Archive for the ‘Daytime wetting’ Category

Vibrating Wrist Watches for Nighttime

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

ST asks, “My 8 year old son can stay dry in the night if my husband or I wake him up 1 or 2 times. If we don’t wake him up, he wets. Can I set the vibrating alarm wrist watch for a couple of times a night so it can help his bet wetting and remind him to wake up?”

ST, I do not recommend this for a couple of reasons. First, how do you know what time your son will need to go to the bathroom? It’s difficult to predict when the bladder needs to empty, which can change from one night to the next. Because you are picking an arbitrary time to alert him, he will not be able to put together the signal of a full bladder and getting up at that precise time. This is also why setting an alarm clock for a specific time each night does not cure bedwetting. Moisture sensing bedwetting alarms are superior, because the alarm does not sound until your son physiologically needs to go to the bathroom.

The second reason is that a 20 second vibration on the wrist is typically not enough stimulation to wake a soundly sleeping child. Because the vibration stops after 20 seconds, most children will sleep through or ignore it and wake up wet and frustrated in the morning. Because you have no idea when the watch is vibrating, you cannot be available to help. With a sound making bedwetting alarm, you can be available to alert him when it sounds. Vibrating watches work great to remind children in the daytime when they should be using the bathroom. Because daytime wetting and nighttime wetting have some different causes, different products are best for each condition.

School Wetting

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

EP writes about her 7 year old daughter who will be starting 2nd grade soon. In first grade, there were times that she waited until the last minute and didn’t make it to the bathroom in time. This resulted in wet pants, sometimes requiring a complete change of clothes. She has been checked out by her doctor and there does not seem to be any associated problems. Mom wonders what she can do to prevent this from happening this school year.

Urologists around the country agree that this can be a common and frustrating problem that is best handled by frequent urination on a regular basis. Emptying the bladder regularly eliminates the urgent messages that sometimes result in urine leakage. The difficulty arises when children get busy with other activities and lose track of time. Telling a child to go potty every 2 or 3 hours is a hard concept to grasp. Even remembering to go to the bathroom before lunch or recess can be difficult. A discreet vibrating wrist watch is a reliable tool for providing a reminder to go to the bathroom.

We carry several vibrating wrist watches that are perfect for this purpose. Our top selling watch is the Vibrowatch. Up to 12 specific times can be programmed to coordinate with your daughter’s schedule. The watch vibrates for about 20 seconds and is difficult to ignore. It comes in several different colors and has a durable plastic band. Vibrating watches are generally a little larger than time telling watches to accommodate the larger battery.

Starting the new school year off with a reminder watch is likely to eliminate many of the embarrassing accidents she had last year. You can consult her teacher about the best toileting times and make sure she has free access to the bathroom when her watch reminds her to go.

Special Needs

Monday, March 30th, 2009

TF writes to ask about daytime toileting suggestions for her 8 year old daughter who is developmentally delayed. Mom writes that when she or her daughter’s teacher toilet her at regular intervals, many times she will release her urine in the toilet. The problem seems to be that she hasn’t been able to put together what it feels like when she needs to urinate so that she can anticipate when she needs to go to the bathroom. Many times when they check her pull-up, it is wet but they have no way of knowing exactly when the wetting occurred.

The Malem Recordable Alarm is a great solution for situations like this. The Easy-Clip sensor fits on the outside of her underwear to sense the first drop of moisture. (If she is in a situation where she cannot wear cloth underwear, a Standard sensor can be ordered which fits into a pull-up). Once the moisture is sensed, a message that you’ve recorded or a pre-recorded sound is played. You can record any message, but something like, “Mary, you need to go to the bathroom now” could be her reminder that she needs to stop what she is doing and go to the bathroom. Her teacher and you would also know precisely when the wetting was occurring so you could assist her with toileting. Over time, her brain would begin to make the association with a full bladder meaning it is time to go to the bathroom. We have had many reports from parents who have used this technique to enable their children with special needs achieve daytime dryness. This alarm can also be used for the nighttime, but I recommend that she become reliably dry in the daytime first.

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