Hi Louise, given your daughter was dry for over two years it would be a good idea to first have her checked by your GP just to make sure there is no medical reason for her return to wetting. The management of secondary bedwetting involves addressing the underlying cause. If your daughter’s bedwetting is the result of a medical problem, then the treatment will depend on the exact diagnosis. When there are emotional or social stressors at play, then attention to these issues should take priority over the different treatments for bedwetting. If there is no apparent underlying physical or psychological cause then the treatment options are the same as those recommend for children experiencing primary bedwetting. It is particularly important to ensure that that she gets sufficient sleep, if she is overtired she will find it much more difficult to wake in response to a full-bladder. Make sure she adopts a regular drinking pattern throughout the day. Many children who wet the bed drink small amounts of fluids throughout the school day, saving the majority of their fluid intake for when they arrive home from school. Many children your daughter’s age will outgrow bedwetting on their own without the need for intervention, until then it is perfectly fine to use DryNites to help manage her bedwetting. If you do decide to continue lifting her to the toilet make sure you vary the times you do this to avoid conditioning her bladder into needing to empty at the same time each night. All the best!

Regards,
Dr Cathrine

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