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Pager Alarms

Friday, August 28th, 2009

PLM writes that her 15 year old son is feeling hopeless about his nightly bedwetting. She bought him a vibrating pager alarm last year but he found it uncomfortable and refused to use it after the first couple weeks. It didn’t work for him because he must have taken it out of his underwear in his sleep. She reports that in the morning the pager bedwetting alarm would be on the floor and he was soaked. He also tried bedwetting medication and the maximum dose made no difference. He feels like he will be wetting forever. What can they do?

PLM, first of all, reassure your son that there are still effective options available. Because children and teens with bedwetting usually sleep very soundly through the bedwetting episode, it usually takes more than a discreet vibration to alert them that wetting is taking place. Parental assistance is important, even at this age. Pager alarms, which vibrate only, do not allow the parents to be alerted to provide the necessary assistance. The only way for a parent to know that the wetting is occurring is for them to hear a sound. Once you hear the sound, go to your son’s room and remind him what he should do next. Remind your son that he needs to get up and walk to the bathroom, especially if you notice he is trying to roll over and go back to sleep. Be persistent. Over time, his brain will make the association that he needs to respond to this sound and get up to go to the bathroom. He will become more independent and stop the flow of urine more quickly as time goes on. The average time it takes to get to dryness is 10-12 weeks so make sure he has realistic goals. Committing to using the alarm for this long is important to his success but the results are well worth the effort that it takes initially. I have personally seen hundreds of hopeless teens get to dryness using a bedwetting alarm that works well for them.

My alarm pick for this age group is the Rodger wireless, which sounds from a unit plugged into the wall. The user has to get out of bed and walk over to the wall to turn it off once it has sensed the moisture. Once he or she is out of bed, they should just head into the bathroom. The Malem wireless is another option. The receiver can be placed anywhere in the room since it is battery powered. It isn’t quite as loud as the Rodger alarm, however. The Selectable Malem Ultimate is a third option. This alarm provides sound and vibration both and allows the user to choose the ring tone that alerts them best.

Waterproof Mattress Pads

Monday, July 20th, 2009

PL wonders about protecting her son’s new mattress from wetness. He has an occasional wet night but is usually dry. On the wet nights, even his pillow can get wet. He also climbs into his parent’s King size pillow top bed on occasion and mom would like to protect it from wetness as well. What is recommended?

It is prudent to protect all mattresses from wetness, as well as spills, other fluids, dust mites, bedbugs, etc. Waterproof mattress pads and waterproof mattress covers are great for this. The difference between waterproof pads and waterproof covers is that pads are usually absorbent while covers offer protection but less absorbency. The other big difference between the waterproof mattress protectors is the type of waterproof barrier, either vinyl or polyurethane. Vinyl is less expensive but doesn’t breathe as well as the polyurethane barriers. Individuals who sweat easily may not find the vinyl to be as comfortable.

For your son’s bed, an economical solution is a good basic waterproof mattress pad. This is three layers, does provide some absorbency and has a vinyl barrier. It can be washed and dried by itself and is easy to take off and put on. If your son is a “warm sleeper”, either the Beautyrest breathable mattress pad or a premium breathable mattress cover is a good choice. The premium breathable pillow covers are also a very popular product. They zip on the pillow, provide waterproof protection and are easy to machine wash and dry.

A fitted or zippered premium mattress cover for your own bed is a good choice. I have these on my own bed and pillow and forget that they’re even there. These waterproof mattress and pillow covers are lightweight, have a terry cloth top and can be laundered in the same load as the sheets. They dry quickly and are easy to put on the bed. The breathable premium covers cost more than the vinyl waterproof mattress covers, but they last longer and have a 10 year warranty.

Learning to learn

Friday, June 19th, 2009

I was recently at a meeting where the speaker was talking about the best employees. He stated that the best workers are ones who have “learned how to learn”. I would like to extend that to parents. The best parents have learned that each child is different and they need to continuously learn new techniques, new communication styles, new ways to deal with behavior, etc. By coming to this website and searching for tools and solutions to end your child’s bedwetting, you have taken an important first step.

Many moms and dads talk to me about the frustration that they sometimes feel when faced with their child’s bedwetting. It’s hard for families who have not experienced ongoing bedwetting issues to be empathetic and it’s hard to take health care provider’s advice “don’t worry; he’ll grow out of it”. Learning about techniques like using bedwetting alarms to help your child learn a new behavior speeds up the resolution of bedwetting.

Let me know what you have “learned” along the way to solving your child’s bedwetting so I can learn from you and share with others. Thanks!

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