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Bedwetting Cures

Figuring out just how to stop bed wetting, or enuresis, can be difficult. Since all children are different, a technique that worked for one family may not work for you.

At Home Ideas
There are many things that you and your child can do at home to help prevent bed wetting. While liquids aren’t necessarily a cause of bed wetting, there’s no harm in limiting them towards bedtime. And try to avoid caffeinated drinks after lunch since caffeine helps to increase the production of urine.

If your child is at all afraid of the dark, you may want to consider putting a night-light in bathroom as well as in the hallway. This will help make these areas less scary to your little one, thereby banishing any reluctance to leave her bed during the night.

Since children often haven’t developed the skill of waking up when they need a toilet, help your child out by waking him up during the night. Only once during the night is necessary; you don’t want to cause sleep deprivation in your son just so you can have dry sheets in the morning. Even if he says he doesn’t have to go, encourage him to at least try. If your child is a bit older, then you may want to set an alarm clock that can act as his own special bed wetting alarm to wake him up instead of you.

If your child does have an accident during the night, get her involved in the clean up. However, remember that this isn’t meant as punishment. The point is to help her learn to adult responsibilities.

Some parents have found sticker charts to be very successful to help stop bed wetting. Similar to a toilet training sticker chart, your child gets to put a sticker on the chart every night that she stays dry. For children that can’t stay dry at least a few nights a week, using the stickers as encouragement to stay dry for half a night may be helpful. The stickers help to chart your child’s progress as well as keep him motivated to stay dry.

Keep an eye on the language you use when dealing with bed wetting with your child. You want to support her, not make her feel bad about a problem. Using positive language instead of negative comments can make a big difference to your child. (Read more on bedwetting and dealing with your child’s emotions.) Is she suffers a setback, help her feel better about it by pointing out something positive, like how she’s managed to have three dry nights in a row or how she didn’t wet the bed as much as last time.

Bedwetting Alarm Systems
Among the many bedwetting products out there, a bedwetting alarm is one of the most commonly employed devices. This is because bedwetting alarms are safe, inexpensive and very effective. It is often the first line of defense for parents of bedwetters.

Bed wetting alarms are very simple devices that go off when your child starts to urinate. It works by using two metal strips that attach to pajamas or underwear. When your child’s clothing gets wet from the urine, the metal strips send a signal to the alarm, which is placed on his shirt, setting it off. Depending on the model of your enuresis alarm, your child will be alerted with either a buzzer (good for deep sleepers) or vibrations. Be aware, though, that the buzzer alarm can be quite loud; it will likely wake up the entire family.

The alarm systems are so effective at curing bed wetting because they force your child to take notice of her problem. Plus, as everyone knows, getting woken up by an alarm is no fun. So, it doesn’t take long for your child’s brain to learn that holding the urine in will let her keep sleeping.

The majority of children manage to have dry nights within two months of using a bed wetting alarm. Of these children, anywhere from 70% to 80% of them will continue to stay dry even when they stop using the alarms. Parenting Advice features stories about how some parents have dealt with this problem.

Medical Interventions
Some doctors may opt to prescribe medication to treat a child’s bed wetting problem. While medication can certainly help prevent bed wetting, many people try to avoid it for numerous reasons.

Prescription Drugs
First, it can be expensive, plus prescription drugs are a treatment, not a cure. This means that, as soon as your child stops taking the medication, the bed wetting is likely to start up again (and usually does). Drugs do not teach your child how to control her bladder. Additionally, medications often come with side effects, some of which can be quite serious and even fatal if an overdose occurs.

Use of medications to treat bed wetting should be done after careful consideration and a thorough discussion with your child’s pediatrician has occurred. To make the drugs more beneficial to your child, you may want to consider supplementing the treatment with a bed wetting alarm.

Biofeedback
Another medical method is biofeedback. This form of treatment is safe and non-invasive. Biofeedback helps children who wet the bed by helping them learn to control their bladder as well as strengthen their pelvic floor muscles, which is key to making it through the night dry.

Biofeedback treatment involves your child having two patches placed on her bottom. These patches are connected to a computer. A specialized nurse will then instruct your child to contract certain muscles. The computer will let her know immediately whether or not the correct muscle was contracted. This type of treatment is often covered by insurance, but check with your provider first if you’re considering this option.

Alternative Treatments
While prescription drugs and a bed wetting alarm system are the most common ways of treating enuresis, there are other bed wetting solutions. Homeopathic treatment for bedwetting in children is one option. Through the use of natural pills, your child’s bladder is controlled, helping him stay dry. While the pills are usually safe, discuss your options with a trained homeopathic practitioner first.

Another option is hypnosis. This method has been found to be about as successful as the bed wetting alarm system, is completely safe and has no side effects. Hypnosis can work within four to six sessions, making it a fast-acting solution. Although hypnosis has traditionally had mystic associations, it is increasingly becoming accepted by the medical profession as a reliable form of treatment for many problems.

Hypnosis involves mental imagery and teaching relaxation skills. It allows your child to gain a conscious control over her problems and allows her to be proactive in the solution. However, the technique does need to be taught to your child and not all pediatricians know how to do it or believe in this method, so it is not necessarily an option for everyone.

Items To Keep That Bottom (Or At Least That Mattress) Dry
Before you start to look for a cure, you may want stock up on some bed wetting supplies. A plastic cover for your child’s mattress is one way to make clean-ups a bit easier. Some parents like to layer; first plastic then a sheet then another layer of plastic followed by a final sheet. This way, if your child has a nighttime accident, he just needs to remove one layer of cotton and plastic sheets before he can crawl back into a dry bed. You might also want to keep an extra pair of pajamas by the bed that he can change into.

Bedwetting diapers can also help keep the mattress dry. There are many different versions of diapers for bedwetting on the market these days, so you’re bound to find just the right one for your child. Bedwetting Goodnites are one popular brand. However, if your child is going to a sleep over, she may want something that appears more like underwear.

Bedwetting pants are a great solution for many kids, especially when you’re looking for a bedwetting boy diaper. Bedwetter pants look very similar to underwear and even have a cloth cover. However, they are very absorbent, which means your little one can sleep at a friend’s house and wake up in the morning without having to worry about any embarrassing accidents.