5 reasons a bedwetting alarm is a smart investment

I subscribe to the ‘glass-half-full’ world view.

Having a child who wets the bed can put a strain on family life, and the bedwetter often has to deal with feelings of inadequacy or being different, no matter how much you tell them it is not their fault.  However, there is an upside to this problem. The child who learns to take responsibility for solving the problem and works to stop the bedwetting learns a valuable early lesson in life- he or she has the ability to change their life for the better. Many of us do not learn this lesson until much later, if at all.

Therefore, investing in a bedwetting alarm for your child is a smart investment. It can stand the bedwetter in good stead for dealing with other challenges they may encounter as they grow up.

A bedwetting alarm is also a smart investment for the following reasons:

1. International research indicates that they are the only proven method to treat bedwetting successfully.

Success rates with bedwetting alarms range from 70-90% compared to around 25% for behavioural therapies, e.g., reward systems or ‘lifting’, and 60% for drug therapies, e.g. the synthetic hormone Desmopressin or the anti-depressant, Imipramine.  However, with drug therapy, once the medication is ceased the relapse rates range between 59-100%.

2. There is no risk of side-effects from using a bedwetting alarm as there are with using medication.

Bedwetting alarms work on the principle of conditioned learning whereby a weak or inoperative stimulus (the feeling of a full bladder) is replaced with a strong one (the sound of an alarm) until such time as the desired result (waking up to go to the toilet) is produced by the feeling of a full bladder rather than the sound of the alarm.

3. Bedwetting alarms do not require the child to change their drinking habits close to bedtime.

The main reason a child wets the bed is not that he or she drinks too much before bed, or produces too much urine during the night and sleeps too deeply, its’ because the bladder reflex allows automatic and involuntary voiding when the bladder is full. So, drinking more or less before bed is not going to change this situation. What needs to happen is the brain has to be taught to recognise the signal from the bladder indicating it’s full, and wake the child to go to the toilet. 

4. Bedwetting alarms are a cost-effective solution.

Especially when compared to the price of prescription drugs, or the ongoing use of diapers or pull-ups. On an annual basis, disposable nappies could cost up to $400 per year.  Also, the environmental costs of disposing of diapers in landfills are well-documented. 

5. Bedwetting alarms can be kept and used again.

These products can be reused in the event of a relapse or can be used for other bedwetting siblings or children of friends and family, subject to the replacement, if required, of consumables such as batteries or sensors.

So, if your child suffers from bedwetting do think seriously about investing in a bedwetting alarm. It could make a positive difference to the quality of your child’s life….and yours!