Why do so many incontinence pads leak?!

[Marnie63]

I've never had problems with Incontinence Choice, who were recommended to me by someone else on TP. Even their standard delivery, which is supposed to arrived within a few days, sometimes arrives very quickly. They are very good and seem to have everything I will ever need for this scenario. I wish they would have a lower spend threshold for free delivery (it's £75 I think), but apart from that, I would recommend. The delivery people are always OK here. As I've said before, I will never buy anything from Age UK again, nor donate a penny to them, because of how horrid that woman on their helpline was to me when I was desperate for help.

The flooding has eased here, I think maybe the way mum's body reacted to the heat had something to do with it (a bit of urine retention, perhaps?), but also I was obviously giving her a lot of fluid due to the heat. I cut down a little on the fluid intake yesterday and there hasn't been the flooding we had before. Mum is standing again on the rotunda, so I'm able to get her out of bed more, and therefore onto the commode more. As long as she can stand for a while and as long as my back is OK, this makes live a little cheerier, for now anyway. Now trying to plan the day out so that I can watch the football tonight. Another strange effect this situation has had on me - I've suddenly become interested in football!

Let me know how that washable nappy works for you.

 

[Tin]

Most of my girlfriends have become fascinated with the football!! I don't get it, they are older, Wimbledon types, maybe even croquet, but they are all glued to their tv's watching the football!

I use Incontinence Choice and Complete Care online too. Ageuk delivery company has just made too many mistakes especially with the larger orders. I once found a huge box outside my neighbours gate and I knew it was mine so had to get my porters trolley out to bring it into my home. Delivered over my garden gate has happened before, but it was obvious that yesterday's small delivery was just thrown over the gate.

Have now washed the new nappy type and just waiting to see how long it takes to dry. It can go in tumble dryer, but just putting one item in there does not feel right.

 

[Tin]

Nappy on last night, sorry for calling it a nappy, but that is what it is. Put it on top of pads and fixation pants and no obvious leaks this morning. Once on, it was quite snug around her. The Velcro fastening was a bit fidgety to get in right place, but with practice will get better at this. It is also a bit of a bother when in washing machine with other things, as you can imagine everything sticks to it! So it may be that these will have to be washed alone, don't fancy hand washing as they are bulky and I would find it difficult to wring out, but suppose I could put in washing machine for a short spin. Going to give a weeks trail before I buy anymore. The design is good with more material at the back, where needed. a little gap at front of legs. Think they will be successful, especially if I can put less pads in, like the boosters, but it is getting this bit right, if I put less in then surely the nappy will get very wet and then transfer to bedding? trail and error. Less pads tonight - lets see..

 

[Starbright]

My oh has Alz/Vas..he has slipped down quite a bit since a chest infection a month ago, and although not incontinent he’s has had 2 urine accidents last week, and one explosion of the other sort last night as he said he thought he just had wind but no he couldn’t get to the bathroom quick enough...I’m hoping it may be the CAlceos he’s been taking for the last week ((and not the beginning of incontinence)) perhaps I should be more prepared as I wasn’t last Night arghh......where do I start what do I buy re bedding etc.
Sorry to hijack this thread ...A x

 

[Tin]

No hijack, I think Marnie started it so we could give each other advice. Start by looking / buying a mattress protector, not a plastic/rubber [although a large rubber one would work if it fitted all round and under the mattress, but the plastic ones make too much noise and rip easily, learnt this to my cost when making mums bed, my nails went right through it and in the end it was being held together with duct tape! Also take a look at waterproof duvets, another lesson learnt - ordinary duvet too big for washing machine! Might be a good idea to buy some pads for inside underwear, if he lets you change these then it will save on changing clothes after little accidents. When you think incontinence is with you then talk to gp who will then refer you to your local continence service.

