Bedwetting in under 19s

This guideline covers assessing and treating bedwetting in people aged under 19. It aims to reduce bedwetting and the distress this causes by explaining what to ask in an assessment, what advice to provide, and which treatments are effective.

# Introduction 
Bedwetting is a widespread and distressing condition that can have a deep impact on a child or young person's behaviour, emotional wellbeing and social life. It is also very stressful for the parents or carers. The prevalence of bedwetting decreases with age. Bedwetting less than 2 nights a week has a prevalence of 21% at about 4 and a half years and 8% at 9 and a half years. More frequent bedwetting is less common and has a prevalence of 8% at 4 and a half years and 1.5% at 9 and a half years.
The causes of bedwetting are not fully understood. Bedwetting can be considered to be a symptom that may result from a combination of different predisposing factors. There are a number of different disturbances of physiology that may be associated with bedwetting. These disturbances may be categorised as sleep arousal difficulties, polyuria and bladder dysfunction. Bedwetting also often runs in families.
Experts and expert bodies differ in their definitions of 'nocturnal enuresis' (see the full guideline for a discussion). The term 'bedwetting' is used in this guideline to describe the symptom of involuntary wetting during sleep without any inherent suggestion of frequency of bedwetting or pathophysiology.
This guideline makes recommendations on the assessment and management of bedwetting in children and young people. The guidance applies to children and young people up to 19 years with the symptom of bedwetting. Children are generally expected to be dry by a developmental age of 5 years, and historically it has been common practice to consider children for treatment only when they reach 7 years. The guideline scope did not specify a minimum age limit to allow consideration of whether there are interventions of benefit to younger children previously excluded from advice and services due to their age. We have included specific advice for children under 5 years, and indicated treatment options for children between 5 and 7 years.
Children and young people with bedwetting may also have symptoms related to the urinary tract during the day. A history of daytime urinary symptoms may be important in determining the approach to management of bedwetting and so the assessment sections include questions about daytime urinary symptoms and how the answers to these may influence the approach to managing bedwetting. However, the management of daytime urinary symptoms is outside the scope of this guideline.
The treatment of bedwetting has a positive effect on the selfesteem of children and young people. Healthcare professionals should persist in offering different treatments and treatment combinations if the firstchoice treatment is not successful. Children and young people with bedwetting are cared for by a number of different healthcare professionals in a variety of settings. All healthcare professionals should be aware of and work within legal and professional codes and competency frameworks.
The guideline will assume that prescribers will use a drug's summary of product characteristics to inform decisions made with individual patients.
  Butler RJ, Heron J (2008) The prevalence of infrequent bedwetting and nocturnal enuresis in childhood: A large British cohort. Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology 42: 25764# Patientcentred care
This guideline offers best practice advice on the care of children and young people with bedwetting.
Treatment and care should take into account patients' needs and preferences. Children and young people with bedwetting and their parents and/or carers should have the opportunity to make informed decisions about their care and treatment, in partnership with their healthcare professionals. If a child or young person is not old enough or does not have the capacity to make decisions, healthcare professionals should follow the Department of Health's advice on consent and the code of practice that accompanies the Mental Capacity Act. In Wales, healthcare professionals should follow advice on consent from the Welsh Government.
If the patient is under 16, healthcare professionals should follow the guidelines in the Department of Health's Seeking consent: working with children.
Good communication between healthcare professionals and patients is essential. It should be supported by evidencebased written information tailored to the patient's needs. Treatment and care, and the information patients are given about it, should be culturally appropriate. It should also be accessible to people with additional needs such as physical, sensory or learning disabilities, and to people who do not speak or read English.
Families and carers should have the opportunity to be involved in decisions about treatment and care. Where appropriate, for example for older children, this should be with the child's agreement.
Families and carers should also be given the information and support they need.
Care of young people in transition between paediatric and adult services should be planned and managed according to the best practice guidance described in Transition: getting it right for young people.
Adult and paediatric healthcare teams should work jointly to provide assessment and services to young people with bedwetting. Diagnosis and management should be reviewed throughout the transition process, and there should be clarity about who is the lead clinician to ensure continuity of care.# Guidance
The following guidance is based on the best available evidence. The full guideline gives details of the methods and the evidence used to develop the guidance.
These recommendations apply to all healthcare professionals who are involved in the management of bedwetting in children and young people. Healthcare professionals are reminded of their duty under the Disability Discrimination Act (2005) to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that all people have the same opportunity for health.
For the purposes of this guideline we have used the terms 'bedwetting' and 'daytime symptoms' to describe those symptoms that may be experienced by the population who present for treatment of 'bedwetting'.
The following definitions were used for this guideline:
Bedwetting: involuntary wetting during sleep without any inherent suggestion of frequency of bedwetting or pathophysiology.
Daytime symptoms: daytime urinary symptoms such as wetting, urinary frequency or urgency.
Response to an intervention: the child has achieved 14 consecutive dry nights or a 90% improvement in the number of wet nights per week.
Partial response: the child's bedwetting has improved but 14 consecutive dry nights or a 90% improvement in the number of wet nights per week has not been achieved.

