Bedwetting (nocturnal enuresis) is a stressful condition that particularly affects young children. It is the involuntary loss of urine at night without an underlying disease as the cause. It can result in social problems, sibling teasing and lowered self esteem. It affects around 15 to 20% of five year olds, and up to 2% of young adults
Simple methods to help children gain control include star charts and other reward systems, fluid restriction, lifting and wakening. They are often used as a first attempt to control the problem before using drugs or alarms.
The review found 13 trials which involved 702 children. Each treatment was only studied in single mostly small trials which makes the evidence less reliable. Simple treatments such as rewarding dry nights (e.g. with star charts), lifting and waking did seem to work better than no treatment in reducing wet nights. However, they were not compared with other treatments known to work, such as bed wetting alarms and drugs such as desmopressin. On the other hand, simple treatments do not have any side effects or safety concerns. Therefore, simple methods could be tried as first line therapy before considering alarms or drugs. More research is needed.