Treatment
Most children outgrow bed-wetting on their own. If there's a family history of bed-wetting, the child likely will stop at the age the parent did.
Limiting fluids before bedtime and double voiding — urinating at the beginning of the bedtime routine and then again just before falling asleep — may help.
You may want to encourage your child to delay daytime urination as well. If the bladder isn't completely full, the urge to urinate may fade within a few minutes. With practice, this simple "stretching exercise" may help your child's bladder hold more urine at night.
If your child is still wetting the bed by age 7 — and is motivated to stop — a doctor may recommend more aggressive treatment.
Moisture alarms
These small, battery-operated devices — available without a prescription at most pharmacies — connect to a moisture-sensitive pad on your child's pajamas or bedding. When the pad senses wetness, the alarm goes off. Ideally, the moisture alarm sounds just as your child begins to urinate — in time to help your child wake, stop the urine stream and get to the toilet. If your child is a heavy sleeper, another person may need to listen for the alarm.
If you try a moisture alarm, give it plenty of time. It often takes two weeks to see any type of response and up to 12 weeks to enjoy dry nights. Moisture alarms are highly effective, and they may provide a better long-term solution than medication does.
Medication
If all else fails, your child's doctor may prescribe medication to stop bed-wetting. Various types of medication can:
* Slow nighttime urine production. The drug desmopressin acetate (DDAVP) boosts levels of a natural hormone (anti-diuretic hormone, or ADH) that forces the body to make less urine at night. The medication is available as a pill or nasal spray. DDAVP has few side effects. The most serious is a seizure if the medication is accompanied by too many fluids.
* Change a child's sleeping and waking pattern. The antidepressant imipramine (Tofranil) may provide bed-wetting relief by changing a child's sleeping and waking pattern. The medication may also increase the amount of time a child can hold urine or reduce the amount of urine produced. Imipramine has few side effects for bed-wetters. Caution is essential, however. An overdose could be fatal.
* Calm the bladder. If your child has a small bladder, an anticholinergic drug such as oxybutynin (Ditropan) or hyoscyamine (Levsin, Levsinex) may help reduce bladder contractions and increase bladder capacity. Side effects may include dry mouth and facial flushing.
My sister-in-law used these methods with my nephew. He finally stopped bed wetting at age 12. He did use the nasal spray when he spent the night with friends and it worked. It is only for occasional use though.