Bed-wetting alarm can help wake child

Q. My granddaughter is 10 years old, and she still wears diapers to bed every night. Can you give me some advice on how we can get her up to go to the bathroom? I remember years ago discussion of an electrical device that sounded an alarm to wake the child. Do these devices still exist? Is this a good idea?
A. If there is no underlying medical problem, a bed-wetting alarm is a good treatment. At first the alarm may wake everyone in the house except the sleeping bed-wetter. Waking the child and getting her to the bathroom to finish urinating should address the problem within a month or two. Devices such as SleepDry or Wet-Stop2 cost 50 to 75.
Q. I suffered for years with stomach ulcers. On three occasions I had to be hospitalized because they turned into bleeding ulcers.
After I was diagnosed with a Helicobacter pylori infection, I was treated with a combination of antibiotics and Pepto-Bismol for a month. This treatment worked for me, and I haven't had any stomach problems since.
I would love to thank the doctors who made the discovery about H. pylori causing ulcers. If you have their names and addresses, please let me know.
A. Dr. Barry Marshall and his colleague, pathologist Dr. J. Robin Warren, received the 2005 Nobel Prize for their discovery that a bacterium (Helicobacter pylori) causes stomach ulcers. The recognition that an infection could cause gastritis and ulcers was an enormous change from earlier theories, which blamed stress and spicy foods.
We are delighted that you got such benefit by treating the infection. You can e-mail your thanks to Dr. Marshall (bmarshall@hpylori.com.au) in Western Australia.
H. pylori infection is associated with a higher risk of stomach cancer. People who would like to know more about treating digestive symptoms and ulcers caused by H. pylori may find our Guide to Digestive Disorders helpful.
Q. Recently, while shopping for two different OTC products for two very different health issues, I discovered to my surprise that they contained exactly the same active ingredient.
Benadryl has 25 mg diphenhydramine.
Nytol and Sominex also have 25 mg diphenhydramine.
The Benadryl package describes this ingredient as an antihistamine. Nytol and Sominex both say it is a nighttime sleep aid.
The generic antihistamine costs about half as much as branded sleep aids. I'm pretty sure diphenhydramine is also the same ingredient in Tylenol PM and similar products, which can be even more expensive. It does pay (or in this case save) to read the labels.
A. It certainly does. The exact amount you can save might vary from one store to the next, but the house-brand generic diphenhydramine is much less expensive than brands that contain it. We found one house-brand antihistamine for about 3 cents per pill. A brand-name sleeping pill containing the same ingredient costs as much as 22 cents per pill.
Because this antihistamine can also be used as a sleeping pill, it should not be taken before driving, operating machinery or doing other tasks that require alertness.
In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of The Vindicator or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.
& copy; 2007 King Features Syndicate Inc.