bai Guo 10g, Chai Hu 10g, Shan Yao 10g
Wu Yao 10g, Ji Nei Jin 10g, Qian Shi 10g
Decoct and take orally.
Additional dietary therapy: One hen, 100g rice (white), 30g daylily flowers, 50g prepared Rehmannia. Remove feathers and internal organs from the hen, wrap Huang Qi and prepared Rehmannia in cloth, place together in a pot and boil until soft. Remove herbs and bones, add rice to cook into porridge. Season freely and consume. Alternatively, use 10 dried lychees, one per day for 6–7 days, or 50g fresh lychee meat and 50g glutinous rice stuffed into a pig bladder, cooked and eaten for 5–6 days.
For Liver Channel Damp-Heat type: Nocturnal enuresis with moderate urine volume but strong odor, yellow urine, accompanied by irritability, red face, red lips, thirst, preference for drinking, red tongue with yellow coating. Treatment: Drain liver heat, clear dampness. Formula:
Long Dan Cao 6g, Huang Qin 10g, Zhi Zi 6g, Ze Xie 10g
Mu Tong 3g, Che Qian Zi 10g, Dang Gui 10g, Sheng Di 10g
Chai Hu 6g, Bai Guo 6g, Gan Cao 3g, etc.
Note: This formula must not be used in cases of spleen-stomach deficiency or lower-jiao cold deficiency.
Dietary therapy: One pig bladder, 9–15g Yizhi Ren (or 100g Job's tears, or 100g glutinous rice, or 100g lotus seeds). Wash and cut open the pig bladder, fill with any of the above herbs, boil until cooked, and consume. Once daily for 5–6 days. Simpler method: Use 9g Yizhi Ren, stir-fry with vinegar, grind into fine powder, divide into three portions, dissolve in warm water, and take daily for 6–7 days.
For Heart-Kidney Disharmony type: Enuresis during dreams, restless sleep, irritability, agitation, hyperactivity during the day, hot palms and soles, emaciation, red tip of the tongue with sharp points, thin coating. Treatment: Clear heart fire, nourish kidney. Formula:
Sheng Di 20g, Zhu Ye 6g, Mu Tong 3g, Huang Lian 1.5g
Rou Gui 3g, Gan Cao 1g, Huang Jing 1g, Yu Zhu 10g
Sang Piaoxiao 10g, Yi Zhi Ren 10g
Children with enuresis usually do not wake up during the night, so in herbal formulas, tranquilizing and awakening herbs like Lotus Seed, Ephedra, Calamus, and Polygala are often added.
In addition to medication, other methods include acupuncture: select points such as Guanyuan, Qihai, Sanyinjiao, Yinlingquan, Yintang (2–3 points per session, optionally adding Zu Sanli). Hand acupuncture: Night Urination Point (midpoint of the transverse crease of the little finger), retain needles for 15 minutes. Ear acupuncture: Points for Kidney, Bladder, and Subcortex. Or use massage therapy: rub Dan Tian 200 times, massage abdomen for 20 minutes.
Parents should help children develop good habits: regular urination schedule, avoid excessive play during the day to prevent nighttime fatigue and oversleeping, reduce fluid intake in the evening, eat less liquid or soups for dinner. Before bedtime, remind the child to empty the bladder. At the time when the child usually wets the bed, wake them up to urinate. Gradually reduce the frequency of waking until the child can spontaneously void without assistance. Children with enuresis often carry significant psychological burdens, fearing embarrassment and shame. Parents should patiently guide and educate their children, avoiding blame or punishment. Help them overcome shyness and anxiety, build confidence in treatment, and maintain mental and physical well-being. For children with strong self-esteem, parents should keep their condition confidential.