Left untreated, not all children will grow out of bedwetting so it's best not to 'watch and wait'. The NICE guidelines on bedwetting in under 19s recommend that children are seen by a health care professional such as a doctor or nurse if they are still wet over the age of five years.

What to do first

Watch our animation: 'Become a bedwetting detective': 

 

There are lots of things that can be done to treat bedwetting and make it more manageable for children and their families. The most important thing to try and work out first is why the bedwetting is happening.

There are also some underlying causes that need to be ruled out and treated if necessary. Here's what to do next:  

Getting help from a healthcare professional 

Research shows, the sooner you intervene with bedwetting the greater chance your child has of becoming dry at night.

To stop or manage bedwetting, all children should be seen by a doctor or nurse for enuresis from the age of five. There may be a special bedwetting or enuresis clinic in your area, run by the school nurse or part of your local continence service, that your child can be referred to. 

The reasons for bedwetting are complex and there can be underlying causes such as constipation to treat first, it's really important to try and work out why your child is wet at night before beginning treatment.

All children should be given a bladder and bowel assessment by a doctor or nurse following the guidance in our Children's Continence Pathway for healthcare professionals.   

Managing bedwetting

Wetting at night is not as big a problem if you can find ways to manage it. We stock lots of products in the ERIC shop which will help, for example mattress protectors, duvet protectors, pillow protectors and waterproof sleeping bag liners for hassle-free sleepovers and camping trips.

Our shop also sells a range of bedwetting alarms, which are effective in helping children who don't wake up when their bladder is full. Our 10 tips for bedwetting alarms is useful reading if you've bought, or are considering buying, an alarm.