# Principles of care
Inform children and young people with bedwetting and their parents or carers that bedwetting is not the child or young person's fault and that punitive measures should not be used in the management of bedwetting.
Offer support, assessment and treatment tailored to the circumstances and needs of the child or young person and parents or carers.
Do not exclude younger children (for example, those under 7 years) from the management of bedwetting on the basis of age alone.
Perform regular medication reviews for children and young people on repeated courses of drug treatment for bedwetting.

# Information for the child or young person and family
Offer information tailored to the needs of children and young people being treated for bedwetting and their parents and carers.
Offer information and details of support groups to children and young people being treated for bedwetting and their parents or carers.
Offer information about practical ways to reduce the impact of bedwetting before and during treatment (for example, using bed protection and washable and disposable products).

# Assessment and investigation
Ask whether the bedwetting started in the last few days or weeks. If so, consider whether this is a presentation of a systemic illness.
Ask if the child or young person had previously been dry at night without assistance for 6 months. If so, enquire about any possible medical, emotional or physical triggers, and consider whether assessment and treatment is needed for any identified triggers.
Ask about the pattern of bedwetting, including questions such as:
How many nights a week does bedwetting occur?
How many times a night does bedwetting occur?
Does there seem to be a large amount of urine?
At what times of night does the bedwetting occur?
Does the child or young person wake up after bedwetting?
Ask about the presence of daytime symptoms in a child or young person with bedwetting, including:
daytime frequency (that is, passing urine more than seven times a day)
daytime urgency
daytime wetting
passing urine infrequently (fewer than four times a day)
abdominal straining or poor urinary stream
pain passing urine.
Ask about daytime toileting patterns in a child or young person with bedwetting, including:
whether daytime symptoms occur only in some situations
avoidance of toilets at school or other settings
whether the child or young person goes to the toilet more or less frequently than his or her peers.
Ask about the child or young person's fluid intake throughout the day. In particular, ask whether the child or young person, or the parents or carers are restricting fluids.
Consider whether a record of the child or young person's fluid intake, daytime symptoms, bedwetting and toileting patterns would be useful in the assessment and management of bedwetting. If so, consider asking the child or young person and parents or carers to record this information.
Do not perform urinalysis routinely in children and young people with bedwetting, unless any of the following apply:
bedwetting started in the last few days or weeks
there are daytime symptoms
there are any signs of ill health
there is a history, symptoms or signs suggestive of urinary tract infection
there is a history, symptoms or signs suggestive of diabetes mellitus.
Assess whether the child or young person has any comorbidities or there are other factors to consider, in particular:
constipation and/or soiling
developmental, attention or learning difficulties
diabetes mellitus
behavioural or emotional problems
family problems or a vulnerable child or young person or family.
Consider assessment, investigation and/or referral when bedwetting is associated with:
severe daytime symptoms
a history of recurrent urinary infections
known or suspected physical or neurological problems
comorbidities or other factors (for example, those listed in recommendation 1.3.9).
Investigate and treat children and young people with suspected urinary tract infection in line with urinary tract infection (NICE guideline CG54).
Investigate and treat children and young people with soiling or constipation in line with constipation in children and young people (NICE guideline CG99).
Refer children and young people with suspected type 1 diabetes immediately (on the same day) to a multidisciplinary paediatric diabetes team with the competencies needed to confirm diagnosis and to provide immediate care. 
Consider investigating and treating daytime symptoms before bedwetting if daytime symptoms predominate.
Consider involving a professional with psychological expertise for children and young people with bedwetting and emotional or behavioural problems.
Discuss factors that might affect treatment and support needs, such as:
sleeping arrangements (for example, does the child or young person have his or her own bed or bedroom)
the impact of bedwetting on the child or young person and family
whether the child or young person and parents or carers have the necessary level of commitment, including time available, to engage in a treatment programme.
Discuss with the parents or carers whether they need support, particularly if they are having difficulty coping with the burden of bedwetting, or if they are expressing anger, negativity or blame towards the child or young person.
Consider maltreatment if:
a child or young person is reported to be deliberately bedwetting
parents or carers are seen or reported to punish a child or young person for bedwetting despite professional advice that the symptom is involuntary
a child or young person has secondary daytime wetting or secondary bedwetting that persists despite adequate assessment and management unless there is a medical explanation (for example, urinary tract infection) or clearly identified stressful situation that is not part of maltreatment (for example, bereavement, parental separation).
Use the findings of the history to inform the diagnosis (according to table 1) and management of bedwetting.
Table 1 Findings from the history and their possible interpretation
Findings from history
Possible interpretation
Large volume of urine in the first few hours of night
Typical pattern for bedwetting only.
Variable volume of urine, often more than once a night
Typical pattern for children and young people who have bedwetting and daytime symptoms with possible underlying overactive bladder.
Bedwetting every night
Severe bedwetting, which is less likely to resolve spontaneously than infrequent bedwetting.
Previously dry for more than 6 months
Bedwetting is defined as secondary.
Daytime frequency
Daytime urgency
Daytime wetting
Abdominal straining or poor urinary stream
Pain passing urine
Any of these may indicate the presence of a bladder disorder such as overactive bladder or more rarely (when symptoms are very severe and persistent) an underlying urological disease.
Constipation
A common comorbidity that can cause bedwetting and requires treatment (see constipation in children and young people ).
Soiling
Frequent soiling is usually secondary to underlying faecal impaction and constipation which may have been unrecognised.
Inadequate fluid intake
May mask an underlying bladder problem, such as overactive bladder disorder, and may impede the development of an adequate bladder capacity.
Behavioural and emotional problems
These may be a cause or a consequence of bedwetting. Treatment may need to be tailored to the specific requirements of each child or young person and family.
Family problems
A difficult or 'stressful' environment may be a trigger for bedwetting. These factors should be addressed alongside the management of bedwetting.
Practical issues
Easy access to a toilet at night, sharing a bedroom or bed and proximity of parents to provide support are all important issues to consider and address when considering treatment, especially with an alarm.

