What Are The Best Ways Of Wearing Incontinence Pants?
You’ve bought some incontinence products, including incontinence pants, but as this is the first time for you, you’re unsure about what to do. How do you put incontinence pants on in a way that ensures they are correctly fitted? This is an important question whether you are fitting the incontinence pants for you, or you care for someone else and you are helping them put their incontinence pants on.
Incontinence can strike at any point in your day if it is something that you suffer with. We’ve all seen embarrassing stories of athletes caught short needing the toilet during an event, but for everyday people leading everyday lives it can be embarrassing and difficult to carry on doing normal things because of the worry that something will happen. This is where well-designed and well-fitted incontinence pants can genuinely help.
There are different ways to approach putting on incontinence pants. Let’s break it down to make as simple as possible for you.
What to do if the person is lying down
The first thing to do if you are helping a person put on incontinence pants and they are lying down, is to slide an under pad that goes underneath them and catches any mess. This is important to keep the mattress clean. You can roll them onto one side, and always wear clean gloves. Remove the incontinence pad or pants that they are currently wearing, placing in a disposal bag immediately. At this point you should clean the area using incontinence wipes and other incontinence cleansing products.
The next step is to slide on the incontinence pants without trying to lift the person, as this could hurt or injure them. If you are applying a pull up pant you might need help from another person to gently life up the user. An all-in-one product or an incontinence pant, should be placed to reach the hips. Tapes or a belt should be present to fasten it in place in a comfortable fashion. Remove the paper that covers the adhesive part of the fixation and place the adhesive side down on the seat of their underpants. Roll the person onto their back and smooth out the incontinence pants so there are no wrinkles.
How to fit incontinence pants if a person is stood up
Place an absorbent mat or pad on the floor, underneath them, to keep the floor clean during the process. Remove the pad or pants that they are currently wearing, being careful to do so and immediately disposing of it in the correct bin. Clean their inner thighs and remove any urine or faeces using incontinence wipes and hygiene products. Kindly ask the person to stand with their legs just slightly apart.
If they are wearing a pad or all-in-one, carefully place it between their legs, for a slip or belted pad, fasten the tapes and belt securely, and for a standard pad, make sure that the adhesive strip is fully fitted. If you are applying a pull-up pant, lift the legs up one at a time, in a gentle fashion, to insert the pant between the legs. You may need assistance with this.
The type of incontinence product you use will depend on the severity of incontinence and the resilience that the person has to using incontinence products. Once you have bought the right incontinence pants for women or men, the next step is to ensure that they are fitted correctly. Incontinence pads and pants are designed to provide that extra layer of support to those suffering with incontinence, absorbing urine and faeces and making it possible for the person to sleep better at night, or to have greater mobility in their daily life, even if they are suffering from incontinence.
