Hi Karolyn, this must be incredibly distressing for you all. Certainly when it comes to the more traditional measures, conditioning alarms continue to experience the best outcomes. It is worth keeping in mind that these do not always meet with success at first, and may take two or three concerted efforts. In saying this, their success depends largely on how committed children are in using them, so if your son is reluctant then you may want to try something else first. There are certainly some more alternative methods that have met with different degrees of success. Please keep in mind however that these have not received the same level of research support as conditioning alarms or medications. Hypnotherapy has been successfully used to help children either hold their urine overnight or wake up and go to the toilet. This can be used on its own or in combination with the conditioning alarm. Your best point of contact for hypnotherapy is the Australian Hypnotherapists’ Association http://www.ahahypnotherapy.org.au/, which has branches in each state. A close friend of mine whose daughter wet the bed found a significant improvement in her daughters nighttime wetting following a change in diet which included removing dairy, wheat and citrus from the menu. It is often a matter of trial-and-error, each child is unique and what works for one does not necessarily work for all. Any attempt at dietary management should be done with the support of a medical professional.

Regards,
Dr Cathrine

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