# Planning management
Explain the condition, the effect and aims of treatment, and the advantages and disadvantages of the possible treatments to the child or young person and parents or carers (see recommendations 1.8.13 and 1.10.9).
Clarify what the child or young person and parents or carers hope the treatment will achieve. Ask whether shortterm dryness is a priority for family or recreational reasons (for example, for a sleepover).
Explore the child or young person's views about their bedwetting, including:
what they think the main problem is
whether they think the problem needs treatment.
Explore and assess the ability of the family to cope with using an alarm for the treatment of bedwetting.
Consider whether or not it is appropriate to offer alarm or drug treatment, depending on the age of the child or young person, the frequency of bedwetting and the motivation and needs of the child or young person and their family.

# Advice on fluid intake, diet and toileting patterns
Advise children and young people with bedwetting and their parents or carers that:
adequate daily fluid intake is important in the management of bedwetting
daily fluid intake varies according to ambient temperature, dietary intake and physical activity. A suggested intake of drinks is given in table 2:
Table 2 Suggested daily intake of drinks for children and young people
Age
Sex
Total drinks per day
8 years
Female
Male
1400 ml
1400 ml
13 years
Female
Male
2100 ml
2300 ml
18 years
Female
Male
2500 ml
3200 ml
Advise the child or young person and parents or carers that the consumption of caffeinebased drinks should be avoided in children and young people with bedwetting.
Advise the child or young person and parents or carers to eat a healthy diet and not to restrict diet as a form of treatment for bedwetting.
Advise the child or young person of the importance of using the toilet at regular intervals throughout the day.
Advise parents or carers to encourage the child or young person to use the toilet to pass urine at regular intervals during the day and before sleep (typically between four and seven times in total). This should be continued alongside the chosen treatment for bedwetting.
Address excessive or insufficient fluid intake or abnormal toileting patterns before starting other treatment for bedwetting in children and young people.
Suggest a trial without nappies or pullups for a child or young person with bedwetting who is toilet trained by day and is wearing nappies or pullups at night. Offer advice on alternative bed protection to parents and carers.

