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Treatments
When you are ready to begin
By: Renee Mercer, MSN, CPNP
Treatment options generally fall into two categories: supportive and curative. Supportive interventions help “buy time” until your child stops wetting on their own. These include waterproof pants and bedding, lifting (walking your child to the bathroom at an arbitrary time), restricting fluids, motivational techniques and medications.
Curative approaches are currently limited to bedwetting alarms. In addition to becoming dry, a recent study reports that children who have used a bedwetting alarm actually have an increased daytime functional bladder capacity. While the exact mechanism of this occurrence is unknown, having the capacity to store more urine at a time is beneficial. (1)
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Long-term effectiveness of bedwetting solutions |
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Supportive |
% children dry one year later |
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Waiting |
%15 |
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Restricting Fluids |
%15 |
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Waking your child |
%15 |
| Using alarm clocks |
%15 |
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Medications* |
%15 |
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Curative |
% children dry one year later |
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Bedwetting alarms |
70-80% |
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*used 3-6 months |
Bedwetting alarms are a treatment tool designed to teach your child to respond to a full bladder by waking. Alarms come in several different styles: wearable alarms, wireless alarms, and pad-type alarms. While there is some variation in the styles of the alarms, they all function similarly. Each alarm has a moisture sensor component and an alarm component. When the child first begins to urinate the sensor will detect the moisture and sound the alarm.
Wearable Alarms.
A wearable alarm is a design in which the child wears the moisture sensor in or on their underwear or pajamas. This type of sensor will detect moisture almost immediately. The sensor is attached to an alarm box that is worn on the shirt. The sensor is attached to the alarm box with a cord that can be worn under the shirt. These are the best alarms for most children and our best units are the Malem and Malem ULTIMATE brands.
Wireless Alarms. A wireless alarm is one in which the sensor and the alarm unit communicate by a means other than a wire. The transmitter, which senses the moisture, is directly attached to the child's underwear. The signal is transmitted wirelessly to a unit that is across the room from the child. Once the alarm unit is activated, it is necessary to get out of bed to turn it off.
This type of alarm is useful for children who prefer not to wear a shirt to bed or ones who find wearing an alarm with a cord to be difficult to attach or uncomfortable. The Rodger Wireless alarm is our top-rated wireless model.
View a complete comparison chart of all our alarms. When choosing the right treatment for your child, individualizing your child's needs with the alarm features is helpful.
1. Hvistendahl, G.M. et al. The effect of alarm treatment on the functional bladder capacity in children with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis. (2004). J of Urology, 171(6),p2611-2614.
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