Posts Tagged ‘vacation’

Summer Camp and Bedwetting

Friday, June 18th, 2010

My 10 year old is leaving in a month for a week of summer camp. He really wants to go but I am worried because he wets 2 or 3 times a week. What should we do?

This is a common question this time of year. I am re-posting some suggestions that I wrote last year about this time. Parents wonder what to do??

First, if your child is currently using an alarm, we would not expect him or her to take it to camp with them. They can interrupt usage and restart when they come home.

Secondly, a back up plan should be in place, even for kids who wet intermittently. There are a few choices:

• Wear disposable pants, with a plan for putting them on discreetly and disposal in the morning. Disposables come in all sizes, even small through extra large adult sizes. If your child has outgrown traditional children’s pull-ups, there are still many options. Disposable male guards or women’s incontinence pads can be secured to regular underwear to catch a small amount of urine. Disposable underpads that lie on a sheet or in a sleeping bag have tape strips to hold them in place.

• Use washable bedtime pants to preserve dignity. These can be a nice back-up for kids who are dry most nights but want to make sure there is no leakage onto bedding.

• Waterproof sleeping bag liners fit into a regular sleeping bag. They provide a comfortable, waterproof surface for sleeping without raising questions from other campers.

• Mattress overlays can be used on top of a sheet or used inside a sleeping bag. The overlays can be discreetly pulled into place when your child is ready to go to sleep. The new blue cloud overlays are colorful and look like a regular piece of bedding.

• Make arrangements with the camp counselor to have toileting twice before bedtime and to continue a lifting routine if this is used successfully at home. (Lifting is when a caregiver walks the child to the bathroom at a designated time.)

• Medication, such as desmopressin, can be used temporarily to decrease the amount of urine produced that night. The correct dosage should be determined a week or two before camp begins. Only a small amount of liquid (2-4 ounces) should be ingested once this medication is used. It is best dosed shortly before actually going to sleep.

Lastly, make sure that your child knows that they are not alone and most camps are very helpful in discreetly handling any wetting episodes. Fluid of choice after dinner is water. Double voiding before going to sleep is helpful. Staying well hydrated during the day is helpful so the kids are not so thirsty later in the day.

Holiday Travel

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Travel can be stressful, but it can be even more of a headache if your child wets the bed at night. Whether your child’s headed off for a weekend at grandma’s or it’s time for a holiday family vacation, packing smart will make the event go much more smoothly for everyone involved.

First of all, stock up on protective undergarments. Because they don’t require washing and drying, disposables are ideal for travel. It’s a good idea to buy more than you think your child will need, just in case. In addition to what you can find in the grocery stores, we carry several styles of pull-ups are available in sizes to fit larger or older kids. For example, the Tranquility Overnight Disposable Underwear, are available in an XS Adult (17-28” waist) and S Adult (22-36” waist) and absorb more a quart of urine, about a cup more than GoodNites.

Disposable underpads are also a great product to have when traveling. They have an absorbent layer and a waterproof layer and can be placed right on top of the fitted sheet. The most popular ones are the underpads with the adhesive strips on the back. These pads stay in place, even if your child is a restless sleeper. They can also be used with moisture-sensing alarms, so they’re a good option if you intend to use your alarm through the vacation. Again, it’s a good idea to pack more than you think you need, especially since these aren’t available in most stores.

If your child is mostly dry, but you want to ensure that your host or hotel’s bedding stays as clean as when you found it, take along a precautionary waterproof overlay. This can be discreetly placed on top of the sheet at bedtime and removed when the bed is made up the next day.

We receive many questions about temporarily stopping the use of the bedwetting alarm during travel. Taking a break for a few nights when your family is not at home is okay. Have a back-up plan using disposables or medication, and resume using the alarm when you return home.

Summer vacation

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

DC writes to ask about their family summer vacation. His daughter, age 9, is doing very well with using the alarm and is dry about half the nights. The other half of the time, she hears the alarm and gets up to finish urinating in the toilet. They will be gone for a week; part of the time will be with grandparents in their own room of the house and part of the time will be with friends in a beach house. She will be sharing a room with two same age girls who are not aware of her bedwetting. What should their plan be?

The ideal situation is where a child can continue to use the alarm each night, even if they are not in their own home. However, alarm use should never be embarrassing to a child. Maybe you could take your daughter’s alarm along to use the first part of vacation and take a back-up such as pull-ups for the second half of vacation. If she’s sensitive to that plan, walking her to the bathroom when you go to bed or if you’re up during the night might prevent any accidents. The fact that she only wets about half the nights right now is very encouraging. Double voiding before bed and choosing water as the after dinner beverage can help, too. Once you get back on schedule in your own home, she can resume regular alarm usage until she has 14 consecutive nights of dryness.

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