Hi Fiona, the most frustrating thing about bedwetting is that there are so many potential underlying causes that it can be difficult to treat. This essentially means that what works for one child may not work for another. Most children wet because their body has not matured to appoint where is can store the amount of urine the kidney’s produce overnight or alternatively they learn to wake in response to the signals sent from the bladder to the brain that it is full and needs to be emptied. The most consistent form of treatment currently available is the conditioning alarm. Alarms work by helping your daughter learn to recognise the need to pass urine and either wake-up and go to the toilet or learn to hold on until morning. Bedwetting alarms come in two main forms. One is a body alarm with a small sensor that can be worn inside her DryNites. The second type of alarm is a bell and pad alarm that is placed like a mat over the bottom bed sheet. It can take a few weeks until your daughter begins to respond to the alarm and may take up to 3 months to achieve continence. If she is a particularly deep sleeper you may need to help her to wake initially. Ideally you should not try and do this on your won, the more support and guidance you receive from a medical professional the better the outcome. It is perfectly fine to keep her in the DryNites during treatment. Children wet when asleep and therefore not in conscious control of their bladder, their body responds in much the same way regardless of whether they are wearing absorbent pants or underwear. The role of DryNites is really to reduce the stress (and related workload) associated with waking up in wet sheets. Best of luck!

Regards,
Dr Cathrine

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