I am EXCITED that I have you thinking about the why's!  There are several
causes of bed wetting - but why would allergies be a cause?  --- because
allergies cause inflammation and swelling of the tissue lining the airway -
thus reducing the size of the airway - thus making it more difficult to
breathe - and more prone to closure and causing an obstruction.  Don't people
have a tendency to snore or have more trouble breathing when they have
allergies, colds, or hay fever?  People also snore more after a night of
partying - why?  Same reasons - alcohol can cause slight swelling of the
tissue (my wife blocks up just after a small drink), and it can cause muscle
tone to decrease or become atonic - when on your back gravity takes over and
the muscles (mainly tongue) rolls back like jelly and obstructs (blocks) or
narrows the airway.  "Narrowed" airways cause the vibration that you hear as
snoring - the "snort" you hear is a person unblocking their airway.  If
anyone knows someone who has long "pauses" and then "snorts" while sleeping -
please encourage them to be evaluated by a physician trained in sleep apnea -
it is a deadly medical condition.  My brother has been in a coma in a
hospital for over a year - obstructive sleep apnea was ONE of the
contributing causes!

Putting it simply - when people obstruct (have an apneic event) they have to
"snort" or force air past the closure to open it.  I know many of you have
elbowed your husbands when he makes all that noise (don't laugh - some of you
ladies get elbowed too!).  All kinds of chemical things can happen, but again
to keep it simple,  the abdominal pressure for that "snort" can put pressure
on the bladder and cause it to release.  Factors include: development and
strength of sphincter, fullness of bladder, medications, degree of
sleepiness, etc.  I know some adults who have "accidents" when they sneeze or
cough because they still have a weak sphincter.

Brian Palmer DDS, ILCA member as well as member of 2 hospital sleep teams.

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