A bedwetting alarm is a device that detects when the user, usually a child, urinates. The design and construction of the device incorporates a moisture sensor in conjunction with and emitting alarm. Some are designed to be physically worn by the child, while others are incorporated onto a pad that lays on top of the child's sleeping surface. It is normally used as a tool in treating nocturnal enuresis, commonly known as bed wetting.http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Nocturnal-Enuresis-in-Children.htm

Bed wetting alarms have been in use since 1938.http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0401/p1499.html Of all of the non-pharmacological treatments for nocturnal enuresis, it is considered to be the most effective.http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0401/p1499.html According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, bed wetting alarms have a success rate of 75%, with a relapse rate of only 41%.http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0401/p1499.html

Using a bed wetting alarm applies a technique of negative reinforcement. When the child begins to urinate, the alarm awakens him or her, allowing them to go to the toilet properly. Using bed wetting alarms in such way usually requires a period of up to 15 weeks for successful resolution of the bed wetting problem.http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0401/p1499.html<ref>

Bed wetting alarms can be used as the exclusive form of treatment or in combination with other treatments. A physician may assign a pharmacological treatment, by issuing prescription medication to treat a bladder control condition; or, recommend behavioral modification therapy through a psychologist.

Nocturnal enuresis normally declines as a child grows older. 23% of children under the age of five suffer from it, while only 20% of seven-year-olds and 4% percent of ten-year-olds suffer form the condition.http://www.urologychannel.com/pediatric/enuresis.shtml

There is also a genetic link to the prevalence of nocturnal enuresis. Studies indicate that 45% of children that have one parent who had suffered from the condition; and 75% of children that have both parents who had suffered from the condition, suffer from bed wetting as well.http://www.urologychannel.com/pediatric/enuresis.shtml

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