Pee alarm: what you need to know before buying

There are many bedwetting alarms available today, all of which have similar functions, but some are more effective. We advise you to be wary of some unscrupulous and often very poor-quality devices. Here are the important points to check before any purchase or rental. Establish a diagnosis: Before purchasing or renting a bedwetting device, we recommend that you clearly differentiate whether your child has primary or secondary enuresis. Primary: 85-90% of cases, the child has never been toilet trained at night Secondary: The child has been toilet trained at night for a period exceeding 6 months. We recommend treating your child with an alarm but at the same time consulting a doctor to determine the cause of this relapse. The user: be careful, it's a child! We often forget, but the primary user is a child. It's important to consider their age and motivation. Treating a child is fairly easy, but it requires a certain amount of autonomy and real motivation to follow the treatment regularly. The average duration is 2 months. We recommend a minimum period of 1.5 months and 21 consecutive dry nights. Some manufacturers recommend 14 consecutive dry nights. Our experience in this area tends to recommend 21 nights to minimize the relapse rate. Wired or wireless: Although wireless and wired devices often have the same characteristics, we recommend this rule: With Wire: for treatment or monitoring of urination during the day Wireless: for nighttime bedwetting treatment Many parents choose wireless models to avoid having a wire between the alarm and the probe that could disturb the child during sleep. They are also easier to use in the evening and during the night in case of urination. 1, 2, 3, 4... ringtones is better? This is probably the question we hear most from parents during phone consultations. Some manufacturers focus their communication on the diversity of ringtones. This is purely a marketing argument! Our answer is very simple: The important thing is to wake the child. It is not the number of rings that is essential, but its ability to wake him. There is no point in having 20 rings if none of them wake your child. We prefer alarms that sound at the resonance frequency of the human ear. Among these, we recommend the Dri Sleeper range (Eclipse and Excel) and the alarm wireless developed by Urifoon. Make sure to choose alarms with adjustable volume to suit the child's environment. With wireless transmitter? : They are generally attached to the probe by means of metal pressures acting as a contact. Some alarms allow the battery in the transmitter to be changed ( Wireless) and others have very long-lasting batteries (Dri Sleeper Eclipse = more than 1 year) What are the different types of probes? There are 4 main categories of probes : Clips: small in size, these clips onto the child's underwear. Positive Point: The price Negative Points: Its ability to detect urine only on the part in contact between the underwear and the clamp, presence of a wire between the probe and the alarm. Mattress probe: generally measuring 60 x 60 cm, it is placed between the sheet and the child. Positive Point: the child is not connected to the probe Negative Points: Frequent false detections due to the child's perspiration. They are fragile. Insertable probe: These are small probes generally made of soft PVC and are inserted between two pairs of panties, a diaper or feminine protection. Positive Point: Economical and can be used in underwear or protection. Very easy to maintain. Negative Points: Needs to be well positioned for rapid detection Probes in underwear: These are the latest generation of probes. Wires are sewn inside the underwear and are completely invisible. These underwear look like regular underwear and are comfortable to wear. Positive Point: Very easy to put on and large detection surface. Very fast detection. Negative Points: More expensive to purchase because you need to have at least 2 or 3 With or without a diaper during treatment? This is generally a very important point. We want to reassure you that wearing or continuing to wear protection during treatment does not slow it down or even delay toilet training. Some parents or children may prefer to continue wearing protection during treatment for their comfort. In this case, you should opt for alarms from the Dri Sleeper range (Eclipse or Excel). If your child doesn't wear any protection, they can choose from the full range available on our website. If your child wants the Dri Sleeper, simply put on two pairs of pants and slide the catheter between them. Is the Vibrate function important? In most cases, a vibrator is not necessary unless your child sleeps with other children. In this case, we recommend choosing alarms with an external vibrator module (not included) because the vibrations are much stronger. They should be placed under the child's pillow or mattress. Should I get up at the same time as my child? Depending on their age, we recommend that you accompany them at the beginning to make sure they wake up and empty their bladder properly. Don't forget to make sure they reconnect the alarm before going to bed. After a few days, we recommend leaving them in "supervised" autonomy. My child is taking Desmopressin. First of all, you should know that the relapse rate with Desmopressin (Minirin) after treatment is 9 times higher than with an alarm (Cf: ANAES 2003: evaluation of alarm systems in the treatment of monosymptomatic primary nocturnal enuresis). We advise you to discuss this with your doctor but not to combine medication and alarm treatment. Some studies suggest combining medication and alarms. We prefer to avoid these two treatments at the same time because they have opposing actions and, more generally, we are not convinced of their benefits. Is it reimbursed by Social Security? Unfortunately not! Many European countries cover the rental or purchase of a pee stop alarm. In France, we always opt for coverage with medications that unfortunately have no good results and cost a lot to social security (between 60 and 90€ per month and depending on the weight of the child). This is once again a French paradox. It would be enough to no longer reimburse medications to see sales collapse and therefore judge the relevance of the latter. Rent or Buy? Yes, if you only have one child to treat and if you rent a latest generation device . We do not recommend renting from a pharmacy, which generally offers "outdated" Pee Stop devices, often recommended by practitioners who are not trained in pee stop techniques. No, if you have more than one child, it might be worth considering purchasing one. You'll need to keep in mind that you can only treat the second child after the first. Conclusion Renting or purchasing a bedwetting alarm is currently the best solution for treating bedwetting. We recommend purchasing or renting one through a bedwetting specialist and always ask if the bracket is included or not. We do not recommend purchasing a used alarm because these devices come into contact with your child's private parts, and it is impossible to know if the sensors are working properly.