 

[Starbright]

No hijack, I think Marnie started it so we could give each other advice. Start by looking / buying a mattress protector, not a plastic/rubber [although a large rubber one would work if it fitted all round and under the mattress, but the plastic ones make too much noise and rip easily, learnt this to my cost when making mums bed, my nails went right through it and in the end it was being held together with duct tape! Also take a look at waterproof duvets, another lesson learnt - ordinary duvet too big for washing machine! Might be a good idea to buy some pads for inside underwear, if he lets you change these then it will save on changing clothes after little accidents. When you think incontinence is with you then talk to gp who will then refer you to your local continence service.

Thank you Tin, I have looked at mattress covers briefly and I was thinking maybe one that would go completely over the mattress and zipping up if there is such a thing. I will get some pads for emergency use ...any recommendations gratefully received.
Thanks for your speedy reply A x

 

[Marnie63]

I'm glad something is working Tin. I will resist ordering one of those until I feel it's absolutely necessary as I have the added challenge of putting it on in bed, so more rolling around for mum, potentially.

The leaking has eased here, I think there was more fluid going in because of the heat, and I know the carer was encouraging mum to drink more water, which is good, but it was all adding to the output! A No 10 Abri-San pad with a booster worked OK last night, just held it all. The booster pads I have are not the most absorbent you can get so will order those ones next time. Again, I wish they did ones that were even more absorbent as I'm sure they would help in extreme cases. I didn't call the continence clinic in the end, but may do so in the coming days, just to see what they advise. I haven't really pressed them that hard on the issue, but also plan to discuss with the GP when I next see him.

Do you ever use more than one booster pad at a time Tin? I'm sure I read on one of the on line shop sites that you can layer the booster pads for more absorbency.

How about washing the nappy in one of those laundry nets that you wash delicates in? That would protect other clothes from it. Presumably you are closing the Velcro fasteners before you put in the machine?!

 

[Tin]

Yes I am closing Velcro ends before putting in the machine, but somehow other articles are drawn to the Velcro bit, will make sure absolutely covered on next wash and next time I am out shopping, will buy one of those laundry bags.

At the moment I am having massive problems to get mum to drink anything except tiny, tiny sips from each drink I give her, so have resorted to giving her jellies all the time, but even these after the 4th one, just gets left.. Buy lots of melons, this is the only fruit she will now eat. Its really hard, because I am getting a bit fed up with professionals telling me that she is a little dehydrated and I must get her to drink more, how!!! and actually getting a bit fed up with mum's refusal to drink, even though she keeps asking me for "a nice cup of tea" and I sit with her encouraging all the time, tried straws and she just removes these, tried non spill cup-she broke the lid. So far 10 cups of tea poured down the sink.

I do put more than one booster pad in, 2 sometimes 3. like you though I think she may not be peeing as much at night because of not taking enough liquids during the day.

 

[witts1973]

Yes I am closing Velcro ends before putting in the machine, but somehow other articles are drawn to the Velcro bit, will make sure absolutely covered on next wash and next time I am out shopping, will buy one of those laundry bags.

At the moment I am having massive problems to get mum to drink anything except tiny, tiny sips from each drink I give her, so have resorted to giving her jellies all the time, but even these after the 4th one, just gets left.. Buy lots of melons, this is the only fruit she will now eat. Its really hard, because I am getting a bit fed up with professionals telling me that she is a little dehydrated and I must get her to drink more, how!!! and actually getting a bit fed up with mum's refusal to drink, even though she keeps asking me for "a nice cup of tea" and I sit with her encouraging all the time, tried straws and she just removes these, tried non spill cup-she broke the lid. So far 10 cups of tea poured down the sink.

I do put more than one booster pad in, 2 sometimes 3. like you though I think she may not be peeing as much at night because of not taking enough liquids during the day.

