NICE said more than a fifth of children aged between four and five will regularly wet the bed, but practices have traditionally only offered treatment to children when they reach the age of seven.
This latest guidance, the first to address nocturnal enuresis, no longer places a minimum age limit on the management of the condition, allowing healthcare professionals to offer young children advice and treatment for bedwetting if they feel it is appropriate.
NICE said GPs and practice nurses should explain to children and parents that reward systems with positive rewards for agreed behaviour, like going to the toilet before bed, rather than dry nights, should be used either alone or in conjunction with other treatments for bedwetting.
The use of an alarm is suggested as a first-line treatment for children with bedwetting, unless an alarm is considered undesirable to the child or parents, or if the child has very infrequent bedwetting and is only wetting the bed 1-2 times a week.