# Lifting and waking
Offer advice on waking and lifting during the night as follows:
Neither waking nor lifting children and young people with bedwetting, at regular times or randomly, will promote longterm dryness.
Waking of children and young people by parents or carers, either at regular times or randomly, should be used only as a practical measure in the shortterm management of bedwetting.
Young people with bedwetting that has not responded to treatment may find selfinstigated waking (for example, using a mobile phone alarm or alarm clock) a useful management strategy.

# Reward systems
Explain that reward systems with positive rewards for agreed behaviour rather than dry nights should be used either alone or in conjunction with other treatments for bedwetting. For example, rewards may be given for:
drinking recommended levels of fluid during the day
using the toilet to pass urine before sleep
engaging in management (for example, taking medication or helping to change sheets).
Inform parents or carers that they should not use systems that penalise or remove previously gained rewards.
Advise parents or carers to try a reward system alone (as described in recommendation 1.7.1) for the initial treatment of bedwetting in young children who have some dry nights.

# Initial treatment  alarms
Offer an alarm as the firstline treatment to children and young people whose bedwetting has not responded to advice on fluids, toileting or an appropriate reward system, unless:
an alarm is considered undesirable to the child or young person or their parents or carers or
an alarm is considered inappropriate, particularly if:
bedwetting is very infrequent (that is, less than 12 wet beds per week)
the parents or carers are having emotional difficulty coping with the burden of bedwetting
the parents or carers are expressing anger, negativity or blame towards the child or young person.
Assess the response to an alarm by 4 weeks and continue with treatment if the child or young person is showing early signs of response. Stop treatment only if there are no early signs of response.
Continue alarm treatment in children and young people with bedwetting who are showing signs of response until a minimum of 2 weeks' uninterrupted dry nights has been achieved.
Assess whether it is appropriate to continue with alarm treatment if complete dryness is not achieved after 3 months. Only continue with alarm treatment if the bedwetting is still improving and the child or young person and parents or carers are motivated to continue.
Do not exclude alarm treatment as an option for bedwetting in children and young people with:
daytime symptoms as well as bedwetting
secondary bedwetting.
Consider an alternative type of alarm (for example, a vibrating alarm) for the treatment of bedwetting in children and young people who have a hearing impairment.
Consider an alarm for the treatment of bedwetting in children and young people with learning difficulties and/or physical disabilities. Tailor the type of alarm to each individual's needs and abilities.
Consider an alarm for the treatment of bedwetting in children under 7 years, depending on their ability, maturity, motivation and understanding of the alarm.

## Using an alarm
Inform children and young people and parents or carers about the benefits of alarms combined with reward systems. Advise on the use of positive rewards for desired behaviour, such as waking up when the alarm goes off, going to the toilet after the alarm has gone off, returning to bed and resetting the alarm.
Encourage children and young people with bedwetting and their parents or carers to discuss and agree on their roles and responsibilities for using the alarm and the use of rewards.
Ensure that advice and support are available to children and young people and their parents or carers who are given an alarm, and agree how these should be obtained. Be aware that they may need a considerable amount of help in learning how to use an alarm.
Inform the child or young person and their parents or carers that the aims of alarm treatment for bedwetting are to train the child or young person to:
recognise the need to pass urine
wake to go to the toilet or hold on
learn over time to hold on or to wake spontaneously and stop wetting the bed.
Inform the child or young person and their parents or carers that:
alarms have a high longterm success rate
using an alarm can disrupt sleep
that parents or carers may need to help the child or young person to wake to the alarm
using an alarm requires sustained commitment, involvement and effort from the child or young person and their parents or carers
they will need to record their progress (for example, if and when the child or young person wakes and how wet they and the bed are)
alarms are not suitable for all children and young people and their families.
If offering an alarm for bedwetting, inform the child and young person and their parents or carers how to:
set and use the alarm
respond to the alarm when it goes off
maintain the alarm
deal with problems with the alarm, including who to contact when there is a problem
return the alarm when they no longer need it.
Inform the child and young person and their parents or carers that it may take a few weeks for the early signs of a response to the alarm to occur and that these may include:
smaller wet patches
waking to the alarm
the alarm going off later and fewer times per night
fewer wet nights.
Inform the child or young person and their parents or carers that dry nights may be a late sign of response to the alarm and may take weeks to achieve.
Inform the parents or carers that they can restart using the alarm immediately, without consulting a healthcare professional, if the child or young person starts bedwetting again following a response to alarm treatment.

