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Children’s incontinence treatments

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Besides providing your child with support and understanding, a regular toilet routine and healthy eating, drinking and sleeping habits, there are solutions and treatments that can help treat incontinence. Choosing the right incontinence products, that best suits their needs and provide them with a high level of leakage security and comfort, is a great start. Below are some other options that are available. The treatment that is most suitable for your child depends on their age and maturity, the type of incontinence and your family history – your child has an increased chance of experiencing incontinence if you or your partner did. Regardless, it’s good to always remember that it’s no ones fault, it’s just a part of growing up. 
 
If your child is incontinent, talk with your doctor or health care professional about the best treatment options available for them. If you’d like to learn more about incontinence, head over here to read more about the bladder basics causes of urinary incontinence in children. 

First, check for infection

If you have any reason to believe there is an underlying urinary tract infection, check with your doctor. They will most likely suggest a urine test to check and advise on a treatment.

Medicine for children’s urinary incontinence

Sometimes doctors might prescribe medicine if your child is not producing enough of the hormone that slows the production of urine in the kidneys at night. This medicine does the same job as the hormone, helping your child to produce less urine during night and reduces their need to pee. The medicine can provide a short-term solution for situations like school camps or holidays where dryness is important. 
 
It can also be taken over a longer period, depending on your child’s situation, with breaks every 3rd month to see if the medicine has any effect on their bed-wetting. The medicine is not a suitable treatment for all children, and the bed-wetting returns for some after they stop taking it.

Bed-wetting alarms (enuresis alarms)

Designed to ring or buzz to wake your child the moment bed-wetting starts, bed-wetting alarms can help children form a good habit and train their bladder – making them an effective solution.
 
Alarms can either be purchased or, in some cases, supplied by your health care service. 

Using an alarm

Before starting to using a bed-wetting alarm, it’s a good idea to make sure your child has healthy eating and drinking habits, regular toilet routines and gets enough sleep at night. 
The purpose of the alarm is to help your child wake up to go to the bathroom. So it’s important that they turn it off themselves – if you turn off the alarm, they will learn to sleep through the signals and the alarm will not be effective. 
 
In the beginning, you might need to help wake your child when you hear the alarm so that they can switch it off, go to the bathroom and the bedding can be changed. Setting up a baby-monitor is an easy way of being able to hear the alarm from wherever you are in your home. When starting to use the alarm, your child should not wear any diapers or protective pants, as they must be able to feel the need to go to the toilet.  

Beating the buzzer

After the initial 10 days or so of using the alarm, children start to learn to wake up to ‘beat the buzzer’. You’ll start to notice that the bed-wetting decreases, this is a sign of progress.

Dry nights, stay with it

When your child becomes completely dry by using the alarm, keep on using it for a further month to be sure.

Be patient

It takes commitment to use a bed-wetting alarm, both as a parent and for a child. So if you’re in a busy or stressful period, it’s best to start the treatment when things are calm and you have the time. If you find there’s no progress, take a break and start trying again in a few months. 
 
Regardless of what solutions you try, to help minimalize your child’s incontinence, it’s always best to involve your doctor.

Tip

If your child does not wake with the alarm, make it louder by placing the alarm in a tin to amplify it, if the alarm is too loud cover it with a pillow.

The best care solutions

The right products can make a big difference.

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From parents and carers

Tips on how to manage your child’s incontinence.

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