Bedwetting

(Nocturnal Enuresis) is a common childhood condition.

It affects

  • 15-20 % of 5 year olds
  • 5% of 10 year olds
  • 1-2% of 15 year olds

It is twice more common in boys than girls (up to the age of  9), and often runs in families.

Causes of Bedwetting

The most common causes of bedwetting are:

  • Difficulty arousing/waking from sleep when the bladder is full
  • Family History
  • Making more urine at night than the bladder can hold (this is caused by lower levels of a hormone/chemical message that tells the kidneys to make less urine at night).

Bedwetting can be a frustrating problem for both children and parents but treatment programs are available that are successful and safe.  Often advice is given that the child will ‘grow out of it’ and whilst some children do grow out of it over time, only 15% of children grow out of bedwetting each year.  This leaves many children still wetting the bed.

When should you seek help:

If your child is bothered by the wetting there is no need to wait for him/her to grow out of it. A successful treatment program results in not just a dry child but usually a much happier child and family.

Some general guidelines about when to start treatment are:

  • It is best to wait until your child reaches 6 years of age. Ages 6-8 are good ages for treatment.  (Sometimes children can be treated from 5 ½ years of age).
  • When your child is motivated to become dry at night
  • When your child is bothered by the wetting

Although some younger children will grow out of bedwetting, after the age of 8 this is much less likely to happen.

Treatment Programs

Professional treatment programs for bedwetting have a high success rate. Usually a combination of therapies will be used to help your child become dry.  Treatment programs have a higher chance of success if supervised by a qualified health professional who specialises in bedwetting.

At Dry Kidz your child is:

  • Individually assessed by a qualified and experienced continence nurse
  • Given a program that combines different treatments which may include;

     

    • Bladder Training
    • Bedwetting Alarm
    • Management of Constipation (if appropriate)
    • Encouragement through the use of motivational programs and positive reward

And both you are your child are supported and guided through the treatment program.   Programs with an experienced professional have been shown to be more successful than bedwetting alarms alone.

Alarm Therapy

Bedwetting alarms help the child to learn to wake up to a full bladder, and are often an important part of a bedwetting treatment program. Alarms are a safe, proven, drug free method for treating bedwetting.

At Dry Kidz high quality, reliable alarms are used as part of a treatment program to help your child become dry and these are hired to you as a cost effective option. These alarms meet Australian safety standards.

During alarm treatment regular phone or email contact is maintained to monitor your child’s progress.

Success Rates

At Dry Kidz treatment programs for bedwetting have more than a 90% success rate, resulting in a happier child and family.