# Lack of response to alarm treatment
If bedwetting does not respond to initial alarm treatment, offer:
combination treatment with an alarm and desmopressin or
desmopressin alone if continued use of an alarm is no longer acceptable to the child or young person or their parents and carers.
Offer desmopressin alone to children and young people with bedwetting if there has been a partial response to a combination of an alarm and desmopressin following initial treatment with an alarm.

# Initial treatment  desmopressin
Offer desmopressin to children and young people over 7 years, if:
rapidonset and/or shortterm improvement in bedwetting is the priority of treatment or
an alarm is inappropriate or undesirable (see recommendation 1.8.1).
Consider desmopressin for children aged 57 years if treatment is required and:
rapidonset and/or shortterm improvement in bedwetting is the priority of treatment or
an alarm is inappropriate or undesirable (see recommendation 1.8.1).
Do not exclude desmopressin as an option for the management of bedwetting in children and young people who also have daytime symptoms. However, do not use desmopressin in the treatment of children and young people who only have daytime wetting.
In children and young people who are not completely dry after 1 to 2 weeks of the initial dose of desmopressin (200 micrograms for Desmotabs or 120 micrograms for DesmoMelt), consider increasing the dose (to 400 micrograms for Desmotabs or 240 micrograms for DesmoMelt).
Assess the response to desmopressin at 4 weeks and continue treatment for 3 months if there are signs of a response. Consider stopping if there are no signs of response. Signs of response include:
smaller wet patches
fewer wetting episodes per night
fewer wet nights.
Do not exclude desmopressin as an option for the treatment of bedwetting in children and young people with sickle cell disease if an alarm is inappropriate or undesirable and they can comply with nighttime fluid restriction. Provide advice about withdrawal of desmopressin at times of sickle cell crisis.
Do not exclude desmopressin as an option for the treatment of bedwetting in children and young people with emotional, attention or behavioural problems or developmental and learning difficulties if an alarm is inappropriate or undesirable and they can comply with nighttime fluid restriction.
Do not routinely measure weight, serum electrolytes, blood pressure and urine osmolality in children and young people being treated with desmopressin for bedwetting.
If offering desmopressin for bedwetting, inform the child or young person and their parents or carers:
that many children and young people, but not all, will experience a reduction in wetness
that many children and young people, but not all, will relapse when treatment is withdrawn
how desmopressin works
-f the importance of fluid restriction from 1 hour before until 8 hours after taking desmopressin
that it should be taken at bedtime
if appropriate, how to increase the dose if there is an inadequate response to the starting dose
to continue treatment with desmopressin for 3 months
that repeated courses of desmopressin can be used.
Consider advising that desmopressin should be taken 12 hours before bedtime in children and young people with bedwetting that has either partially responded or not responded to desmopressin taken at bedtime. Ensure that the child or young person can comply with fluid restriction starting from 1 hour before the drug is taken.
Consider continuing treatment with desmopressin for children and young people with bedwetting that has partially responded, as bedwetting may improve for up to 6 months after starting treatment.

# Children and young people experiencing recurrence of bedwetting
Consider alarm treatment again if a child or young person who was previously dry with an alarm has started regularly bedwetting again.
Offer combination treatment with an alarm and desmopressin to children and young people who have more than one recurrence of bedwetting following successful treatment with an alarm.
Consider using repeated courses of desmopressin for children and young people with bedwetting that has responded to desmopressin treatment but who experience repeated recurrences. Withdraw desmopressin treatment at regular intervals (for 1 week every 3 months) to check if dryness has been achieved when using it for the longterm treatment of bedwetting.
Gradually withdraw desmopressin rather than suddenly stopping it if a child or young person has had a recurrence of bedwetting following response to previous desmopressin treatment courses.
Consider alarm treatment as an alternative to continuing drug treatment for children and young people who have recurrences of bedwetting, if an alarm is now considered appropriate and desirable.

# Lack of response to initial treatment options
Refer children and young people with bedwetting that has not responded to courses of treatment with an alarm and/or desmopressin for further review and assessment of factors that may be associated with a poor response, such as an overactive bladder, an underlying disease or social and emotional factors.

