Bell and pad Health Dictionary

a psychological method of treating bed-wetting in children and adults. When the subject starts to pass urine it is detected by a pad (or by sheets of metallic mesh) and this sets off a bell (or loud buzzer). The modern form of the apparatus has a small electronic sensor worn under the underclothes and produces a loud bleep. The purpose of the alarm is to waken the subject, who then empties the bladder fully. A process of conditioning leads to the subject learning to be dry. It is effective in about 80% of cases.