Spring and summer are the times of year parents of a bedwetting child dread most. School is on holidays and every kid in the class is looking forward to a summer of sleepovers and fun – every kid that is, except yours because he or she is anxious about wetting their bed or taking nappies with them to sleepovers.
And although many parents may have tried to help their child to stop wetting their bed at night, it may not necessarily have been the right way.
In the first instance, the recommended treatment for bedwetting is with a bedwetting alarm as there is good evidence to show that they are effective in stopping bedwetting. Bedwetting alarms are usually recommended after six years of age to train children to become dry at night.
Bed wetting alarms therapy is a conditioning treatment. The aim of the treatment is to teach the child to recognise and respond to a full bladder during sleep. Bedwetting alarms are used to teach the child to wake up whenever wetting begins and to go to the toilet to finish urinating.
There are two kinds of alarms:
A pad and bell alarm which has a pad connected to an alarm or bell that rings when the pad gets wet
A body worn alarm (or personal alarm) that can be attached onto the child’s pyjamas or nightie. Parents should consider a body worn alarm as it is portable and can be taken on holidays with the child, if necessary. These devices are now of a very high quality, are easy to use and affordable for families.
It really is important that the child wants to be dry when using an alarm. And since alarms may take time and effort from the family and child, it is essential that everyone understands the problem. When using a bedwetting alarm, the aim is to have fewer wet nights or smaller wet patches and when the child has at least 14 dry nights in a row, it is considered a treatment success.
It may take up to three months for a bedwetting alarm to work and best results are achieved with the support of a healthcare professional. Bedwetting alarms are not suitable for all patients and not all patients will respond to an alarm. In these cases, it would be appropriate to consult a doctor as medication may be a suitable option.
The key to success with a bedwetting alarm is correct use. This means for the first few nights, when the child wets the bed and the alarm goes off, the parent may have to go into the child’s bedroom, help them wake up if they’re not awake already (as some kids are very deep sleepers) and take them to the bathroom to finish going to the toilet. If the child is older, he or she should always be responsible for turning off the alarm.
Bedwetting can be treated and spring and summer is a great time to try. Seeking advice from a healthcare professional about alarm treatment and other treatments available would be the first step to take.
Tim Akroyd is the Business Unit Manager for Urology and Endocrinology with Ferring Pharmaceuticals in Australia. Tim is responsible for products such as the WetAlert® bedwetting alarms the leading enuresis alarm. Amongst the bedwetting alarms available, Ferring supplies the WetAlert® bed wetting alarm
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