Stopping bedwetting can be done through several methods. An overview.
Would you also like to stop bedwetting? Over the years, several methods have been developed to help your child get rid of bedwetting. To give you more insight in which methods are available, we have written out an explanation for each method.
BEDWETTING ALARM
Stopping bedwetting with the bedwetting alarm is by far the most effective and fastest method. The bedwetting alarm method aims to teach the child to better recognize the signals of a full bladder. When your child goes to bed, he or she puts on special sensor pants. A small transmitter with two snaps is attached to the bottoms. Through small invisible wires in the underwear, the transmitter keeps track of whether it becomes damp. As soon as your child starts peeing in bed, the sender notices this and immediately sends a message to the receiver. The receiver makes an alarm sound and wakes the child!
Because your child wakes up at the moment the bladder is at its maximum capacity, he or she learns to recognize the sensation of a full bladder. By using the bedwetting alarm method over a longer period of time, it trains your child to recognize the signal of a full bladder more and more.
You could say that the bedwetting alarm method accelerates the maturation process of these organs.
MEDICATION
Stopping bedwetting is a learning process. After all, your child does not have an issue with going to the bathroom itself, but a problem with the timing of it. At least if no physical problems have been identified that cause the bedwetting. That is why medication alone is often not the solution.
Produce less urine Sometimes a doctor prescribes a medication to support potty-training, for example Minrin (desmopressin). This medicine ensures that less urine is produced at night, making the bladder less likely to fill and reducing the risk of bedwetting. Your child should not drink too much in the evening, because the product ensures that the skin retains moisture.
Minrin helps your child sleep dry all night long. It is symptom control of the bedwetting problem and it has no effect on the learning process. That is why the medication is mostly suitable for temporary use, for instance when your child goes to a sleepover or on camp with school. Preventively stopping bedwetting with, for example, Minrin is, in our opinion, not the most suitable solution, but we recommend you discuss this with the relevant physician.
Stretch the bladder If it is proven that your child’s bladder is too small, Dridase (oxibutinin) or Vesicare (solifenacin) are prescribed. These medications will make the bladder more flexible, allowing it to store more urine and reducing the chances of bedwetting.
WAKING UP YOUR CHILD PREVENTIVELY
Waking the child up preventatively is an often-used method.
Peeing while awake You agree in advance with your child that you will wake him/her at a set time. On that set time, you wake your child up in a calm manner and remind your child that this was the agreement. Call your child’s name out loud if you think that your child is not fully awake yet, and turn on the lights. It is very important that your child is completely awake! If not, you are maintaining the habit of peeing while asleep.
Stopping bedwetting with this method is based on creating a routine to go to the toilet to pee. After finishing in the bathroom, your child can go back to sleep.
CALENDAR OR MOTIVATION METHOD
This is a method of positive rewards to stimulate them to stop the bedwetting.
With your child, make a calendar sheet with a box per day. Based on the “performance of each night”, your child can color in a box in the morning, draw a sun or add a sticker. If your child has wet the bed that night, the box will remain open.
After every 10 completed boxes, you offer the pre-arranged reward. Rewards could include getting to decide what is for dinner that night, staying up past bedtime, or getting to play outside after dinner.
Stopping bedwetting with this method is based on creating a fun motivation for the child to get through every night dry.
BLADDER TRAINING
In the morning you let your child drink 2 cups of water in a short time. When the moment your child needs to pee presents itself, postpone it. For example, slowly count to 10. Repeat this in the following days and try to postpone the moment to pee longer and longer.
Another method is to have your child urinate in a measuring cup. Each day, they must try to produce a little bit more urine than the day before.
Stopping bedwetting with this method is based on creating a larger bladder within the child, and the larger bladder offers more chance of making it through the night dry than with a smaller bladder.
Additional information
Want more information on how the bedwetting alarm method works? Look here!