One of the most effective treatments for bedwetting is the use of a bedwetting alarm. However, there are quite a few bedwetting alarms to choose from and depending on the child, the choice of alarm can be an important factor as to whether the child will go through with the treatment or not.
Oliver, 12 years old, tried the Malem Gold bedwetting alarm a few years ago but found it a bit frustrating. The wireless transmitter has a cord that attaches the sensor to the underwear and a pantiliner is used to put the sensor in position. After an accident, it takes a bit of effort to set it up again in a dry pair of underwear, and Oliver many times refused to continue wearing the alarm throughout the night. This resulted in that the treatment was stopped and Oliver continued to wet the bed.
Last year Oliver and his mother had a meeting with a continence nurse and she suggested that they should try the Pjama bedwetting alarm. The Pjama pants have sewn-in sensor threads in the area around the crotch that quickly detects urine, and when the sensor is attached to the waistline it activates the Pjama Bedwetting Alarm unit when an accident occurs. After an accident, all you have to do is to move the sensor to a dry pair of Pjama pants and then the child can go back to sleep again. As the treatment started in winter they decided to use one pair of pants and one pair of shorts. Oliver’s mother Michelle agreed to provide feedback after the treatment. The following is based on her story;
Oliver was very keen to try the Pjama pants and found them very comfortable to wear. As Pjama looks like a normal pair of pyjama pants he was less self-conscious about wearing them. His three sisters did not know what was going on and Oliver was confidently walking around the house before going to bed, not worried about his sisters knowing he was undergoing a bedwetting treatment.
In the beginning of the treatment Oliver ignored the alarm and did not want to get up. Michelle decided to sleep in his room and woke him up when the alarm went off. A few times the volume of urine was more than the absorption capacity of the Pjama pants but the size was a bit too small and after changing the pants to a larger size that fitted Oliver better, and also had a larger absorption capacity, they had no problem with leakage.
Michelle found it very important to have two pairs of Pjama available (check out our Starter Kits). As it was easy to remove the sensor and put it in the dry pair of Pjama pants/shorts, the exchange happened quickly and Oliver went back to sleep. No problems with compliance.
After a few weeks Oliver started to wake up with little assistance and eventually he would wake up on his own. Michelle found the system incredibly sensitive. After a while Oliver was able to quickly get out of bed and make it to the toilet in time to empty his bladder. He was starting to have several dry nights in a row after a few months. Towards the end of the treatment he would wake up right away before urinating and made it to the toilet in time to completely empty his bladder. It took about 6 months to get to 14 dry nights in a row, which clinically is considered a successful treatment.
Michelle is very proud of Oliver. She felt that the Pjama bedwetting alarm system increased his confidence, and he was able to take control of an on-going problem and ended up overcoming his problem.
Since the treatment was successfully completed, Oliver has had a few bedwetting incidents, but his mother found that Oliver forgets and relaxes now and again, or he has not been drinking enough water during the day, or being constipated. Being aware of those situations have allowed them to manage the bedwetting effectively.
Michelle found the Pjama Bedwetting Alarm system very straight forward and easy to use. The most challenging was the time it took for Pjama to dry. She would finish the washing cycle with high spin speed to get most of the water out. As the treatment started in the winter (Sydney winter), sometimes she had to use the dryer a few times to completely dry the pants. She started to dry the pants inside out, and then it would help to turn them over and run a second cycle to get the dampness out completely. (Learn more about how to wash and dry Pjama here)
They did not use the alarm on the Pjama App, or the calendar, but Michelle found the information about bed wetting on the Pjama App helpful.
In summary; “We were so grateful to have found out about this alarm system, it restored my child’s hope in improving his condition and restored his confidence. It was very easy to use overall and the technology in the absorbent shorts made it less cumbersome to use.”
