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Medical Author:

John Mersch, MD, FAAP

Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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After an organic cause has been ruled out, there is no medical urgency to treat the child. Bedwetting tends to go away by itself. Discuss the treatment options with your child's health-care provider; together you can decide whether treatment is right for your child.

Several drug therapies are available.

• These are typically reserved for children who have not stayed dry by using the alarms.
• Adults with bedwetting often take medications. They may have to stay on the medication indefinitely.
• The drugs do not work for everyone, and they can have significant side effects.
• The two drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifically for bedwetting are desmopressin (DDAVP) and imipramine (Tofranil). Others, which are not specifically approved for bedwetting, are oxybutynin (Ditropan, Urotrol) and hyoscyamine (Cystospaz, Levsin, Anaspaz).

Medical opinion is divided on using drugs to treat bedwetting. Many believe that, since the child will outgrow the bedwetting anyway, the risks outweigh the benefits of taking the drugs.

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