Hi Tin my mum can only manage to drink with a straw in a bottle held by me as her hands wobble to much to hold a cup,I make straws from food grade pvc tube purchased from Ebay you can get it in different widths so at least she can manage to get more water through it with a 9mm opening than you would with most drinking straws,I cut it in drinking straw lengths and it's able to curve,I clean it with a skinny bottle cleaner gadget and throw it and cut another bit off when it's looking soiled,I buy 5 metres at a time.
I'm at home with her all of the time so at least I can do this through the day but it's the best I can do and I worry about the time when she finds difficulty with this,I manage to get 1000ml ish down her like this and I'm sure the health workers would say she should have more,but in reality do people manage much more than this when they can't drink themselves.
She has 200ml in her porridge each morning and grapes that go towards her liquid totals too,I shall get her water melons that's a good tip

 

[Marnie63]

Thought I'd cracked it last night - stayed up late to watch a film and changed mum at about a quarter to midnight. All good - pad wet, dry one on. This morning carer due at 0930, but arrived a bit earlier. We managed to transfer mum to the commode - nightie, inco sheet and sheets all wet! I didn't put a booster pad into the pad itself, so that will teach me. From now on I think it has to be the mega pads with one, or even two booster pads. That will give the pad a 6 litre capacity, but I bet I'll still have leaks!

How are you getting on with that nappy @Tin ?

 

[Tin]

Not a success here too last night, but it was down to me. I put mum to bed early, because she was stressing me out. Went to bed without having a pee and got up late this morning, so of course soaking wet, especially around waist band and up her back. I too only put one booster pad in. The nappy is working, Saturday morning everything was contend, so next month when I have a little more money in the bank, I will get 2 more. Been a really expensive month here.

 

[Tin]

Not going to buy anymore Protecta nappies, they are good, but not great, the Velcro is a bit of a problem that at some point in the future I may have to put something else in its place, the whole thing is easy to put on though, nothing like the struggles I had with the wrap arounds and those horrible adhesive tabs. Last night I put two booster pads inside the industrial one and then the nappy, this morning wet bed and leaking in the usual places, up her back and around one leg, but the pads were not that wet! I can only think that it is because mum is so restless in the night, her legs seem to be permanently up in the air and she is wriggling all the time. For the time being I am only putting mattress protector on bed, it has a soft cotton top-just like a sheet and no bed pads as they are at the moment a waste of time and just filling my bin, in the mornings they are usually crumpled up and ripped. No duvet or heavy blanket last night, these just end up wet too.

 

[Sad Staffs]

I don’t know whether any of the following might be useful to some of you with regard to night time Incontinence.
My OH has serious bladder and kidney problems. He constantly passes urine, so I have disposable bed covers all over the floors. For some odd reason he passes much more urine overnight than during the day. I try to limit his liquid intake after 6pm and cut it down from 3pm. I get him to raise his legs whenever he sits down, but still the amount of urine at night is shocking.
We get Hartmann night nappy type pads, the ones with stickers, and they are provided by the Incontinence service. I have to fit them, I don’t know how anyone could easily do them themselves... and it does cause a few heated arguments!!!
I spoke to the company Hartmann about the serious leakage, and they recommended that we add a booster, a Strampalpeter pad. These pads are designed for kids, they don’t have any sticky protective backing so they really are very absorbent. That pad just goes inside the night pads in the same way as a sanitary towel would. I buy the Hartmann Strampalpeters myself, and they are VAT free On top of all this I put a pair of Tena, just to keep everything where it should be. This is at 10pm.
At 7.30 I get him up and into the bathroom. I peel everything off a layer at a time and the Tena is usually dry enough to reuse a couple more nights. The most might be a bit of wet on the inside of the leg. But I just dry them and reuse.
On the bed I put a Kylie type double cover as we still sleep together. On top of the Kylie I put, spread out overlapping, 3 disposable 60x90 sheets, bought from Amazon, £7.75 for 25. These are usually rucked up in the morning as he tosses and turns, but usually dry enough to reuse for 3 or 4 nights, so all I do is straighten them and hang them up to air.

None of this is perfect, and of course, tonight we will have a major flood!! But what I do above does work for us. My OH hates it of course, as do I, but it’s the best I can come up with at the moment.