# Anticholinergics
The use of anticholinergics for bedwetting in children and young people is discussed in the recommendations in this section. Not all anticholinergics have a UK marketing authorisation for treating bedwetting in children and young people. If a drug without a marketing authorisation for this indication is prescribed, informed consent should be obtained and documented.
Do not use an anticholinergic alone for the management of bedwetting in children and young people without daytime symptoms.
Consider an anticholinergic combined with desmopressin for bedwetting in children and young people who also have daytime symptoms and have been assessed by a healthcare professional with expertise in prescribing the combination of an anticholinergic and desmopressin.
Consider an anticholinergic combined with desmopressin for children and young people who have been assessed by a healthcare professional with expertise in the management of bedwetting that has not responded to an alarm and/or desmopressin and have any of the following:
bedwetting that has partially responded to desmopressin alone
bedwetting that has not responded to desmopressin alone
bedwetting that has not responded to a combination of alarm and desmopressin.
Consider continuing treatment for children and young people with bedwetting that has partially responded to desmopressin combined with an anticholinergic, as bedwetting may continue to improve for up to 6 months after starting treatment.
Consider using repeated courses of desmopressin combined with an anticholinergic in children and young people who have responded to this combination but experience repeated recurrences of bedwetting following previous response to treatment.
If offering an anticholinergic combined with desmopressin for bedwetting, inform the child or young person and their parents or carers:
that success rates are difficult to predict, but more children and young people are drier with this combination than with desmopressin alone
that desmopressin and an anticholinergic can be taken together at bedtime
to continue treatment for 3 months
that repeated courses can be used.
Do not offer an anticholinergic combined with imipramine for the treatment of bedwetting in children and young people.

# Tricyclics
Do not use tricyclics as the firstline treatment for bedwetting in children and young people.
If offering a tricyclic, imipramine should be used for the treatment of bedwetting in children and young people.
Consider imipramine for children and young people with bedwetting who:
have not responded to all other treatments and
have been assessed by a healthcare professional with expertise in the management of bedwetting that has not responded to an alarm and/or desmopressin.
If offering imipramine for bedwetting, inform the child or young person and their parents or carers:
that many children and young people, but not all, will experience a reduction in wetness
how imipramine works
that it should be taken at bedtime
that the dose should be increased gradually
about relapse rates (for example, more than two out of three children and young people will relapse after a 3month course of imipramine)
that the initial treatment course is for 3 months and further courses may be considered
about the particular dangers of imipramine overdose, and the importance of taking only the prescribed amount and storing it safely.
Perform a medical review every 3 months in children and young people who are using repeated courses of imipramine for the management of bedwetting.
Withdraw imipramine gradually when stopping treatment for bedwetting in children and young people.

# Training programmes for the management of bedwetting
Do not use strategies that recommend the interruption of urinary stream or encourage infrequent passing of urine during the day.
Do not use drybed training with or without an alarm for the treatment of bedwetting in children and young people.

# Children under 5 years with bedwetting
Children are generally expected to be dry at night by a developmental age of 5 years, and historically it has been common practice not to offer advice to families of children who are younger than 5 years and are bedwetting. This section provides recommendations specific to the under 5 age group indicating situations where healthcare professionals can offer useful advice and interventions.
Reassure parents or carers that many children under 5 years wet the bed, for example, approximately one in five children of 4 and a half years wets the bed at least once a week.
Ask whether toilet training has been attempted, and if not, ask about the reasons for this and offer support and advice. If there are no reasons why toilet training should not be attempted, advise parents or carers to toilet train their child.
Suggest a trial of at least 2 nights in a row without nappies or pullups for a child with bedwetting who is under 5 years and has been toilet trained by day for longer than 6 months. Offer advice on alternative bed protection to parents and carers. Consider a longer trial in children:
who are older
who achieve a reduction in wetness
whose family circumstances allow the trial to continue.
Advise the parents or carers of a child under 5 years with bedwetting that if the child wakes at night, they should take him or her to the toilet.
Consider further assessment and investigation to exclude a specific medical problem for children over 2 years who, despite awareness of toileting needs and showing appropriate toileting behaviour, are struggling to not wet themselves during the day as well as the night. Assess children under 5 years with bedwetting for constipation, in line with constipation in children and young people (NICE guideline CG99), as undiagnosed chronic constipation is a common cause of wetting and soiling in younger children.
  For the purposes of the child mistreatment guideline, to consider maltreatment means that maltreatment is one possible explanation for the alerting feature or is included in the differential diagnosis.
  Lifting is carrying or walking a child to toilet. Lifting without waking means that effort is not made to ensure the child is fully woken. Waking means waking a child from sleep to take them to the toilet.
  Early signs of a response may include smaller wet patches, waking to the alarm, the alarm going off later and fewer times per night and fewer wet nights.
  Drybed training is a training programme that may include combinations of a number of different behavioural interventions, and that may include rewards, punishment, training routines and waking routines, and may be undertaken with or without an alarm.# Notes on the scope of the guidance
NICE guidelines are developed in accordance with a scope that defines what the guideline will and will not cover.
How this guideline was developed
NICE commissioned the National Collaborating Centre for Primary Care (now the National Clinical Guideline Centre) to develop this guideline. The Centre established a Guideline Development Group (see appendix A), which reviewed the evidence and developed the recommendations. An independent Guideline Review Panel oversaw the development of the guideline (see appendix B).
There is more information about how NICE guidelines are developed on the NICE website.# Research recommendations
The Guideline Development Group has made the following recommendations for research, based on its review of evidence, to improve NICE guidance and patient care in the future. The Guideline Development Group's full set of research recommendations is detailed in the full guideline (see section 5).

