Because there is so much shame and stigma around wearing adult diapers to manage incontinence, people are coming up with any strategy possible to avoid using adult diapers as an effective means of managing the condition. While some of the strategies have proven helpful, others are very unrealistic. Sadly, even medical professionals endorse the use of such strategies, despite the fact they are totally unrealistic for their patients. They are not driven to help their patients in the best way possible. Their only concern is the stigma surrounding incontinence and how they can best make their patients fit the mold that society prescribes for a normal person, even if trying to fit is not in their best interest. Two strategies that are commonly recommended are bladder training and scheduled voiding, also referred to as timed voiding. Well meaning family members and some medical professionals suggest this method as a cure for the problem, as well as an alternative to wearing adult diapers. While they feel it is practical in their minds, and while this method is suitable for those who have memory problems or moderate control issues, such strategies is very impractical for those who are heavily or totally urinary incontinent.
Scheduled voiding, or timed voiding as some call it, is a schedule that is set up for patients to void at certain times of the day. This technique is typically used for patients who have memory problems, which will result in them forgetting to use the bathroom. Basically, this method serves as a reminder to use the bathroom, so the patients will not forget and have wetting accidents on themselves. Other than suffering from memory problems, these patients have no bladder dysfunction, hence the reason this method works so well for them. But in incontinence sufferers, this technique is ineffective because their bladders are dysfunctional, and it is impossible to keep to a regimen, especially if they suffer from overactive bladder or damage to the spine, which would prevent them from knowing of the need to void. True, sticking to a schedule and implementing scheduled voiding or timed voiding might cause less wetting accidents to occur or it might save on the quantity of diapers used; however, it does nothing to address the problem. There will always be a need for diapers. Because of this, it is useless to utilize this method, as it will give incontinence suffers a false sense of hope. If the person is incontinent enough to need to depend on diapers twenty-four/seven, it does not pay to utilize a method such as this for the simple reason that it is impractical to say the least. What is best is to use the diapers as intended, which would be the practical solution, since there is really no way around managing total and severe urinary incontinence and move on with life. The process of healing and acceptance cannot possibly be achieved if one stays in denial, trying to make use of impractical techniques. It is just like trying to take heart medicine for a cold, as the two are unrelated. Much of the time, unless mentally impaired, people who suffer from urinary incontinence are otherwise normal and active people aside from having this problem. Knowing this, it is not in their best interest to make use of a method that is commonly used to care for and treat people with memory problems, as incontinent people would not forget to use the toilet if their bladders functioned well enough for them to actually do this.
Bladder training is used to strengthen the bladder’s muscles after they have weakened. What is typically involved in bladder training is that the patient would start out by holding their urine for a certain amount of time and increase the amount of time the urine is held until they can achieve normalcy. This method is typically used in patients who suffer from stress incontinence. Stress incontinence is when people lose small amounts of urine from laughing, bending, coughing, or sneezing, and this is caused by weakening of the bladder muscles due to child bearing, most of the time. People suffering from total and severe urinary incontinence are incapable of holding their bladders for any length of time, especially if the bladder is overactive or if nerve damage is the cause of incontinence. Furthermore, people with total and severe urinary incontinence lose much more than just a small puddle of urine. An entire stream is lost, hence the need for maximum protection. If there were no people who did not need maximum protection, the market would not be flooded with many different options of products to choose from. Because there are so many options, this shows that there is, in fact, a major need and that there are people who legitimately cannot control when and how much they urinate.
If you have a loved one or friend who suffers from urinary incontinence and want to help them, it would do well for you to get informed so you actually know the facts about the condition and how people who suffer from it are impacted. Doing this would prevent you from offering advice that is useless and unrelated, thus you’d spare the dignity of the sufferer. Not to mention, you can truly help in a way that will be beneficial.
