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Archive for March, 2010

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5 Ways to Help Limit Bladder Weakness in Men

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

If you are a man, you may find that as you age you begin having problems with urinary incontinence, and while this condition certainly becomes more common as the years pass, it should never be considered a normal side effect of ageing. Of course muscles weaken with age, and your bladder and pelvic muscles are no exception. So whether you are just starting to deal with urinary incontinence, or if you have been managing it for a while, here are five things that you can do to stack the continence deck in your favor and limit the effects of bladder weakness in men.

1.Drink Plenty of Liquids
As your bladder muscles begin to weaken it is tempting to cut back the amount of liquids that you consume. Unfortunately while this idea may make sense on paper, it will not work in practice, and here is why. As you drink less water, your urine becomes more concentrated, and this concentrated urine further aggravates the bladder increasing the likelihood of adult incontinence. However, you do not want to drink too much water either, because this will increase the amount of urine that your body makes, which also increases the chances of incontinence. So the best rule of thumb is to drink in response to your natural thirst signals.

2.Stay Away from Party Drinks
There are certain foods and drinks that can aggravate the bladder, and it is a good idea to stay away from them if you are noticing a weakening in your bladder. Carbonated drinks, alcoholic drinks and caffeinated drinks all act as diuretics, which make you go the the bathroom even more. So if your bladder is already weakening, you will simply overtax your system by eating and drinking things that irritate your bladder.

3.Maintain a Healthy Weight
Being overweight is a sure way to make everything a little harder on your body, so if your bladder is already weak, eating too much and drinking too much is just making your bladder work that much harder. If you are noticing some symptoms of urinary incontinence, this may be the perfect time to start eating a little healthier.

4.Stop Smoking
If you smoke, stop. Of course this is easier said than done, but if you are suffering from urinary incontinence, the effort will be well worth it. While smoking itself is bad for many other systems in your body it does not directly affect your bladder. The cough that comes along with smoking, however, puts undue pressure on your bladder and can contribute to urinary incontinence.

5.Exercise
As you age and your muscles weaken, your pelvic floor muscles are no exception, and just like the rest of your muscles you can keep them in shape by exercising them. Up to three quarters of mild to moderate cases of incontinence can be dramatically improved and even cured by doing pelvic floor muscle exercises. You will have to be patient for the these exercises to pay off, because the results of your hard work will probably not be realized for three to six months. However, all of the hard work is certainly worth it when you regain full bladder control. Regardless of how old you are or how weak your muscles are, you can improve your condition by regularly exercising these muscles to keep them functioning properly.

Bladder weakness in men is more common as you age, and you can find incontinence products that will go a long way towards making managing your problem much easier. At DryForLife we have been helping people find just the right products for their lifestyles, and we are always happy to help. You can order online and have your purchase delivered directly to your front door, quickly, conveniently and discreetly.

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Look for the Popular Tena Lady

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Tena products have been steadily gaining in popularity, and Tena Lady is one of the most popular in the Tena line. As better materials are developed to absorb liquid, not only do these pads absorb quickly, but even when pressure is applied, the pad remains much drier than a feminine towel. This is important because it helps to avoid embarrassing leakage that can stain clothing or furniture. Since these pads are capable of handling a large flow of liquid very quickly, any worries of telltale leakage can be completely put to rest.

The Tena Lady pad also has a superior dry quality, because it is made with a top sheet that wicks liquid away from the body immediately. The reason that it is important to move moisture away from the skin quickly is that you do not want to develop any skin irritation or rashes from excessive moisture. By quickly getting the liquid away from your skin, you alleviate any problem that you may have with rashes. The new and improved materials also help to lock the moisture in the pad preventing leaks as well as skin irritation and infection.

Add to that odour control, which helps keep you feeling fresh, and you have a superior incontinence product that can really help you manage your situation. Odour control is extremely important, because when you cannot get to a restroom right away, you do not want to suffer from embarrassing odour. You obviously will want to change your pad as soon as you can, but in the event that you have to wait a while, you can be confident that you will not have any offensive odours to embarrass you.

The Tena Lady pads are not only constructed to help keep you dry, but they are built with comfort in mind as well. The pad surface that is next to your body has a cloth type of feeling, so it is soft and pleasant. The pad is also securely held in place by an adhesive strip, so that you always know it is right where it is supposed to be. You do not have to worry about the pad slipping out of place as you move, so you can remain active and move about freely without any worries. These pads are also individually wrapped so that they are easy to tuck in your purse for travel or even a day at the office.

