Bedwetting solutions: How can you stop bedwetting?

When he was seven, Billy started to get invitations to stay overnight at friends’ homes. He wanted to accept, but there was a problem: how could he be sure he wouldn’t wet the bed while he was away. Bedwetting was an ongoing issue for Billy, says his mother, Jane, (not their real names). Her two older children hadn't had the same problem, but Billy couldn't seem to stay dry. "He wanted to start being dry so he could sleep away from home", she says.

Billy is not alone. In the UK, approximately 15-20% of five and six years olds, and 2-3% of children up to age 14 wet the bed. Most grow out of bedwetting and usually it’s nothing to worry about. But statistics and research didn’t make nights away any easier for Billy.

So Jane broached the subject with Billy's doctor and was delighted to learn that bedwetting solutions abound, from simple "reward" systems to using urinary bed alarms, the approach that finally solved Billy’s problem.

Here’s what parents hoping to help their child stop bedwetting need to know.

Addressing bedwetting misconceptions

Before doctors suggest a specific bedwetting solution or treatment, most seek to educate parents.

Bedwetting "often runs in families", says paediatrician Dr Howard J Bennett, author of Waking Up Dry. Usually, the child becomes dry at about the same age as the parent did.  No matter what you may think, bedwetting is not due to laziness or spite, two common misconceptions, experts say.

Getting expert input, instead of trying out remedies on your own, may speed things up, according to a study published in the US publication Journal of Urology. Researchers found that when children followed paediatric advice about bedwetting solutions, they were dry earlier than a group of children whose parents chose the treatment to stop bedwetting unaided.

Bedwetting: Ruling out medical problems

Doctors are careful to take a medical history and eliminate medical causes, such as constipation or infection. Most bedwetting is what doctors call primary enuresis, meaning the child has always wet the bed. Doctors think it’s usually caused by a delay in the maturation of the mechanisms controlling the bladder.

But if bedwetting occurs after the child has been dry for a year or so, it’s termed secondary enuresis, and doctors must look more closely at the cause. Secondary enuresis could occur with psychological stress or trauma, and the child may need counselling or other treatment.

If no medical or psychological causes for bedwetting can be found, the family can look at ways to help the child stop bedwetting.