Health Library

Using a Bed-Wetting Alarm

Bed-wetting is a common issue among children. About 20% of all 5-year-old children wet the bed, and a small number of 10-year-olds still have bed-wetting episodes. While most children will outgrow their bed-wetting, it can be embarrassing for children and cause low self-esteem.

How Does a Bed-Wetting Alarm Work as Treatment?

A bed-wetting alarm is an effective and safe treatment to stop bed-wetting. A child will typically need to wear a bed-wetting alarm for about three months, but it may range from a few weeks to several months.

The bed-wetting alarm is made up of two parts: a moisture sensor and an alarm. The moisture sensor is clipped to the child’s underwear and detects wetness and triggers an alarm. The alarm, a lightweight plastic device, is clipped to the child’s pajama top. The alarm can be a buzzing sound, a recorded voice and / or a vibration.

When the alarm sounds, the child should wake up and walk to the bathroom to finish urinating. If the child is a deep sleeper and does not wake up, a parent or adult needs to wake up the sleeping child. The adult should prompt the child to walk to the bathroom to urinate. After the child has attempted to urinate in the bathroom, put on dry underwear and pajamas and reconnect the alarm. Eventually your child will learn to wake up before the alarm goes off. They may also begin to sleep through the night and remain dry.

Sometimes there is a chance your child may begin wetting the bed again when you stop using the alarm. If your child starts bed-wetting again, just restart the alarm.

Special Instructions for Using a Bed-Wetting Alarm

• Have your child wear the alarm every night.
• Try having your child go to bed at the same time every night.
• Attach the sensor clip directly to fitted underwear / panties.
• Do not attach the sensor clip to pull-ups or diapers.
• Do not turn off the alarm until after the child urinates in the toilet.
• Drink plenty of fluids during the day and right before bedtime.
• Discontinue the alarm after being dry for three weeks in a row.
• Document “wet” or “dry” on a calendar to track progress.
• Every day, rinse (per alarm package instructions) the metal plates inside the sensor clip only by running them under water to clear the urine from the metal plates. This keeps the sensor plates from being damaged by the urine, so the sensor continues to work.

If your child is not having any dry nights in three to four weeks with the alarm, please call your child’s urologist’s office and speak with your child’s care provider.

Medication may need to be added with the alarm, or possible alternate care options.