The Tena Lady pads are available in eight different absorbency levels to handle incontinence conditions from light to moderate. They have a slim line, and they are virtually undetectable under your clothing. If you are dealing with incontinence, take a moment to find the right incontinence products for your situation, and your problem will be much easier to manage. You may discover that you need to use different incontinence products for different activities to get the best all around results. Here at DryForLife we have been helping people for over forty years as they determine which are their perfect products, and we are always ready to help.

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Stress, Urge and Overflow Incontinence Treatment is Available

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Urinary incontinence can be described in thee basic categories depending on what is causing the actual urine leak. For example, stress incontinence is caused by pressure being exerted on the bladder and forcing urine out unintentionally. Urge incontinence exhibits itself as a sudden need to urinate followed by a urine leak, and it is frequently caused by misfiring nerve endings signaling a full bladder. The third type of incontinence is overflow incontinence, and it occurs when the bladder never fully empties so there is always urine leaking. All three types of incontinence can be treated, often with great success. So if you find that you are suffering from any type of incontinence it is a good idea to have your physician diagnose the cause. Then your doctor can help you through the followup care, because whether you are suffering from stress, urge or overflow incontinence treatment is available.

All three types of incontinence can be treated in four basic ways, with behavioral changes, physical therapy, medicine or surgery, and your health care professional is the best person the steer you in the right direction as to which treatment or combination of treatments is appropriate for you.

It is possible to have mixed incontinence as well, where you suffer from two types of incontinence at the same time. For example, you may have the symptoms for stress incontinence along with the symptoms for urge incontinence. In this case your physician will probably choose to begin treatment addressing whichever type of incontinence is the more dominant of the two, and then follow up on the second one.

Unless there is a clear injury or infection, treatment will usually begin with the least invasive solution and become more aggressive as needed. For example, you may start keeping a bladder diary to note when you drink; how much liquid you consume, and when you have accidents. Simply by mapping your behavior, you can frequently make a few small adjustments in your activity to correct your incontinence problem. If behavior changes are not enough, your may move on to doing exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, and again this regimen may be all that is needed to improve your symptoms. Both of these approaches for dealing with urinary incontinence have absolutely no side effects, so you often have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying them first.

When neither of these two approaches solves your problem, there are medicines available to help with your incontinence problem. Depending on your doctor’s suggestion, your medication may do one of several different things. For example, some medication reduces the amount of urine that your body makes. Some medication quiets muscle spasms or calms misfiring nerve endings. Some medication clears up infection, so depending on the likely cause of your incontinence your doctor can prescribe the appropriate medication.

When there is a clear injury where a repair needs to be made, surgery may be the answer to your incontinence problem. Surgery may also be a last stitch effort to solve a stubborn case of incontinence, and again this is a decision that you will want to carefully consider with your medical professional. Both medication and surgery can have side effects, which must be considered before choosing that course of treatment.

So whether you are dealing with stress, urge or overflow incontinence treatment is available for your condition. Get your doctor’s recommendation as to the right course of action to take. To make dealing with your incontinence challenges more manageable, it is important that you use the right incontinence products for your situation. At DryForLife we have been helping people discover the perfect products to help them manage their incontinence conditions for over forty years. With service available by phone or online and quick, discreet delivery DryForLife can help make your situation just a little easier, and we are always happy to help.

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A Mattress Cover for a Good Night’s Sleep

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

If you are dealing with any type of continence problems in your family, you can take a lot of worry out of the process by protecting your mattress with a quality mattress cover. If you have not purchased a mattress for several years, you will very likely be shocked at how much a good mattress costs. It is actually a bit of an investment, so it only makes sense to protect your investment with a cover.

Whether it is for an older adult with a urinary incontinence problem, or for small children as they are going through the toilet training process, there are sure to be accidents that result in a puddle on the mattress. And you want it to me exactly that, “on” the mattress, not “in” the mattress. While you may not want a puddle exactly, you do want the mattress pad on the bed to trap all of the liquid and keep it from ever even touching the mattress.

Mattress covers are available in many different styles from very basic to quite luxurious. They come in hypoallergenic covers with soft quilted tops or even fluffy terry tops. Unlike the crinkly waterproof pads of years ago, the new waterproof materials create comfortable, pliable pads that are completely waterproof.

