Reduces overnight urine production in bedwetting. Works while taken — and the fluid rules around it matter.
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Desmopressin is a synthetic version of vasopressin, the hormone that tells the kidneys to concentrate urine overnight.
Many children who wet the bed do not produce enough of their own overnight, so they make a normal daytime volume of urine while asleep. Desmopressin replaces that signal, so less urine is made and the bladder can hold what there is.
It controls the symptom while it is taken. It does not accelerate the underlying maturation, which is why relapse on stopping is common and expected rather than a failure.
No more than a small drink from one hour before the dose until eight hours afterwards.
Desmopressin stops the kidneys getting rid of water. Drinking normally on top of that dilutes the blood sodium, and severe hyponatraemia causes headache, vomiting, confusion, seizures and has been fatal in children. This is the single most important thing on this page.
The child is unwell with vomiting or diarrhoea, has a fever, or has been drinking heavily — for example after sport or on a hot day. Omit it and restart when they are well.
Hyponatraemia — dangerously low blood sodium from water retention. Warning signs are headache, nausea and vomiting, unusual drowsiness or irritability, confusion, weight gain, and in severe cases seizures.
Stop the medicine and seek urgent medical help for any of those. The risk is almost entirely avoidable by keeping to the fluid restriction.
Caution in cystic fibrosis, in older adults, and in anything causing vomiting or diarrhoea.
Daytime wetting, straining, a poor stream, recurrent urine infections, excessive thirst, or bedwetting that starts again after months of dryness all need assessing rather than treating — those point to something other than simple nocturnal enuresis.
Sodium should be checked in adults, in anyone on interacting medicines, and if there are any symptoms suggesting low sodium.
Routine bloods are not usually needed in an otherwise healthy child sticking to the fluid rules, but the treatment should be reviewed every three months, with planned breaks to see whether it is still needed.
Sometimes — and we will be clear that an alarm is first-line for most children, not a tablet.
What comes first:
Where desmopressin genuinely fits: short-term cover for a sleepover, school trip or holiday; where an alarm is impractical or has failed; or where rapid results matter for a child's confidence.
What needs assessment rather than a prescription: daytime wetting, a child who was dry for months and started again, excessive thirst, straining or recurrent urine infections.
A prescription is never guaranteed. This page is information, not an offer to supply.
Desmopressin is available as an inexpensive generic, though melt formulations cost more than plain tablets. On a private prescription the cost is modest. NHS prescriptions are free for children in England and free in Wales.
Nothing needs buying to treat constipation, restrict caffeine, or set up a sensible bedtime routine — and between them those resolve a substantial proportion of cases.
Desmopressin can be stopped without tapering, though a gradual reduction may reduce the chance of immediate relapse.
Review every three months with a planned break, because children grow out of bedwetting and continuing indefinitely is rarely necessary.
Around two-thirds of children relapse when desmopressin is stopped, because it manages the symptom rather than resolving the cause. That is not a treatment failure, and it is a reason alarms are preferred where practical — their effect tends to persist.
No, and this matters more than any medicine. It is involuntary and extremely common. Punishment, shame and "lifting" a child at night do not help and can make things worse.
Because desmopressin stops the body getting rid of water. Drinking normally on top of it can dilute blood sodium dangerously, causing headache, vomiting, confusion and seizures. One small drink only, from an hour before until eight hours after.
Yes — omit it if they are vomiting, have diarrhoea or a fever, or have been drinking a lot after sport or in hot weather. Restart when they are well.
No — it manages it while taken. Around two-thirds of children relapse on stopping. An alarm has better long-term results, which is why it is first-line.
Very possibly, and it is the most commonly missed factor. A loaded bowel presses on the bladder. Treating constipation alone resolves a meaningful number of cases.
Yes — that is one of its best uses. Short-term cover for a trip or sleepover can matter enormously to a child's confidence, and is a legitimate reason to prescribe it.
If there is daytime wetting, straining, a poor stream, excessive thirst, recurrent urine infections, or if a child who was dry for months starts again. Those need assessing rather than treating.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
September 8, 2026
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