Bed-wetting – What doesn’t work
It isn’t really known what causes children to wet the bed. This is why there are many myths about why children do it and how to get them to stop. Some of the “cures” are medical whilst others are based on tried and tested, and not so well tested, methods that have been used for centuries.
The worst thing a parent can do is tell the child off or punish them. Children can’t help wetting the bed, might as well tell them off for sneezing. Punishment for something that they have no control over is degrading and can psychologically scar the child for life. The best thing to do is just calmly change the bed without making a fuss. The same goes for rude or sarcastic comments or teasing.
In the same way, reward systems don’t work. If you tell a child they will get a new bike or something if they don’t wet their bed for a month, it just seems impossible to the child, so they won’t see the point in trying.
Doctors will sometimes prescribe pills or nasal sprays for bed wetting. The drug used is Desmopressin, which slows down urine production. These drugs don’t cure bed wetting because they don’t have any effect on the causes. They can sometimes seem to be working as the bed-wetting will stop whilst the child is taking them. Once the child stops taking them, the bed wetting starts again.
Cutting down the amount of fluids doesn’t help either. It just means there is less urine to clear up! The bladder will get used to having less fluid in it and still feels full and will still need to empty.
Taking the child to the toilet during the night can work in the short term, but doesn’t help to teach the child to wake up themselves during the night when they get the message from the bladder that it needs to be emptied.
Bed mats and pull-ups are a great way to stop the problems that come with bed wetting – smelly wet sheets and pajamas, the mountains of washing and the broken sleep. But that is all they do, they don’t teach the child to get up to go to the toilet during the night. They are a great help for when the child wants to go to a friends for a sleepover but they shouldn’t be relied on.
Alarms sometimes have good results, especially in older children who really feel they want to stop but they don’t always work. They are supposed to make a noise when they feel moisture to wake the child so they can go to the toilet. Children often sleep so deeply that they don’t hear the alarm and it is the parents who are woken up by the alarm in time to take the child to the bathroom.
There are a number of other treatments which, while they may work for a few children, don’t for the majority. These include psychotherapy, hypnosis, allergy treatment, medical procedures and chiropractic adjustments.
Above all, stick with it, patience will be rewarded with a dry bed every night. While your family works through the bed-wetting phase give your household piece of mind with some sort of waterproof bedding. Most waterproof sheets are noisy, plastic, uncomfortable and obviously 'pee sheets'. If you want a waterproof sheet for your bed-wetting that is comfortable, quite and nice looking try Brolly Sheets.
Brolly Sheets are the answer to noisy, plastic, uncomfortable and obvious waterproof bedding. When quick bed changes and quality matters give your household the best solution to deep sleep bed-wetting with Brolly Sheets.
Francis Frost is a father of two living in Auckland New Zealand. Francis only writes articles about products he uses and approves the use of through his personal experience. For information on Francis's business exporting to America visit www.modulemarketing.com