Pull-ups? Incontinence underwear? Is there a difference?

HI,
Ok.. on the underwear issue. Pullups....they are called pullups because they are put on just like your normal underwear.... and pulled up. In home healthcare, we use the pullups when the patient/client is still walking. When you use these with bedbound patients... we have found very more difficult to use. When the patient/client is no longer walking, we normally switch to "diapers".

Then there are the other kind.... we call those diapers ONLY to differentiate them from pullups. FYI... I DO NOT call them diapers in front of my patients because most likely would offend them. These are put on like diapers for infants because the front is brought up between the legs. The back part has those sticky tabs that then come around to the front ----that then stick to the front part.

Here is something else that I have found that works... and helps ease the work of the caregiver and cheaper.

For the male----buy those pads that women use during the menstrual cycle. Wrap one around the penis. You can figure out which way works the best. Some of these pads are very absorbent and hold a ton of urine. Also the runny feces. When my patient/client has "the runs", I put these pads over his anus to catch the "runs". You might need 2 to cover that area. ..and then have the diapers/pullups over that. These pads much of the time are the ONLY thing that gets dirty and therefore the only thing you have to change and .......saves money, too!

For women ----place the pad from the back to front, between her legs. Also, you can do the same for her if she has diarrhea.

You may end up using 2-3 pads inside the pullup/diaper to catch whatever and then all you may have to do is change those pads. Much easier than having to change the pullups or diapers with all that rolling of the client that has to be done to accomplish that feat.

God bless you. Hugs... from a caregiver of 30 years.

We have found the Assurance brand at Walmart and Sam’s club to be as good as the Depends and much cheaper!

Good info below about c diff.
For adult incontinence the pull on underwear comes in all sizes and absorbencies. My aunt is satisfied with the Amazon brand Solimo disposable underwear but she only occasionally has accidents. Mainly these give her a bit more time to get to the toilet.
Mom has big urinary incontinence issues and occasional diarrhea. She uses Tena overnight and the Tena super absorbency disposable underwear.
Your mom may use small in either brand. Both are the pull on kind.
You can try out smaller packages from the grocery store to start with.

I highly recommend a daily probiotic for her gut help. Her facility physician would probably agree. Get her to eat some yogurt everyday.
Good luck!

First of all $79 a month is too much for pull ups, especially if your mom manages to make it to the bathroom in time.
But if she is needed help to make it to the bathroom then believe me, she won't be making it there in time because they can take up to 15 minutes or even longer to come and help you.
They usually keep residents in pull ups so they don't have to worry about getting them to the toilet in time.
There forever, the loved one will usually poop and or pee in their pull ups before they get to the toilet.
Juse hope they don't leave your loved one in wet or soiled diapers for very long or she will end up with a rash or worse.
Sad but True.
You should deffiently have a Camera installed in her room so you can keep an eye on what really goes on.

What you are told and shown can be totally different than what actually goes on.
Prayers.

Pull-ups are disposables, but shaped like ordinary (if capacious) briefs. They can be torn down the sides for removal without having to take them down and over the feet.

There are also washable inco' briefs, which are padded and reinforced underwear. Their advantages are that: they are more economical to buy; they are ecologically more acceptable; they are made of ordinary fabric materials but with highly absorbent layers, so they feel more like standard panties to wear. Their disadvantages are that they won't cope as well with very high volumes/fecal issues as disposables do; and of course they can't be removed so easily; and of course although they can be laundered at high temperatures they're not actually going to be sterile.

Until your poor mother can be helped to get rid of her C diff, I should go for the disposable pull-ups - all of the big brands such as Tena and Depends make them, in various shapes and sizes. These won't stop her using the toilet as normal, when she's able to, because you can just pull them down like ordinary knickers, and if they're clean and dry there's no reason not to pull them straight up again once you're done.

Points to look for (if you're being picky) include properly made seams, a soft feel to the fabric, not too much excess "frill" fabric at leg holes and waistband, and an even stretch to the elasticated part. As in everything, do beware the false economy.

[Personal note: I am also very grateful to those manufacturers who make it clear which is the front and which is the back. Not all do! - and you feel a right numpty if you get it wrong and your poor client looks like she's wearing a codpiece... :/]

I tried a number of different product before finding the 'better' one for my husband who has both kinds of incontinence. What works best for one person - does not necessarily work for another. I've not found the perfect pull up but manage quite well with the ones we are now using. Sometimes it's best to have two product lines - one for daytime and one for nighttime.

I would also like to suggest getting the 36 x 30 (some are a little bigger and some are a little smaller) disposable pads. If something soaks through, it is much easier to change a pad than the sheets on the bed (in the middle of the night) - as the rubber/plastic type mattress cover is below the sheet. There are different products available on Amazon for a reasonable rate. I like the one with the adhesive tape on the back. They lightly attach to the bottom sheet and don't move around as much as the ones without the adhesive.

Have you given any thought to an external catheter? I got one for my mom - we only use it at night, with a disposable bed pad underneath, and Poise pads during the day. It has made a HUGE quality of life difference - hers and mine!
I believe Medicare now covers the cost (we bought ours before Medicare approved), and cost of disposable wands are supposed to be covered soon.

We have also found Assurance to be a good brand (Walmart). Sometimes my mother wets the bed through the Assurance pull-ups so at nights we have had to add a liner to them which we purchased from a medical supply store. We also place a ‘pee pad’ between the fitted sheet and mattress pad. Saves loads of laundry that way. Good luck and God bless.

Please look at the aisle in your grocery store (Walmart, Target, all the pharmacies...). There are many types of adult incontinence products. She will need ones that are disposable, pull-up style, that can handle fecal material as well as urine. Depends is probably the first company to make these items, but now there are more companies out there as well as "generic" store brands as well. Consider taking your mother's waist and hip measurements as well as weight to help with determining her size. She may have to have her disposable underwear changed up to 8-10 times a day if she is still have diarrhea or has more urinary incontinence.

Countrymouse covers it well, the only thing I have to add from personal experience with my mom is you may need to try several brands until you find the one your mom likes best, personal preference applies for disposable underwear just like it does for cotton. Then once you find the type that works for her you can look for them in bulk, my mom likes Depends brand now so I purchase them by the case at Costco when they are on sale and now that she needs the nighttime type which they don’t sell I have found that having them on auto delivery from Amazon is working really well.