Bed Wetting Treatment Options

Bed wetting is one of the most common problems among families and children. About 20 % of five year olds still wet their beds at night. The number decreases by half every year. There are different treatments or approach that parents could do to help their children get over with these nighttime accidents.

It all depends on the cause of the bed wetting. There are instances when bed wetting is caused by medical conditions like diabetes or bladder abnormality. There would be times when bed wetting is an effect of a traumatic experience. Parents would normally turn to treatment for bed wetting, when it is interfering with the child’s social life, affects the child’s self-esteem and associated with a disease or disorder.

• Bed Wetting Alarms

Bed wetting alarms sounds when they sense moisture. This could help the child to wake at the sensation of a full bladder. There are different alarms with different sounds, so the child would not get used to the sound of the alarm. Using bed wetting alarm is said to show results three months after starting the use of the alarms, with success rates as high as 70%.

• Desmopressin or DDVAP

This kind of medication is a replacement for the anti-diuretic hormone (ADH). The ADH is responsible for the reducing the production of urine at night or when asleep. Relapses or reverting back to bed wetting could happen once your child has stopped using them. just like any drugs, there are possible side-effects. One of which is having a seizure, especially if taken with a lot of fluids.

• Tricyclic anti-depressants

These prescription drugs can be used to treat bed wetting since the could change the child’s sleeping habits. At the same time, anti-depressants could also increase the amount of the time your child could hold the urine. It could also have an effect on how much urine is produced. However, they have side effects and should be taken carefully. An overdose could happen and eventually lead to death.

• Star charts

Even though there is not enough research that showed that children could stay dry with this kind of reward program, some doctors would still recommend this to help the child with his self-esteem.

• Dry bed training

This training has a strict schedule when the child will be brought to the bathroom every night. This is an attempt for the child to get conditioned on waking up on his own to relieve himself. However there are some studies showing that this kind of training is not effective.

Using different drugs or medication to treat bed wetting has proven to be effective. However, as mentioned, they would only work if your child will continue taking them. some parents would prefer using medication for overnight stays like sleepover, camps, slumber parties, etc.

But all experts agree that punishment and shaming is not an effective way of treating or dealing with your child’s bed wetting. There are studies showing that children who are punished and shamed for wetting the sheets would end up making the situation worse. This could also affect your child’s confidence.