Even if you do not worry about the danger of bed wetting accidents, using a mattress cover is a great way to extend the life of your mattress. While you sleep your body sheds dead skin cells and sweat through your pores and without a mattress cover there is nothing to protect your mattress.

So whether you are looking for incontinence products like a a completely waterproof mattress cover to help deal with a bladder problem or you simply want to protect your mattress from the ravages of daily use, DryForLife can offer a full range of mattress covers from which to choose. You can order online and have your new mattress cover delivered right to your front door.

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Patience is the Key with Bed Wetting Enuresis

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

While it is probably nothing to worry about, it should not be ignored either. Bed wetting enuresis describes when a child has bed wetting accidents after the normal age of toilet training, which is usually by about age six. While it is a common childhood problem, no one really knows what causes bed wetting.

It does tend to run in families, so if one of the parents had a problem with nocturnal enuresis when growing up, it is quite common for their child to experience the same problem. Sometimes the problem occurs because the bladder simply is not large enough to hold an entire night’s worth of urine, and for other children, their nerve endings do not sense when the bladder is full.

When a child has been successfully toilet trained and then starts bed wetting, it definitely needs your immediate attention. This pattern can be the harbinger of a new stress such as a disruption in family life like moving, death or divorce. It is common for children who have been sexually abused to start wetting the bed. Illness or infection can also cause this problem, so it is vitally important to have a doctor evaluate the situation when a child regresses into bed wetting.

For children who have never been completely toilet trained, there are several ways that you can handle the problem. Even though most children will eventually outgrow bed wetting, it may cause them embarrassment, and they may want to help the process along. Using a bed wetting alarm is one way for a child to learn to awaken when they need to go to the bathroom. The alarm is worn on the child’s underwear or pajamas, and at the first hint of moisture an alarm sounds to awaken the child. The idea is for the alarm to help condition the child to awaken during the night when they need to go to the bathroom.

Another treatment method is medication, though it is not appropriate for all cases. Your doctor will be the best judge of whether medication is the right course of action for your child. Medication may come in very handy for a special sleepover or a week at camp, so it may be a short term option as well.

As you and your child work through this challenge, be supportive, and reassure them that the problem will get better in time. Limit fluids just before bedtime, and always have your child go to the bathroom before sending them off to bed. While you can use protective mattress covers to protect the bed, you do not want to put your child in diapers during the night, because it indicates that bed wetting is not a problem, and it can be demoralizing for your child. When your child has an accident have them help you change the sheets, and above all be patient and keep a positive attitude.

If you are concerned about your child’s bed wetting enuresis it is always a good idea to discuss the problem with your child’s doctor, and they can rule out any physical problems like illness or injury.

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Adult Incontinence Products Going Mainstream

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Even as you see economies depressed, there is one area of products that is growing by leaps and bounds, and that is the category of adult incontinence products. Many of the established brands in the adult incontinence product arena are on a serious quest to erase the strong social stigma of adult incontinence. They are launching new advertising campaigns for products that are geared to reach the senior or baby boomer market.

With new products splashing onto the market like incontinence wear that resembles regular underwear and Tena Ultra Thins, which are an incontinence pad for women designed to be effective yet less bulky, the incontinence care industry is alive and well. With the boomer segment of the population driving advertising and product development throughout their lifetime, the trend seems to be continuing straight into their golden years.

This generation has always been active, and it seems that they are not ready to give up their active lifestyle any time soon.

Adult Incontinence Products are being repositioned to be more stylish, and they are being designed with comfort in mind. There is a huge marketing push to bring these products into mainstream advertising and remove the embarrassment or stigma from them. With the boomers ageing, the problem of adult incontinence is growing rapidly, and advertisers and manufacturers are fighting for market share.

Adult Incontinence Products can be found in gender specific styles, and even though the styles are more and more like regular undergarments, there is still somewhat of a social stigma connected with the condition of incontinence. However, there is no doubt that as advertising for these products saturates the media, the stigma will finally begin to relax a little.

So even though no one looks forward to needing adult incontinence products, the good news is that they are becoming a little less embarrassing with each passing day. As marketing campaigns continue to normalize the progression of age into incontinence, the stigma attached to the condition will continue to fade. As products continue to improve, using adult incontinence products feels less clinical and far more normal.

If you find yourself in the position of needing to use adult incontinence products, do yourself a favor and look around at all of your options. At DryForLife we have been helping people select the perfect products for their situation, and we are always happy to help where we can.

