A bedwetting alarm for treating enuresis
Today I will discuss treating bedwetting with a bedwetting alarm. There are several models on the market and prices vary considerably. I always recommend looking on a trusted online shopping website where you can read other people’s reviews before buying. I have no shares in any company or website. After treating many children and speaking with their families, my recommendation is to search for ‘alarma enuresis’ on websites such as Amazon or AliExpress. I recommend spending around €12 to €40, checking that there are plenty of reviews and an average rating of 4 to 5 stars. Prices change when a particular alarm becomes popular, but the maximum is around €40. Other alarm systems, such as Pipistop®, are slightly more expensive, around €80, and have similar success rates. Below are some brands available online, although there are many others:
Bedwetting alarm models available on the market
Below, I will answer the most frequently asked questions about using a bedwetting alarm:
What is a bedwetting alarm?
A bedwetting alarm is one of the best methods for treating enuresis and one of the most widely used. It consists of a sensor placed in underwear, a nappy, pants or bedsheets, connected to a device that makes a very loud sound when urine touches the sensor. This gradually changes the child’s sleep so that they begin to recognise when their bladder is about to empty. Alarm treatment is completely harmless and, when used correctly, can cure most children with enuresis, although not all.
Which children may benefit from an alarm?
Treatment is usually recommended from 6-7 years of age, after other causes of bedwetting, such as nocturnal polyuria or an overactive bladder, have been ruled out, and when the child is well motivated. It works best when bedwetting is frequent, with wetting on almost every night.
How is the alarm used?
Before starting, it is important to know that alarm treatment requires considerable commitment and effort for 2-3 months, but this effort is usually worthwhile!
To make the alarm as effective as possible, remember these very simple rules:
- The whole family must understand that the alarm is not a punishment that sounds when the child wets the bed; it is a way to help them stop bedwetting.
- Parents need to be ready to help the child get up when the alarm sounds. Most children with enuresis sleep very deeply and cannot get up by themselves during the first few weeks. This usually means that parents need to sleep in or near the child’s room during those first weeks of treatment.
- When the alarm sounds, the child should get up, try to wake up fully, go to the toilet and finish passing urine.
- Treatment must be consistent and should not be interrupted on any night.
- The child needs motivation and encouragement. Reward their courage and effort in trying the treatment, rather than the nights when the bed stays dry.
How can I tell whether it is working?
An alarm does not work immediately. It changes the child’s sleep gradually until bedwetting stops. However, certain signs show that treatment is beginning to work:
- At first, your child will probably not wake up on their own when the alarm sounds. Often the whole family, and even the neighbours, wake up while the child remains fast asleep. A sign that treatment is starting to work is that your child becomes easier to wake or even starts waking up independently to the sound of the alarm.
- It is also very common initially for the alarm to sound when the whole bed or nappy is soaked. A sign of improvement is a smaller amount of urine when the alarm sounds. After some time, families sometimes think the alarm is broken because it goes off while the bed seems dry. This is actually another sign of improvement. The sensors are extremely sensitive and a single drop can trigger the alarm. If everything seems dry, it does not mean the alarm is broken; it means treatment is moving in the right direction.
- It is also a good sign if your child has more dry nights or wakes up independently to use the toilet during the night.
How long should treatment last?
Try treatment for at least 6 weeks. If there are positive effects, such as waking more easily, fewer wet nights or smaller amounts of urine leakage, continue until there have been 14 consecutive dry nights. At that point, the bedwetting will probably have resolved permanently.
If there has been no response after 6 weeks, stopping the alarm would probably be appropriate. Your paediatrician or paediatric urologist will advise whether another treatment, or a combination of treatments, might help your child.
I hope you enjoyed today’s post and, above all, found it useful. In the next posts, we will discuss other treatments for nocturnal enuresis, such as desmopressin (Minurin®) when bedwetting is caused by nocturnal polyuria, meaning excessive urine production at night, and anticholinergics, such as oxybutynin, Ditropan®, when it is associated with an overactive bladder.
Best wishes, and see you soon!