Bedwetting: Enuresis Alarms

BEDWET ALARMS

Far from being a mere gadget, bedwetting alarms are still relatively uncommon in France. Reimbursed in Belgium, Switzerland, and many other countries, the alarm system was studied in France in 2003 by the French National Authority for Health (HAS). The proven effectiveness of these alarm systems is over 87% within two months.

Children who wet the bed do so for two main reasons:

• Immaturity of the arousal system, resulting in very deep sleep
• Lack of production of antidiuretic hormone, limiting urine production during the night as in toilet-trained adults or children.

The combination of these two factors leads to bedwetting problems at night. The principle behind bedwetting alarms is to "retrain" the brain. Each time the child urinates, the alarm will sound, waking them. Repeated awakenings will lead to an adaptation of the brain. Initially (after 7-10 days), the child's alarm system will adjust so that they wake up on their own when their bladder is full. Then, because the brain is "disturbed" several times during the night, there will be an increase in the production of antidiuretic hormone so that the child's bladder doesn't fill up in the middle of the night, and therefore they don't need to wake up to go to the toilet. Unfortunately, these products are difficult to find in pharmacies in France. It is therefore advisable to purchase them online.