Quality Health Care Products Since 1975
About News Product information Contact & Support Where to buy Site Map
Submit

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Information about the DRI Excel® and DRI Eclipse® Bed-Wetting Alarms



How loud are the alarms?
Both the DRI Eclipse® and DRI Excel® have a volume control, but it is inside so that a child is not likely to see it readily and turn the volume down when you have left his or her bedroom.

Both are tuned to high volume (around 98 dBA at the ear) and rarely do parents want to turn them down.

The DRI Eclipse® (“wireless” model) can be tuned to even higher volume (approximately 106 dBA) because it can be put further away, but it will switch off after 2 minutes and so there is no risk to hearing.

How does the Urosensor™ stay attached in the underwear?
The Urosensor™ is put inside a mini pad or pantyliner (any inexpensive mini pad or pantyliner will do), and this is done by cutting a 1 inch slit in the absorbing layers towards the top or bottom edge of the mini pad or pantyliner. Put the point of the scissors inside the slit, and moving them backwards and forwards and downwards, create a tunnel inside the absorbing layers so that you can slip the detector inside. Although the Urosensor™ will usually stay inside the tunnel by itself, to ensure that it does not pull out, you can tape across the slit with a sticky tape. With the slit facing upwards, the mini pad or pantyliner is stuck into the crutch of the underwear using the sticky back surface of the pantyliner or mini pad.

Why do you advise putting the Urosensor™ inside a minipad or pantyliner?
Consistently we have found that putting the Urosensor™ in a mini pad is the most effective, because the mini pad provides a collecting area that is even wider than the Urosensor™, and it is very absorbing, and so quickly catches the urine and directs it onto the Urosensor™. You will also find that once your child is starting to respond to the alarms that only a patch on the minipad will get wet, not the underwear.
Back To Top
Do I have to put the Urosensor™ in a mini pad or pantyliner?
If you prefer not to use the mini pad or pantyliner, then the Urosensor™ can be put in between two pairs of underpants, or you can cut some rectangles of any cotton material and sew a rectangle into the crutch of the underwear, making sure that it is just wide enough for the detector to slip inside and to be reasonably tight. The opening will face upwards.

Why not just have a clip or a dome on the underwear?
Over more than 25 years of treating bedwetting and developing bedwetting alarms, we have found that having a small detector, such as a clip or domes, attaching to underwear may appear to be an effective and simple way of attaching the detector, but in our experience it is too easy for boys in particular to miss the small clip or dome and so the alarm is not triggered. Clips and domes are also likely to come unclipped. For this reason we developed our Urosensors™ which are long enough and wide enough for the first amount of urine to trigger the alarm.

Can the Urosensor™ be used in a pull-up?
The Urosensor™ is suitable to use in a pull-up. Simply cut a 1 inch (25 millimetres) slit in the pull-up in the crutch area, insert the point of the scissors into the slit, and moving the scissors from side to side, make a small tunnel into which you can insert the detector. To make sure that the Urosensor™ stays in place, it can be useful to tape across the slit once you have put the detector inside.

The pull-up has granules which are designed to absorb liquid and may keep the Urosensor™ too dry and fail to trigger. In this case either ensure the Urosensor™ is as close to the surface of the pull-up as possible, or put in a minipad and stick that in the crutch of the pull-up.

How is the Urosensor™ cleaned?
The Urosensors™ are moulded units and so no urine or water can get inside. Therefore it is simple to wash in soap and water, or if you want an even higher standard of hygiene, then you can clean it in alcohol (e.g., rubbing alcohol from any pharmacy).

Do I need to buy a spare Urosensor™ as well?
DRI Excel® (with plug-in Urosensor™): You must think of this Urosensor™ as you would an earphone on a personal radio or an iPod. With reasonable care the radio or IPod lasts for many years and so does the DRI Excel® alarm unit; However, the earphone is the consumable item of the iPod and personal radio and needs replacing from time to time. The Urosensor™ is the equivalent of the earphone, and just as people often have a spare earphone on hand, our advice is that a spare Urosensor™ is a good idea. Because the Urosensor™ is used by a child the exact life of the Urosensor™ is hard to predict.

DRI Eclipse® (“wireless” Urosensor™): The wireless Urosensor™ Remote should not need replacing because it has no moving parts. The internal battery should give up to two years life, especially of it is “docked” on the DRI Eclipse® alarm unit when not in use.

How long is the DRI Excel® Urosensor™ chord?
The wire is 35"(89cm) long and is suitable for children aged five years, through to young teenagers. For older children and adults the DRI Eclipse® wireless model is more suitable because there is no wire connection.
Back To Top
Are the DRI Eclipse® and DRI Excel® alarms electrically safe?
The DRI Eclipse® and DRI Excel® alarms have special electronics. When the Urosensor™ is wet by urine, it triggers the alarm to start beeping, but then the Urosensor™ no longer has current running through it. This is quite different from many other alarms, because with those other alarms, all the time that the alarm is sounding, they have current flowing through the sensor and while this cannot cause a shock, it can cause the urine to become acidic(also known as electrolysis) and irritate sensitive skin. In the case of the DRI Eclipse® and DRI Excel® alarms, this cannot happen, because there is no current continuing to run through to the Urosensor™.

The DRI Excel® runs on six volts and the DRI Eclipse® runs on three volts. Both use only a tiny current, and are so safe that you can put the Urosensor™ on your tongue, and trigger the alarm, but you will feel nothing. For much less than a second a few microamps (which you can not feel) pass through the Urosensor™ triggering the alarms.

How do the alarms turn on and off?
The DRI Eclipse® has an on-off switch. The Urosensor™ Remote has no switch so turning it off is as simple as docking it on the alarm unit. When the Urosensor™ Remote is docked, it activates a second level of special battery saving technolog to enusre long life.

In the case of the DRI Excel®, when the Urosensor™ is plugged into the alarm unit it is switched on so that it is ready to detect urine. When the alarm has been triggered by the urine, the alarm will keep on beeping until the Urosensor™ is unplugged from the alarm unit. This switches the alarm off and also resets it so it's ready to be switched on again when the Urosensor™ is plugged in.

What sort of batteries do the alarms use and how long do they last?
DRI Excel® uses four(4) X 1.5 volt alkaline “button type” similar to those used in a calculator. (Panasonic LR 44 or equivalent, we put a sticker inside the battery compartment on the underside of the lid showing the equivalent ones which are suitable). They last at least a year and should not need changing.

DRI Eclipse® alarm unit uses Panasonic 2354 and this battery must be used as a replacement; However, it lasts up to three years and unless the DRI Eclipse® has been used by several children or stored for a long period of time, it will not need changing. The “wireless” Urosensor™ Remote is sealed and the battery cannot be changed; However it will also last up to three years because of the special battery saving technology.

To return to the Enuresis Alarms page Go to Document List