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New global guidelines call for more effective treatment for bedwetting

To coincide with World Bedwetting Day, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and the World Bedwetting Day Steering Committee are calling for greater awareness of the condition, as well as the creation of global guidelines to help professionals and aid treatment.

IncontinenceTo coincide with World Bedwetting Day, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and the World Bedwetting Day Steering Committee are calling for greater awareness of the condition, as well as the creation of global guidelines to help professionals and aid treatment.

The theme of this year’s World Bedwetting Day is ‘Time to Take Action’, and is aiming to ensure that children don’t need to suffer with bedwetting, as well as emphasising that more can be done to diagnose and treat children who struggle with this condition.

Bedwetting is nobody’s fault, and families and doctors should be able to discuss the condition without embarrassment or guilt. However, the impact of this condition is often underestimated and trivialised, so help is usually not sought or offered. By raising awareness of bedwetting as a common condition that can and should be treated, World Bedwetting Day aims to encourage families to discuss bedwetting with their doctors and get children the help they need.

To coincide with World Bedwetting Day, the World Bedwetting Day Steering Committee (WBD-SC) has launched simplified practical guidelines to help healthcare professionals (HCPs) understand how to best treat bedwetting. “For decades, people thought children would simply outgrow wetting the bed, but we now know that it is a common medical condition which can be treated relatively easily,” says June Rogers MBE, Paediatric Continence Specialist, Bladder and Bowel UK. “This new guidance ensures all HCPs have clear information on how to manage bedwetting; the next challenge is to make sure the parents of children who struggle with bedwetting know they can speak to their doctor or nurse and that help is available.”

Bedwetting is a common medical condition affecting around 4 in 25 five year old children. For decades, it has been considered a simple condition that would resolve spontaneously. However, it is now regarded as a complex disorder involving several factors, such as bladder dysfunction and the over-production of urine at night.

The condition can have a serious impact on a child’s self-esteem, emotional well-being and daily activities, including school performance and social interactions. Children who have been successfully treated for bedwetting have shown an improved auditory memory – the brain function required for listening, storing and recalling information. Although bedwetting causes a significant impact on children and their families, training for HCPs rarely includes specific guidance on bedwetting and how it should be addressed. Using the worldwide input of the WBD-SC members, the newly released guidelines act as a clear, reliable source of information for HCPs across the globe to improve the journey to diagnosis and treatment, ultimately reducing the impact of bedwetting on families.

Brenda Cheer, Paediatric Specialist Continence Nurse and the ERIC Nurse said: “This year’s World Bedwetting Day message that this common childhood condition can and should be treated is one that we echo at ERIC. Left untreated, bedwetting won’t necessarily go away on its own and not all children ‘get dry in their own time’. Dealing with bedwetting can have a serious impact on a child’s well-being and self-esteem. Half of parents whose children wet the bed don’t seek medical advice. We want all parents and carers of children and teenagers who are wet at night not to delay but to seek the help that is out there.”

For more information, visit: www.stopbedwetting.org, www.bladderandboweluk.co.uk and www.eric.org.uk

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