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Astric Medical - A piece of history The first Astric Dry-Bed was sold in 1956 although the prototype was made and successfully tested two years earlier. At that time, bedwetting was a subject no one spoke about and very little was done about it. Bedwetting was a family shame and, in most cases, unmentioned. When the first trial advertisement was placed, the response was so surprisingly large that it was decided to advertise in all the national newspapers and magazines. Each advertisement carried the heading "Look Mummy I'm Dry" with the drawing of a little boy with a halo. Thousands of Dry-Beds were sold with an amazing 90% cure rate. Success brought many imitators, some of whose alarms were sub-standard, causing "buzzer ulcers". The Astric Dry-Bed had a "two circuit" system, one to activate the alarm when the bed was wetted and then to shut down, and the other simultaneously operate the bell to awaken the patient. Because of this circuitry the Astric Dry-Bed was completely safe. However, due to an increase in the incidence of "buzzer ulcers", St. Bartholomews Hospital in London approached us to ask if they - St. Bartholomews - could examine our alarm with a view to testing and modifying it if necessary to set a standard to eliminate the problem. They designed a circuit that was fool-proof. This circuit and its paper was published in the British Medical Journal on 9th September, 1967 and was used exclusively in the Astric Dry-Bed for many years until electronic advances allowed us to further improve upon it. The publicity that we were generating by our extensive advertising and the "write-ups" and articles published by both newspapers and magazines produced a change in the attitude towards bedwetting which slowly lost its "taboo" status as parents realised that it was not laziness that caused bedwetting, but an easily cured condition (from which approximately on in four children suffer). Astric Medical take pride that we, as far as we know, were instrumental in having pioneered a product that so many others have copied, and in some cases have also copied, word for word, our literature. We are particularly proud that we have cured over a quarter of a million "bedwetters" to the relief of grateful parents and the happiness of the children themselves. The Astric Dry-Bed is simple to use - no wires, no detectors and no control box is pinned, tied or attached to the patient - and the results are sensational - 90% are cured without the need for additional accessories, vibrators or lights, books of instructions of cause and effect or detailed descriptions and diagrams of bodily functions - which of themselves achieve absolutely nothing. Astric Medical set out to cure bedwetting and this is exactly what we have done for the past 50 years. We do it better,more effectively and with less hassle and discomfort to the parents and patients than any other system or treatment.
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