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Simple Overactive Bladder Treatment Offers Results

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

When you have an overactive bladder it can be annoying to say the least, and frequently it can prove to be debilitating. You may find yourself avoiding social situations, vacations and even family gatherings. Always in the back of your mind is the possibility of your overactive bladder problem causing your a publicly embarrassing moment. The good news is that an overactive bladder syndrome treatment can be just a doctor’s visit away.

Overactive bladder treatments range from behavioral changes to exercise therapy to medication, or maybe even a combination of treatments. This is why you want to start your search for the best treatment with the proper evaluation of your condition.

Bladder training is an effective overactive bladder treatment that does not have any side effects, and it is something that anyone can do. Typically you go to the bathroom when you feel the urge to go, but bladder training sets a schedule for your rest room trips, and you learn to control the urge and wait until your scheduled time. Then you begin increasing the time in between bathroom visits until you have a manageable schedule for your bathroom visits.

Along with bladder training pelvic floor exercises strengthen the muscles of your pelvic floor. You exercise your arms and legs, so it makes sense to exercise the important muscles along your pelvic floor as well. You simply tighten and hold these muscles several times a day to build their strength back up. If you are not familiar with your pelvic floor muscles, the next time that you are urinating, stop midstream. There is your pelvic muscle in action. These exercises are called Kegel exercises, named after the doctor who first recommended them, and pregnant women typically do them to prepare for childbirth. It takes several months to realize the benefit of your new workout, so if you are experiencing any urine leakage during this time you can wear a good quality absorbent incontinence pad to manage your situation.

Using drugs to treat an overactive bladder can be very effective when the problem is caused by nerves sending improper signals to the bladder muscles. Drugs can help to block these misfired signals and curtail the inappropriate bladder contractions. It is also possible that drugs can help to increase your bladder capacity, which also helps decrease the urge to go to the bathroom so frequently. Another contributor to overactive bladder problems in women is the decrease in estrogen production that happens after menopause occurs. So estrogen treatments can help alleviate symptoms in some women.

As you partner with your doctor to identify the cause behind your overactive bladder, you can work together to find the perfect overactive bladder treatment for you. And as you are learning to manage your condition you can find products to help you maintain your active lifestyle. At DryForLife we have been helping our customers manage incontinence for over forty years, and we are here to help you too.

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Disposable or Reusable Incontinence Pants – You Decide

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

If you find yourself in a situation where you are having to manage any level of urinary incontinence, you will be happy to find out that you have many options when it comes to products to help you with your task. You can find disposable as well as reusable incontinence pants and pads, and you can even find a combination of the two. Incontinence products are available for every level of absorbency, and they are available in many different styles and sizes.

If you are new to this problem, do yourself a favor and thoroughly check out the products that are available today. New innovations and materials allow pants, pads and briefs to have a much slimmer profile than incontinence products from years gone by. The visions of uncomfortable, bulky products that may first pop into your head when you think of pads and protection can be replaced with soft, comfortable briefs that look and feel very much like regular undergarments.

When you are deciding if you would prefer a disposable or a reusable incontinence product, there are several things that you may want to consider. The first two things that you want to think about are your comfort and lifestyle. Above all you want your incontinence wear to be comfortable and effective. Then the next thing that you will want to consider is the cost of your products.

There may be times when disposable products are preferable to reusable incontinence pants, and other times when washable briefs would work better for you. You can find lady’s, washable, incontinence, underwear in beautiful, feminine styles, some even with lace. You can also find men’s, washable, incontinence underwear in masculine styles including boxers and briefs. So, you may very well settle on a combination of the two types of products, disposable and reusable, depending on your activities for the day.

Most incontinence pants and pads, whether disposable or reusable, have an absorbency rating, so that you know which level of incontinence pads or pants will work for your situation. Even though reusable incontinence pants look very much like regular undergarments, they are constructed of special materials designed to absorb and trap urine to keep skin and clothing dry. Some brands even offer odour reducing technology. It is a good idea to always have some extra pairs on hand so that you can easily change into a fresh pair when they become wet.

By using both disposable and reusable incontinence pants, you can tailor your products to suit your needs, which will help you do a great job of managing your incontinence problem. If you are not sure which products will suit you best, order a sample pack to get a really good idea of what options are available for your use. At DryForLife we have been helping people deal with their incontinence needs for over forty years, and we are happy to help with any questions that you may have. You can reach us by phone or online for discreet answers and incontinence advice as you are finding the best way to deal with your incontinence problem.