 

[Marnie63]

Thanks @Sad Staffs - all information is useful! Sadly the nappy type ones with the side stickers have not worked well here. Not sure if it's the design that doesn't suit mum, but I had so many leaks with those I stopped using them. I still have a couple of packs and am using them up as inserts in the stretchy pants, with a booster. I hate wasting stuff! I cut the outer bits off so that it looks like a large insert pad. They work for day, but not for night as the ones we got from the continence clinic were so thin.

I thought I'd found another solution yesterday. I gave mum another half dose of diuretic after her first day time wee around 4pm (can't believe she can hold it for so long!), but although that seemed to flush things out more before bed time, I think it kept working, as this morning even one of the mega pads I use, plus a booster, was overflowing and all the sheets were wet again (as was mum). Thank God I had two carers this morning, so I just left them to it. But, I have discovered that even home care is not perfect, or at least not when it's not supervised. Mum had a bowel movement on the commode and they had tried to clean her up, but I later discovered that they hadn't done a very good job. Admittedly, mum was weak in standing today, but the two of them had an hour here, so to find her pad very soiled when I had to change her again later, was disappointing, to say the least. And, they had soiled the flannel again. I tell them over and over to use disposable wipes to clean her and then the flannel and foam wash to do a final wash. I know flannels are cheap, but there's no need for a soiled flannel. This is why I won't have double up carers (the second one this morning was a trainee) as I need to see what they are doing. It may seem controlling, but it's the only way to make sure things are done properly.

As mum moves to full bed bound stage (and I think she's nearly there now), I think I am going to seriously consider getting a good routine going and just have two calls a day, one carer, me the second person, watching and making sure. What worries me is that if they are that careless to leave her still soiled with faeces (which can't be good for her health anyway) and also smear it on the flannel (and not tell me, or not realise they've done it), then what other things are they doing which compromises the hygiene in our home. GRRRR!

 

[Sad Staffs]

Thanks @Sad Staffs - all information is useful! Sadly the nappy type ones with the side stickers have not worked well here. Not sure if it's the design that doesn't suit mum, but I had so many leaks with those I stopped using them. I still have a couple of packs and am using them up as inserts in the stretchy pants, with a booster. I hate wasting stuff! I cut the outer bits off so that it looks like a large insert pad. They work for day, but not for night as the ones we got from the continence clinic were so thin.

I thought I'd found another solution yesterday. I gave mum another half dose of diuretic after her first day time wee around 4pm (can't believe she can hold it for so long!), but although that seemed to flush things out more before bed time, I think it kept working, as this morning even one of the mega pads I use, plus a booster, was overflowing and all the sheets were wet again (as was mum). Thank God I had two carers this morning, so I just left them to it. But, I have discovered that even home care is not perfect, or at least not when it's not supervised. Mum had a bowel movement on the commode and they had tried to clean her up, but I later discovered that they hadn't done a very good job. Admittedly, mum was weak in standing today, but the two of them had an hour here, so to find her pad very soiled when I had to change her again later, was disappointing, to say the least. And, they had soiled the flannel again. I tell them over and over to use disposable wipes to clean her and then the flannel and foam wash to do a final wash. I know flannels are cheap, but there's no need for a soiled flannel. This is why I won't have double up carers (the second one this morning was a trainee) as I need to see what they are doing. It may seem controlling, but it's the only way to make sure things are done properly.

As mum moves to full bed bound stage (and I think she's nearly there now), I think I am going to seriously consider getting a good routine going and just have two calls a day, one carer, me the second person, watching and making sure. What worries me is that if they are that careless to leave her still soiled with faeces (which can't be good for her health anyway) and also smear it on the flannel (and not tell me, or not realise they've done it), then what other things are they doing which compromises the hygiene in our home. GRRRR!

