What has been your experience on the best adult protective underware to use. I've been using depends and poise but they are so thick my honey doesn't quiet know how to operate them. He only wears them for accidents and when he can do it alone the thick things are hard to work around. What about the adult briefs that are washable? Also after his big pooping accident the other day, I don't think the depends would hold much in as it seems they are loose on the sides. What have your experiences been? Thanks!

Lori

A couple of us really like Tena brand briefs. If you do a search on "Tena," you'll see some posts about this.

I'm with Robin on recommending the Tena brand. Everything else is too large and too loose for my mother.

Garnet

Yes I am in agreement with the Tena brand briefs, we tried many different brands and these worked the best!

Lori,

I agree about Tena. As for the problem of when your hubby "does it alone," he needs to pull down the underwear (that is, the pull-down style). There is no opening as in regular underwear. If he stands or sits, either way, he has to lower both his pants and the underwear even if he only needs to pee.

There is another style that is used when a person can no longer take care of his own needs that fits like a baby's diaper -- it goes under and then over, and is attached with velcro. Tena makes these also, but perhaps you do not need them yet.

Incontinence is the pits, and I can't believe I am dealing with it. But somehow I am, and again, it helps to have someone else take care of it at least some of the time. For some women, it's the reason they feel better if their husband or parent is in a nursing home. I never dreamed that I would be wiping my husband's bottom, and once while I was doing that miserable chore, he couldn't help himself and peed on me. We both cried. It was a moment I will never forget.

Hang in there. Doris

Doris thank you so much for sharing that. All of your posts help me view things from another angle. When my hubby peed on my nightgown I really took it personal. I think I"m too sensitive in this area and need to put more blame on the disease than him. I'm working hard on that and am making progress but not fast enough.

I found new Tena briefs just for men and tried them with terrible results - lots of accidents. I went back to Tena extra strength and we've had no more problems. I complained to the company - the only one who had, they said, and they sent me coupons for 2 free packages.

Hi. I'm new to the group and haven't done a thorough search, but I want to bring some Tena briefs to my Mom today to use. I'm sure she will have lots of questions. I think she just leaks a lot. Does a person wear the briefs until they feel soggy, then throw them out? Or is it best to throw them out once a day whether they are soggy or not? Any tips about using them? Thanks.

I've never had the experience of someone wearing a brief the entire day/night and not leaking. But I think the answer to your question depends on how much the person sweats. If the person sweats a lot, then the briefs should probably be tossed daily.

My husband is wearing the Depends once in awhile and I don't know why he is doing this. He usually wears a washable underpant that come from Sears catalogue. It has a 'fly' in the front with a leakproof gusset, but the 'fly' is crosswise instead of horizontal and he has no problem with them at all. They are expensive but they work well and really the expense is nothing compared to the Depends.I have also tried Tena and a third brand too (can't remember the name of them) and by the end of the day the odor from any of these was very offensive to me and we don't have that in the cotton underwear.

Our hospice nurse mentioned to me that when she worked in a hospital, she bought those types of supplies in the hospital store, and also got an employee discount. Our hospital here has a medical supply shop in the hospital (apart from a gift shop) but I don't know if prices are higher, lower, or same as retail. So check your local hospital, and if you know somebody who works at the hospital, maybe they can buy the Tena or other supplies for you with their employee discount.

Hope this topic is still 'alive'. IMO, Tena makes the best briefs for men. These are the grey & white striped ones. I sent for the free samples a few months ago and was utterly sold. Until we tried them, we could not find any that fit my husband properly. [Most kept falling off in the back, as he has no buttocks to speak of.] The Tena pull-on briefs are not only just as absorbent as the Depends, they are much less bulky.

They are expensive, but the company will send you coupons once a month, or you can download coupons from their web site.

My husband has an indwelling Foley catheter, but there is always some degree of leakage around the tubing. When it starts plugging up, the leaking gets profuse, and I have to change the catheter. He wears briefs day and night.

mockturtle -
I have no explanation for this but we also experienced consistently leakage with my father's Foley. But when we placed him in a SNF, the leakage stopped.
Robin

Right after I change the catheter, there is little or no leakage. Unfortunately, after a couple of weeks it starts leaking due to the lumen of the catheter plugging up with sediment. I switched to a 20Fr from an 18Fr. and that helped a lot, as it didn't plug up as quickly, due to the larger lumen. When I remove a catheter, I cut it open to view the blockage. Increasing fluids does help, but he's always had some plugging and leaking, whether in the SNF or the ALFs he was in during the past year. The Stalevo seems to create buildup, too. At least when he's home I can be sure his pants get changed, and his skin gets cleaned.

He will be seeing a new urologist next month and I'll ask about a suprapubic. Since my husband used to pull out his catheters, I was always fearful of a suprapubic, but now he's accustomed to having a catheter I don't think he'd pull it out. There would probably still be leaking, but changing the catheter would be easier.

Someone else in the ALF my father was in had a suprapubic and it always leaked as well.