Should I use bedwetting alarm for my 5yo?

[DailyLaundry]

My child is 5.5, he's never had a dry night and apart from a few tries, until last week we'd just always had him in nappy pants at night. We've started putting him to bed with no nappies this last week to see when he wets (as usually he wakes up with v wet pull ups) - pretty sure he was previously weeing while lying awake in the night/morning.

(I'm not a troll btw, please don't report me for posting about bedwetting!)
He's been trying hard this week but waking up wet and except for the first night he just sleeps straight through it. The first night he woke up around 4am and came in to tell us so I'm assuming it's around that time he wets.

I'm in two minds about whether to put him back into nappies and wait for this famous hormone to kick in, or whether he just needs a nudge. I've heard good things about the bed wetting alarms - I think they clip into pants so wake him up as soon as they detect any moisture.

Just wanted to know if anyone's had direct experience with them and how old the child was? On one hand they could do the trick but on the other if he doesn't have the hormone yet he can't really hold it, can he?

I've posted about this before, and it's only in summertime I can really try taking nappies away as it means it's warm enough for him to sleep in just an empty duvet cover and I can get sheets washed and dried daily. So I guess if we don't do it now we'd wait until next summer which is potentially another year of nappies.

I have a younger child who was a breeze to potty train and rarely wakes up wet, so I know it's just down to the child and DC1 seems fairly unusual from chatting to other mums whose kids all just had dry nights naturally.

No experience with the alarm here but Ds was 6 1/2 when he became dry at night. I bought puppy training pads (much cheaper than pampers etc) when he started being dry for a few nights at a time and he slept with undies and pants-he said he couldn't feel the wee with one layer only.
I wouldn't panic yet, school nurse said 8 years old before referral

He's tiny. Put him back in nappies or pyjama pants and leave him be. Wait for the nappies to be dry some mornings before you try again.

Agree with kitten. And I was desperate after 12yrs of this. My daughter's only just dry now. When he's older, try the alarm it really will work if you stick at it for months.

I used an alarm in my 6.5.

It was like magic.

I left mine in night nappies until they work up dry for a whole week.

One of them was 7, but there was no stress, no alarm, no wet sheets.

I'm going to try mine again. Split family. Other 'parent' wouldn't do it.

Thanks... DH wants to keep going with it to avoid him going back to just lazily wetting. I've had enough washing sheets every day! We'll stick with it for a week or so more I think. I'm a bit reluctant to go straight in with the alarm.

We used the alarm for our daughter aged 5 at the advice of a dr. It was brilliant. We got her to wear the alarm pants and a pull up over them so any leakage wouldn’t go into the bed (a bit of a cheat) - worked perfectly and realiably dry within days 2
Weeks? Game changer.

Night dryness is based on a hormone. Some children don’t develop it until 7 yrs old. He is not been lazy if he is weeing in his sleep.

Yes I mentioned the hormone in my op. "Lazily wetting" doesn't refer to weeing in his sleep but when he's lying in bed at night before sleep or in the morning before he gets up. He was definitely doing this until we started checking if he came down in the evening and has stopped since not having the nappies. But he is also wetting while asleep and not waking up from it.