It’s a big issue if the carers are careless enough, or ignorant enough to get faeces goodness knows where. Not good for your Mom and worrying and distressing for you who is ending up cleaning up after the carers. Are you having to pay them?
It was Sod’s law, after I wrote what I did my OH got aggressive when I got him ready for bed so after putting the nappy type pad on I gave him the Tena to go on top and walked out of the room. I try not to react (how hard I find that) and of course he woke me early this morning telling me he and the bed were wet. Not sure there are any lessons for me to learn as it seems that it is a constantly fast moving roller coaster.
I hope you can get some carers that understand the importance of good hygiene for you and your Mom x

 

[Marnie63]

Yes, I pay them! It's the only 'incident' in a long time, and I know none of this can be perfect, but it's not ideal to worry about where the poo has gone! It's a lesson for me that I cannot take my eye off the ball if I want things to be done exactly as I wish - the only way is to be there and watch everything the carers do. There is one who cleans mum so thoroughly that sometimes it makes my eyes water just to watch her, but I know that mum is practically spotless after that woman has been!

Have you tried using very large shaped pads inside those stretchy pants? Would your husband accept them? There's an Abri-San 11, which is supposed to hold around three and a half litres. That, plus a one litre booster, usually work for me. I am even thinking of bulking up with two booster pads overnight. It's just a case of trying different things. What I've found though is that absorbency is the key, if the pad isn't made to hold enough, then it's just not going to work. I hope you find a solution Sad Staffs. The incontinence is for me one of the hardest things to cope with now.

 

[Tin]

Evening Marnie,

I am close to needing more booster pads and I have usually got these from Ageuk, but as I have been having delivery problems with them decided to go else where. Where do you get yours from?

 

[Sad Staffs]

Thank you Marnie. I had never heard of Abri-san, so I’ve just had a look on the internet. I will be exploring further. Do you get that and the booster pads from Age Uk? My OH didn’t have a problem, no urine leakage and no confusion/dementia until surgery last year. He sort of recovered, but had another anaesthetic earlier this year and he literally changed overnight.
Thank you for your advice x

 

[Marnie63]

@Tin and @Sad Staffs - I buy everything from Incontinence Choice - pads, bedsheets, gloves, the lot. The 1050 ml booster pads are made by Lille, it's the Classic Pad Insert Maxi - 30 for £4.59. I can also very much recommend the Age UK Supersoft Spunlace Dry Wipes for anyone needing to use disposable 'cloths' - they are really soft and gentle. I buy their Super Soft wet wipes as well as they are quite large (but all this stuff is sold by Incontinence Choice).

The largest pads I've been able to find are the Abena Abri-San 11 (3400ml) and the Forma-Care Premium Dry Form X-Plus (3950 ml). My next trick is going to be to layer two boosters in each of these pads to see what happens. However, I suspect even a 6 litre capacity will leak with mum! Clearly these things don't hold as much as they say, as there's no way mum wees over 3 litres overnight - or maybe she does?!

IC's website lets you search by capacity for the pads too, which I find really helpful.

Have decided not to complain about the carers, but to have a word with each of them next time I see them, a gentle suggestion that if they were struggling, then they should have called me in for advice.

 

[Marnie63]

I changed my mind. As yesterday went on, realised how awful the morning situation was with mum not being cleaned properly and the possible transfer of faecal matter. I emailed the agency in the early hours with a complaint. It's upset me as they have been very good thus far, but I can't let this go, it's too serious.

Feeling quite down this morning, I need to go food shopping later, but just feel like sitting in a corner and sobbing. I wish I could cope on my own as I'm probably the only one (plus the one good carer) who keeps mum as clean as possible, but I can't do this on my own as I have no one else to help, and no one else to bounce off, sadly. It's just mum, me and the carers. I wish there was some other way (other than nursing home route - would they keep mum clean there, I wonder?).

Fortunately the very good carer is due this morning, and I will probably find it hard not to have a bit of a sob with her, and tell her what happened, as unprofessional as that is. Maybe I need to investigate other agencies, but what's to say they will be any better than the current one?