Bedwetting clinics (also known as enuresis clinics) can be a great help to parents, especially if their children are suffering from a variation of bedwetting that is intensive and enduring. With cases like those, it’s time to call in the experts. Most children who are treated in a bedwetting clinic are generally older children (normally +7 years old), who have not outgrown their bedwetting. These enuresis clinics have a high success rate, they focus on finding out what is causing it and finding ways to stop bedwetting. In many cases, the root cause of prolonged bedwetting is an underlying sleep disorder. This sleep disorder causes your child to sleep so deeply, that they don’t wake up when an urge is felt from the bladder. Most enuresis clinics strive to cure this sleep condition in order to solve your child’s bedwetting for good.
How Bedwetting Clinics Work
Bedwetting Clinics usually have a twofold approach in their attempt to manage your child’s bedwetting. The first is to understand and analyse your child’s sleeping patterns and how they pertain to bedwetting. Once this is understood, they will attempt to modify your child’s sleeping patterns to minimise bedwetting. Bedwetting clinics combine sleeping pattern modifications with bladder training for the best results. The bladder training aims to increase the amount of urine that the bladder can hold before the urge to use the bathroom is felt and increase the amount of control your child has over their bladder muscles.
Bedwetting Clinics are normally populated with staff specialised in the urinary system and in managing bedwetting. These include GP’s, Urologists, Paediatricians, Psychologists and Nurses who double as Continence Advisors.
The first step in almost every first time consultation with a bedwetting clinic will be an in-depth evaluation and analysis of your child and their bedwetting. Be ready with your child’s medical history, as the clinic will probably use this to help determine a diagnosis. During this initial consultation, clinics will endeavour to give you and your child a better understanding of bedwetting and the specific issues that you are faced with. They will also introduce you to their methods of helping to manage bedwetting.
The second step will be to assign you a continence advisor. Continence advisors are normally experienced, qualified nurses who have undertaken specialist training to help children who suffer from bedwetting. They will familiarise themselves with your case and start to map out a path to recovery, based on the consultation and diagnosis that took place earlier.
Depending on your child’s unique condition, the clinic and your continence advisor will put together an action plan to help your child stop having bedwetting “accidents”. This is where the hard work is done.
The last step is usually carried out once significant progress has been made in stopping incidences of bedwetting. The clinic will usually provide ongoing support for you and your family after you have seen progress and are having generally more dry nights. This support can be treatment tips from your continence advisor, over the phone questioning or via general program feedback. The average treatment is 6 months but varies considerably depending on your child and the acuity of their bedwetting problem.
Bedwetting Clinics in Australia
What follows is a listing of some of the Bedwetting Clinics operating within Australia. Please note that DryNites does not review, recommend or guarantee these clinics. You should call the National Continence Helpline on 1800 33 00 to locate local continence services to your area. Many public hospitals in capital cities have bedwetting clinics. Alternatively, here is a selection of some of the well-known bedwetting Clinics within Australia:
VIC
General Paediatric Enuresis Clinic
Royal Children’s Hospital
50 Flemington Rd
Parkville
Tel 03 9345 6180
Cambridge Kids
396 Burwood Hwy Burwood
7/90 Mitcham Rd Donvale
102 Anderson St Lilydale
12 St Lawrance Way Rowville
Tel 03 9739 7250
Geelong Bedwetting Clinic
Geelong
VIC 3220
Tel 1800 673846
NSW
Children’s Hospital at Westmead
Outpatients, Level 2
212 Hawkesbury Rd
Westmead
Tel 02 9845 2525
WA
Princess Margaret Hospital for Children
Ground Floor, Godfrey House
Roberts Road Subiaco
Tel: 08 9340 8356
NT
Katherine Health Centre (By appointment only)
Government Centre
First Street, Katherine
Tel: 08 8973 8570
SA
Southern Primary Health – Noarlunga Village
Alexander Kelly Dr, Noarlunga Centre
Tel: 08 8384 9266
