About this blog and me

A professional 30-something with nocturnal enuresis who travels a lot for work. I have created this blog to help out fellow bedwetters find accommodation that meets their needs.

If you are suffering from bedwetting, you should talk to you doctor. You can also find more information out here.

Background on Me

I have been a bedwetter all of my life (primary nocturnal enuresis), and have had my ups and downs with this medical condition. Growing up there were plenty of difficult times with siblings, going on school trips and of course sleepovers. As a kid, my family tried all sorts of things; from limiting fluids before bed time, changing my diet, a moisture alarm, getting up in the middle of the night, various medications, even acupuncture and hypnosis. Unfortunately none of these things worked very well and I continue to wet the bed to this day.

As an adult, I continue to wet the bed. On a good week I may wake up wet once or twice, on a bad week, this could be almost every night. There are some things I do that increase my chances of waking up dry: I still limit fluids before bedtime, and in particular caffeinated beverages, and this, coupled with getting a good night’s rest and not being too stressed out in general. At home my bed protected with a waterproof mattress cover, and I usually sleep wearing protection – absorbent undergarments, adult diapers, call them what you will.

If I am being careful with my fluids and caffeine intake, and stay relaxed, the chances of me wetting the bed are relatively low. Unfortunately, doing many of these things is next to impossible when I am travelling, something I am forced to do for work. When you are on the road you are seldom relaxed – travel is stressful. Your internal clock gets all confused from jetlag and strange weather. Time zones, weird hours, jetlag, and work related social activity make limiting fluids before bedtime near impossible. And long hours mean that you may just need a little help from our helpful, albeit diuretic friend, caffeine.

For me, the result is that when I’m on the road (for work or otherwise), my chances of wetting the bed go way up. On a three night trip, I’m lucky if I’m dry on one of those nights.

The Idea Behind the Blog

So I travel a lot, which has given me the ‘opportunity’ to wet the bed in hotels all across the world – from Europe to the Middle East, Canada to Australia. I’ve left damp sheets in five star hotels and wet blankets in B&Bs. I’ve made the walk of shame to the front desk of a hostel at 4 in the morning to ask for new sheets, and I’ve had embarrassingly long conversations with motel staff about ways to avoid otherwise inevitable mattress cleaning fees.

In my time since becoming bedwetting traveller I have been a little surprised at how few hotels, B&Bs, hostels and motels actually take bedwetters into consideration. You would think that a five star hotel with pillow-topped luxurious mattresses would have a couple of plastic sheets to throw down to protect these beauties when a guest mentions that such protection might be necessary. But alas they do not.

I have found that very few hotels are aware that nocturnal enuresis is actually not uncommon amongst adults, affecting around 1 in 100, or that 15% of children continue to wet the bed after the age of 5, and around 5% after the age of 10. One would think that over a short period of time, the chances of a hotel encountering a bedwetting guest of any age would be 100%.

Sadly, bedwetting remains a taboo subject, and many people keep this medical condition private for fear of embarrassment. As a result, it is entirely possible that hotel guests may make their own, private accommodations, taking such measures as bringing their own mattress protectors, or wearing protection to bed. However, this may be impossible due to the strictures of travel, or a weary or wary traveller may simply wish to have a good night’s sleep without worrying about a soggy, and possibly costly, mattress in the morning. Or put more simply, diapers leak.

In my experience, hotels in general are not very good at dealing with bedwetting. I have searched the internet in vain for website that lists hotels that have such simple things as mattress protectors on request. I have sifted through hotel websites trying in vain to determine whether their beds come equipped with mattress protection. I have struggled through lengthy and embarrassing phone calls with housekeeping staff, explaining at first euphemistically (‘do you happen to have waterproof mattress covers for your beds and could my bed be equipped with one please’) and then with increasing directness (‘I occasionally wet the bed and unless you want your mattress ruined, could you please find something, anything to help?’).

I have therefore started this blog as a means of partially remedying this situation. I wish to share my hotel experiences with fellow bedwetters, and in so doing help identify hotels that may be more friendly to our particular needs. Additionally, there is the hope that in drawing attention to the needs of bedwetters, that more hotels will take measures to ensure that these needs are met.

I also hope that this blog will serve as a place to collect other people’s experiences as well.  I may be well travelled, however one can only visit so many hotels, and I would love to be able to pick a hotel knowing that it is bedwetter-friendly, rather than throwing the proverbial dice with each booking. So please feel free to message me your hotel experiences (see Contact), and evaluations.

Finally, this blog is a place to vent. For me and others to share our sometimes embarrassing, sometimes inspiring stories of travelling with nocturnal enuresis.

Enjoy,

The Bedwetting Traveller