When a child is asleep and has no complete control over his bladder, he will most likely pee on his bed. This sums up what usually happens during bedwetting or nocturnal enuresis. To help the child gain control of his bladder and eventually overcome bedwetting, a parent may use a moisture alarm.
A moisture alarm for bedwetting is a unique device which is connected to the underclothing of the child who has displayed nocturnal enuresis. When the child starts to empty his bladder, the underclothing gets wet. And when the underclothing gets wet, the device is triggered to create a buzzer-like sound. This sound will alert the child (and the parents) that the bedwetting has started.
The child must then do his assigned task when the alarm goes off. His task is actually a series of steps that he must accomplish:
- The child must force himself to sit up, get up and disconnect the alarm in order to silence it.
- The child must go to the toilet so that he can continue releasing his urine. Sometimes, the child may find that he no longer has the urge to urinate, but he must go to the toilet anyway. The purpose of this is two-fold. One, going to the toilet will make sure that the bladder has been emptied. And two, such action will help train the child to let go in the toilet and not on the bed.
- The child changes into dry clothes and put on back the moisture alarm.
- The child cleans up the affected area by changing the linen. If such is not possible, the child may just get a towel to cover the wet spot on his bed.
Such steps, at the beginning, cannot be carried out alone by the child. The concerned parent must give assistance every step of the way. For example, the younger children may not hear the alarm at all. The parent has to wake up the child. Then, the parent will gradually take a step back and allow the child to do the above described steps. Eventually, the child will develop sufficient control over his bladder that he no longer displays bedwetting.
Of all bedwetting products available in the market, the moisture alarm has been documented to accomplish some measure of success. That is, about 75% of bedwetting children who used the moisture alarms have attained complete control over their bladder.
Moisture alarms for bedwetting may be used with other treatments. It is not a drug that will interfere with action of another drug. The relatively lengthy process of using it has been known to be one reason why moisture alarms have discouraged bedwetting.
To prevent a relapse, the use of moisture alarm must be continued until the child has achieved dry nights for about one month. And to have a permanent and positive result, the moisture alarm of bedwetting may be used for three months more.
The moisture alarms for bedwetting are relatively cheap, when compared to other forms of treatment. These bedwetting alarms are also safe to use.