# Multicomponent treatments
What elements of multicomponent treatments (for example drybed training and retention control training) are clinically effective and cost effective for treating bedwetting in children and young people under 19 years old?
Why this is important
It is not known which of the elements of multicomponent treatments (for example drybed training and retentioncontrol training) are clinically effective and cost effective for treating bedwetting in children and young people under 19 years old. Data from randomised controlled trials of drybed training and retentioncontrol training suggest that the treatments may be clinically effective. However, certain elements of the multicomponent treatments studied are not acceptable as a form of treatment due to their punitive nature. Further research is needed to establish which elements could be used effectively to treat bedwetting.
Research should:
Use randomised controlled trials to test the effect of the different elements of drybed training alone and in different combinations for the treatment of bedwetting.
Use randomised controlled trials to test the effect of the different elements of retention control training alone and in different combinations for the treatment of bedwetting.
Consider different age groups of children being treated, such as younger children (under 7 years) and older children (over 10 years), as the ability of children to take responsibility for their behaviour may be important.
Clearly describe the techniques used, including who gave the instructions, the timing of the treatments and the setting.
Outcomes of interest include: the number of children who achieved 14 consecutive dry nights, the number of children who remain dry at 6 months and 2 years after treatment, the mean number of wet nights after treatment, the change in the number of wet nights, the psychological effect of treatment, psychological effects (selfesteem, selfconcept, PinQ), quality of life measures and drop outs.

# Standard interventions
What is the clinical and cost effectiveness of standard interventions, for example alarm and desmopressin, for treating bedwetting in children and young people under 19 years old?
Why this is important
The evidence base for management of bedwetting is poor. Studies are inadequately powered, symptoms are poorly defined and study populations are commonly children seen in secondary and tertiary centres. Followup periods are often inadequate.
Research should provide:
More subgroup data (for example, young children, children with daytime symptoms as well as bedwetting, children who were previously successful with subsequent relapse, children with sickle cell disease, children with severe wetting and children with special needs).
More robust statistical data in trials of standard interventions for treating bedwetting (for example, adequately powered to detect differences).
Data on longer term followup.
Data from populations at a primary care/community care level.

# Psychological functioning and quality of life
What is the impact of bedwetting upon the psychological functioning and quality of life of children and young people and their families? How do these change with treatment?
Why is this important?
There are relatively few studies that focus upon the psychological impact and healthrelated quality of life of children who experience bedwetting. In addition, studies of effectiveness have focused on the achievement of dryness as the primary outcome rather than how treatment might affect social and psychological aspects as well as the quality of life of children and young people and their families.
Research should:
Examine the psychological impact and quality of life of children and young people and their families as well as the effectiveness of treatment upon these aspects.
Use standardised measures to assess the psychological impact of bedwetting on children and young people as well as the quality of life of the child or young person and family.
Use standardised measures to assess change associated with treatment for bedwetting.
Qualityoflife research of children and young people with bedwetting pre and posttreatment would also be very useful to inform further economic evaluation work.

# Complementary therapies
What is the effectiveness of complementary therapies (acupuncture and hypnotherapy) for reducing the number of wet beds and improving selfesteem in children and young people who wet the bed, when they are used independently or in conjunction with conventional treatments?
Why this is important
Many families consider the use of complementary and/or alternative medicine (CAM) as a treatment option when conventional treatment 'fails' or in order to avoid drug or other treatments. There is very little evidence about the efficacy of many CAM treatments, but the use of CAM is widespread and increasing across the developed world. There is a clear need for more effective guidance for health professionals, so that they can give evidencebased advice to patients about what does and does not work and what is and is not safe, and for the public.
Research should:
Use randomised controlled trials to test the effect of using CAM therapies in addition to or instead of other treatments for bedwetting.
Clearly describe the CAM therapies tested, including the provision of the treatment for both the treatment and the control group.
Priority should be given to research on acupuncture and hypnotherapy but other CAM therapies should not be excluded.
If possible, the comparative effectiveness and cost effectiveness of different CAM therapies should be tested.
Outcomes of interest include: selfesteem, number of dry nights, permanent or temporary nature of increased number of dry nights, quality of life, costs and social engagement.

