Adult diapers are leaking. Is this normal? What can I do?
My grandmother, who lives with me, wears maximum protection/absorption adult diapers 24/7. But at least once a week, she wets the bed to the point of having to change the sheets and her clothes (I do use a plastic bed protector). She never mentions the bedwetting. She just changes out of the wet clothes when she wakes up and puts them in the hamper. Sometimes she can go 10-14 days without an incident, but this week she's wet the bed about four days in a row.
I'm trying to schedule her a doctor's appointment, but some of the doctors (gynecologist and urologist) I called either don't take Medicare (!?) or don't deal with her specific issues (she has a pessary). Plus, she's had other issues that needed to be dealt with first (possible cancer).
Anyway... the point of my post is that I don't understand why these "diapers" are leaking. They have good reviews and seem absorbent. She doesn't drink that much a day. I'd say she drinks a minimum of 20 oz. to maybe 28 oz. per day. Some of her food has liquid like milk in her cereal or the canned fruit she eats. She eats about one 14.5 oz. can of mixed fruit per day. She usually doesn't drink within three hours of bedtime other than the sip of water for her pill. She does usually have a small snack between 9:30 pm to 10 pm with bedtime being between 11:00 to 11:30 pm. So it would seem that these "diapers" shouldn't be leaking. I'm sure she's pulling them up far enough and I've even tried a different size on her.
I guess I could try a different brand, but most I've seen are considerably more expensive. She's wearing Walmart's brand now which costs about $22 for 60 diapers.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
And if anyone has any tips for removing urine smell from clothes, please share it with me. I was using a pet enzyme cleaner which works, but I don't like the smell. So now I'm using distilled vinegar. First I rinse the clothes with cold water, then I let them sit in a water and vinegar mix for at least an hour. Then I rinse them, and if they smell ok, I then wash as normal. I just don't like using vinegar as I'm slightly allergic to it.
As removing the urine smell from clothes, I have used 20-Mule Team Borax along with my regular detergent. I didn't need to do any soaking.
cover with the disposable then the cloth. Very seldom have to change the sheet of bed because of spillage of urine. But putting a TENA INSIDE HER diaper is very important
Anyway, his loose bowels cause leakage in the back, even when I use the long, max absorbent overnight pads.
As for fluid consumption, too little can lead to UTIs, dehydration, symptoms of confusion, etc. 20-28 oz a day is far too little for even a 100 lb person.
Chux (bed liners fabric side up) definitely reduce soiled sheets. I use them on my dad's recliner where he sits & sleeps, one under commode because he floor often gets soaked/soiled (behind overflows).
As long as we're on the topic of elimination, to stop stool overflow on the back edge of the commode, a paper towel folded in half and place to protect the "seam" reduces soiling & cleanup in crevices.
time. Trying to cut back on fluid intake doesn't help this, and can lead to dehydration.
Good idea to try two products at once! Why didn't we think of that?!
With Mom I was stripping the bed and washing everything several times a week. And then I found Abri-Flex Premium by Abena and now we rarely have a leak.
People have given you excellent feedback on your question, especially the cautions about too little water. Best of luck with this challenge.
( mattress cover), on that a waterproof sheet, a disposable pad and a sheet. Two waterproof pads ( bluebottom type) on top of sheet. If she wets through we may only have to wash the pads. You need to get more expensive diapers / pullups that hold more liquid, they are expensive but worth not having to do extra wash. I have been using something called Unique Wellness Absorbent Underwear , they are a very absorbent pull up, look online you can often get good deals/ sales.We were using another brand that worked well but for some reason they started leaking. I usually soak the wet bedding in hot water in washer with some vinegar or tea tree oil before starting the wash cyclle. Good luck.
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