Posts Tagged ‘Daytime wetting’

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.

Moisture-proof underwear choices

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

I would like to discuss our moisture-proof underwear choices. By popular demand, we have recently added several new underwear options to the line that we carry.

In feedback from our customers, we were asked for a “green” washable alternative to nighttime disposable pants. Over years, the amount of money that families were spending on disposables was adding up. The new Bedtime Pants fit this need. Designed to resemble longer length boxer briefs, these are completely waterproof and washable. An absorbent sewn-in pad extends from the front to back waistband. An absorbent disposable pad can be used over this to double the absorbency in those children who produce large amounts of urine. The best fit is one in which the absorbent pad fits close to the body. These pants can be machine washed and dried and used again the next night. They are European sizes and tend to run a little small. Children need to know that these are bulkier than the disposables they are used to using. In order for cloth to be absorbent, there must be more layers and padding. Even though they are bulkier than regular underwear, they are more discreet than disposable pants for children who are doing a sleepover or camp.

We were also asked for daytime alternatives to wearing pull-ups to school. This communication was often from families whose children had developmental difficulties, urologic problems or daytime accidents. They wanted these to be easy access for kids to handle independently. We offer two selections in this category-daytime absorbent briefs and easy-open absorbent briefs. Designed to look like regular cloth underwear, the padded area between the legs catches any leakage. The outside of this area of the underwear is waterproof, so prevents any embarrassing spots on the outside clothing. The original daytime briefs pull on just like regular underwear. The easy-open absorbent briefs have Velcro sides. These are ideal for children who need to do self-catheterizations or who find it difficult to stand to pull underwear up and down. These underwear are designed to be used in the upright position and are not completely waterproof. For this reason, they are not to be used for nighttime wetting.

Lastly, families asked for an alternative to the old-fashioned “rubber pants” to prevent leaking, either from disposables or from absorbent underwear or diapers. In the new protective vinyl pants, the vinyl barrier is sandwiched between two layers of cotton cloth. They come in pretty colors of light blue or navy and appear to be no different from regular underwear. These pull up and down and stand up to repeated washings. It’s best to dry on low heat. These pants do not provide absorbency so should be used in conjunction with an absorbent product or as a backup to prevent a few drops of wetness from leaking through to clothing.

We’re pleased to now carry this full line of washable, reusable and comfortable underwear to meet all of your needs. It’s important to choose the right product, with the right fit. Measure your child’s waist before ordering. Call us if you need help in selecting any waterproof product. 800-214-9605

Daytime Wetting

Friday, January 9th, 2009

I want to share some effective strategies for school aged children with daytime wetting or leaking.  Daytime wetting is a little more common in girls, and nighttime wetting is a little more common in boys, but both sexes can be affected. The children often describe that they don’t feel like they need to go to the bathroom until the last minute. Then it’s too late and urine begins to come out in their underwear. Parents describe the frustration of noticing that their child is fidgeting or reminding them to go to the bathroom, with their child responding “I don’t have to go”. Five minutes later, urine is leaking out or they are urgently trying to find a bathroom.

Making sure that the urine/urinary tract is normal is always prudent when noticing this behavior. You can consult with your pediatrician about this. Also, constipation and infrequent stools can contribute to daytime wetting problems. Address these factors first. If neither of these things is found to be contributory, you can move on to some behavioral techniques.

It seems that when these children’s bladders become overly full, they sent a very urgent message to the brain and begin contracting before the child has a chance to get to the bathroom. Parents describe this as “waiting until the last minute” or being so interested in play that they “ignore needing to go to the bathroom”. You and I receive messages from our bladder well in advance of actually needing to use the bathroom. We have time to finish what we’re doing and leisurely make our way to the toilet. Children with daytime wetting often don’t have this luxury.

We know that “timed voiding”, which is emptying the bladder on a schedule, rather than waiting for internal messages, is very effective in preventing overfull bladders from sending urgent messages. It’s almost impossible for a child, who has little comprehension of time, to remember to “Go to the bathroom every 2 hours”. A discreet, independent reminder can make all the difference.

Using a vibratory wristwatch is a great way of fostering the independent behavior of going to the bathroom on a regular schedule. Usually around every 2 hours is a good amount of time to begin with. For school age children, I prefer watches in which you can set specific times. That way, you can coordinate with the teacher the times that would be less disruptive but allow him/her to start p.e., recess or lunch with an empty bladder. Voiding at the end of the school day allows your child to begin the trip to home with an empty bladder, eliminating accidents on the bus or running to the bathroom when entering the house.

The Vibrowatch offers 12 independent times and vibrates about 20 seconds, making it difficult to ignore. The Medose and WobL watch each offer 6 independent alarms, and vibrate for 20 and 5 seconds, respectively. You can watch these videos to get a better idea of how these watches work. Most of my patients are amazed at how well their children do once they’re given a simple tool to help.