# Bedwetting in adolescents
What is the prevalence of wetting and/or soiling in adolescence and what are the longterm consequences for adolescents with these problems?
Why this is important
There is evidence that, for an important minority of children, wetting and soiling problems persist into late childhood and sometimes beyond puberty, but their prevalence is not clearly known. It has also recently been reported that in children who experience more frequent bedwetting (more than three times a week) it is more likely to persist into late childhood and adolescence. These studies suggest that, contrary to popular belief, wetting and soiling problems do not always resolve with increasing age. If wetting and soiling problems remain unresolved or untreated they can become socially and psychologically debilitating. There are no longitudinal cohort studies examining the impact of wetting and soiling on a wide range of outcomes in adolescence relating to mental health, education/school attainment, relationships with parents and peers, social activities and goals/aspirations for the future. Persistence of wetting and soiling problems into adolescence is likely to be accompanied by ridicule and bullying by peers and increasing intolerance from parents, especially if they believe that their child is to blame for the problem. Such reactions can only serve to exacerbate the young person's distress and may lead to delays in seeking help. In particular, teenagers who are unsuccessfully treated in childhood are often reluctant to seek help for wetting or soiling due to the severe embarrassment associated with the problem, and others may simply believe that no help is available.
Research should:
Use adolescents own selfreports of frequency of bedwetting, daytime wetting and soiling.
Adapt existing trajectory models to incorporate information on the frequency of wetting and soiling to examine whether children with more frequent problems are more likely to experience continuing wetting and soiling into adolescence.
Outcomes of interest include: the examination of mental health, psychosocial and educational outcomes and whether adolescents who have combined wetting and soiling are at increased risk of negative outcomes compared to those with wetting or soiling alone.
  A continencespecific paediatric qualityoflife measurement tool.# Other versions of this guideline

# Full guideline
The full guideline nocturnal enuresis: the management of bedwetting in children and young people contains details of the methods and evidence used to develop the guideline. It is published by the National Clinical Guideline Centre.

# Information for the public
NICE has produced information for the public explaining this guideline.
We encourage NHS and voluntary sector organisations to use text from this information in their own matierlas about bedwetting in children and young people.# Updating the guideline
NICE guidelines are updated so that recommendations take into account important new information. New evidence is checked 3 years after publication, and healthcare professionals and patients are asked for their views; we use this information to decide whether all or part of a guideline needs updating. If important new evidence is published at other times, we may decide to do a more rapid update of some recommendations. Please see our website for information about updating the guideline.# Appendix B: The Guideline Review Panel
The Guideline Review Panel is an independent panel that oversees the development of the guideline and takes responsibility for monitoring adherence to NICE guideline development processes. In particular, the panel ensures that stakeholder comments have been adequately considered and responded to. The panel includes members from the following perspectives: primary care, lay, public health and industry.
Dr Robert Walker (Chair)General Practitioner, Workington
Dr Mark HillHead of Medical Affairs, Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd
Dr John HarleyClinical Governance and Prescribing Lead and General Practitioner, North Tees PCT
Mrs Ailsa DonnellyLay member
Mrs Sarah FishburnLay member
Mr Robin BealConsultant in Accident and Emergency Medicine, Isle of Wight# Appendix C: The algorithms
Care pathways can be found in the bedwetting (nocturnal enuresis) in children and young people pathway.# About this guideline
NICE guidelines are recommendations about the treatment and care of people with specific diseases and conditions in the NHS in England and Wales.
The guideline was developed by the National Clinical Guideline Centre. The Centre worked with a group of healthcare professionals (including consultants, GPs and nurses), patients and carers, and technical staff, who reviewed the evidence and drafted the recommendations. The recommendations were finalised after public consultation.
The methods and processes for developing NICE guidelines are described in the guidelines manual.
We have produced information for the public explaining this guideline. Tools to help you put the guideline into practice and information about the evidence it is based on are also available.
ISBN: 978-1-4731-2855-2