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Continence Pads and Products Pivotal in Leading Normal Life

Monday, March 8th, 2010

All too often when a person begins to experience continence problems they start to withdraw from social activities for fear of an embarrassing public accident. However, with the new continence pads and products that are available on the market today, you can expect to manage your urinary or faecal incontinence problem while continuing to engage in a normal and active lifestyle.

You can find continence care products in any number of places, so being able to get your hands on the right products is not usually where people run into problems. The problem occurs when trying to choose the right product for your particular situation. Discussing your symptoms with your doctor or medical professional is a great place to start, because they can advise you on the basics of what to look for in your continence care products. They are usually aware of the newest products on the market, so they can keep you updated on any innovative new developments in products as well.

For many people pads and pants are the best choice, and they come in all shapes and sizes. These products are available in disposable and washable styles, and they are also manufactured in gender specific designs to suit the differences between the male and female anatomy. For many people, different continence pads are appropriate for different activities throughout the day. For example, if you are working out, one type of pad may work best, and then for your day at work, another type of pad may be more comfortable and effective.

Especially if you are just beginning to deal with a continence problem, it may be a good idea to get a sample pack of products, so that you can try several different styles and absorbency levels to see which work the best for your situation. You may find that you like the convenience of disposable pads and the cost of washable products, so using a combination of the two may be the perfect solution for you.

While most pads are designed to be low profile, generally the larger the continence pad, the more urine it will absorb. Other pads are designed for bowel incontinence and have a special built in odour control. When selecting pads, you want to look for a snug, yet comfortable, fit, so that your skin does not become chafed or irritated. Continence pads are built to hold large volumes of liquid and quickly wick it away from the skin to keep any type of rash or skin infection from developing.

You can also find mattress covers and furniture protection, which can be used alone or in tandem with other continence care products. So as you are working to find the perfect combination of continence pads and products to properly manage your situation, remember that DryForLife has been helping people deal with their continence care needs for over forty years, and we are here to help.

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Leaking Bowels Can be a Lot to Manage

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

If you are experiencing a decreased ability to control gas or stool, poorly controlled bowel motions or leaking bowels, then you are dealing with faecal incontinence or bowel incontinence. The symptoms for faecal incontinence can vary from an involuntary passing of gas to a complete loss of control. Affecting both women and men this type of incontinence can cause a great deal of anxiety in those suffering from it.

It can adversely affect your daily life and cause problems with your social life, your work life and your life in general. In elderly people, it is one of the most common reasons that they are placed in a nursing home. Even though this condition is relatively common, there is still a lot of reluctance discussing it, so many people never find the proper help that they need to manage the condition to their best advantage.

Passing a stool involves two sphincters, which are the muscles that hold the stool in the anal canal. There is an involuntary internal sphincter, which you do not consciously control, and there is a voluntarily external sphincter, which you can control. You can consciously squeeze the external muscles to prevent leaking bowels when you sneeze or cough for example. While ageing is certainly a contributing factor to faecal incontinence, there are other factors that can cause this condition as well. For example, in women childbirth is one of the biggest contributors to this type of incontinence. Small injuries to the sphincter muscles can occur from tears, infections, eposiotomies or a prolonged labor and may not show up for years. Then as the muscles weaken with age, the injury becomes an issue causing leaking bowels.

Abnormalities of the rectum can also cause this type of incontinence, whether from disease, genetics or injury. Other injuries like spinal cord injuries can also result in leaking bowels. Any time the nerve function is damaged, you can lose the ability to feel when you need to have a bowel movement. Suddenly it is impossible to tell the difference between the need to pass gas or a stool. As with any type of incontinence the treatments depend on the causes of the condition. Sometimes just a change in diet or simple medication can take care of the problem, and in other cases physical therapy to build muscle strength or to sense a stool can take care of the problem. Even surgical repairs are successful in correcting injury to anal muscles and restoring faecal continence.

So the first person that you want to consult, if you are having problems with leaking bowels, is your doctor, because your medical professional is the one who can help you efficiently resolve your problem. While you are working with your doctor to manage your bowel incontinence using the proper incontinence products can help you to stay active and engaged socially. DryForLife offers a complete line of incontinence pads and products, which can be ordered online or by phone and delivered discreetly right to your front door.

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