With the increasingly busy world in which we live, finding time to care for those we love and help manage their continence issues can be increasingly difficult. That’s were Allanda can help. We can delivery products for Continence Care direct to your door, or even easier, continence care products direct to your loved ones, or those you care for. With a large choice of incontinence products and care products and a choice of next day or standard delivery we have everything you need to help those you care for enjoy a better quality of life plus lots of incontinence help and advise as well.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
World Continence Week
Allanda, a leading provider of incontinence products, is celebrating World Continence Week.
World Continence Week (June 21-27), is a creation of the International Continence Society, and is designed to build awareness of incontinence issues and treatments. It’s estimated that more than 33 million individuals are affected by incontinence in the United States and about 6 million people in the United Kingdom.
Incontinence is not something people should be ashamed of or silent about and World Continence Week is all about giving individuals the tools they need to understand and manage their incontinence issues.
“Unfortunately, many incontinence sufferers are unaware of the treatment options and products available to them,” said Diane Newman of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Continence and Pelvic Health.
Allanda fully support this aim and hope that it help increase significantly both awareness of the prevalence of the condition and also helps people experiencing the condition better understand the many treatments and incontinence management products available to them.
Tips on Purchasing Incontinence Products
With so many different products available nowadays that will manage incontinence it can prove difficult in determining exactly which ones to use. So in order for you to determine which sort of incontinence product you should be using we offer some guidelines below that you may find very helpful.
The things which you must be looking for when it comes to making purchase of such products are as follows:
1. What form of incontinence do you experience? E.g. Stress, urge and faecal incontinence all have different needs (e.g. high absorbency to cope with large amounts of liquid in a single episode for urge incontinence).
2. How easy are they to use? E.g. Can you put them on easily or will you need help? Products such as Belted All in One products are simpler for normal toileting than traditional All in One pads
3. Will they fit in comfortably with the kind of lifestyle that you like to lead? E.g. can they be removed easily? Pull up underwear is far easier for most mobile people.
4. How much comfort do they provide you with? E.g. a smaller incontinence product is more comfortable to be worn, even if it means slightly more frequent changing.
5. How durable are they? E.g. Would washable incontinence products suffice or do you need the extra absorbency of disposable incontinence products.
6. How much liquid can they retain before they need replacing?
Once you know the solutions to these questions then you can select the products that you feel are most likely to fit your needs well. Also of course you need to take into account your gender as the design of the product may differ for men and women.
So now you are going to buy some incontinence products but are still unsure exactly what to purchase? Here we offer a number of tips that you may find very helpful indeed.
Tip 1 – Don’t rush into purchasing the first product you come across it is worth spending some time doing some research into what is available. This doesn’t mean you have to spend hours going from one store to another instead why not look to see what is available by going online. There are various websites such as http://www.allaboutincontinence.co.uk/ that are experts in supplying such items and will provide you clear and concise specifics of how each product works.
Tip 2 – As you do carry out your research don’t limit yourself to one particular brand such as Tena. In this way you can get a better idea about how much the item you are considering purchase will cost. As you will soon discover the prices can vary quite a bit from one brand to another and you could end up saving yourself quite a tidy sum on your purchase by spending those few extra minutes doing some comparison shopping, or feel that the extra spent on a quality brand is worthwhile.
Tip 3 – It is important to know that the designers of incontinence products such as Tena and Lille don’t tend to use the same sizing systems. Plus the way that these products are made means that the way that they fit will differ quite a bit. So make sure that you check the size charts for the various products carefully to ensure that you get the right size that will fit well but also comfortably.
It is also a good idea to try several different products out before you make your final purchase for example by purchasing a incontinence sample pack.
Hopefully the tips we have offered above when it comes to purchasing incontinence products will ensure that you manage this kind of problem more effectively. So of course allowing you to lead the kind of lifestyle you want.
A New Solutions for Urge Incontinence
For those who find themselves unable to manage their bladder, technology is now being used in the U.S. to help people to help people take control of the problem and thus reduce incidences of incontinence.
One person who has benefited is Yvonne De Los Santos, who had gone about her daily life for years without knowing she had a problem.
“I just thought, oh, I had an accident. I didn’t think to seek help,” Yvonne says.
Yvonne’s gynecologist eventually referred her to physical therapist Marlene Kuntz.
“Some women believe that this is normal. It is not normal to leak at any age,” Marlene says.
Marlene is using a bio-feedback method to help Yvonne strengthen her pelvic floor and to manage her incontinence.
“We have the woman connected via a sensor to a specialized computer and the computer is able to show them what their muscle is doing,” Marlene says.
The computer helps Yvonne know which muscles to contract. Marlene uses a series of computer graphics to help Yvonne visualize and pinpoint the muscles that control urine flow.
While this may not be the answer for everyone, it’s an option to be considered before medication or surgery.
Marlene says, “I think it gives women freedom, you know, to be able to do what they enjoy doing and don’t have to worry about getting to a bathroom.”
The therapy runs about 8 weeks and some patients have seen positive results as early as the 4th week
Diet low in saturated fat reduces Incontinence episodes
There are many studies that show the correlation between incontinence and obesity as well as studies that proved that certain foods can help or worsen incontinence episodes. But up until recently no one had studied the effects of saturated fat on incontinence.
A recent study conducted by the Department of Epidemiology at the New England Research Institute and published by the American Journal of Epidemiology examined intakes of total energy, carbohydrate, protein, and fats in relation to UI in a cross-sectional sample of 2,060 women in the population-based Boston Area Community Health Survey (2002–2005).
Research concluded that incontinence in women is improved by weight loss and dietary modification such as reducing the amount of saturated fats in the diet. For detailed information we copied the study’s abstract for you to read it:
Weight loss involving diet modification improves urinary incontinence (UI) in women, but little is known about dietary correlates of UI. The authors examined intakes of total energy, carbohydrate, protein, and fats in relation to UI in a cross-sectional sample of 2,060 women in the population-based Boston Area Community Health Survey (2002–2005). Data were collected from in-person home interviews and food frequency questionnaires. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the presence of moderate-to-severe UI; a severity index was analyzed in secondary analysis of 597 women with urine leakage. Greater total energy intake was associated with UI (Ptrend = 0.0001; highest quintile vs. lowest: adjusted odds ratio = 2.86, 95% confidence interval: 1.56, 5.23) and increased severity. No associations were observed with intake of carbohydrates, protein, or total fat. However, the ratio of saturated fat intake to polyunsaturated fat intake was positively associated with UI (highest quintile vs. lowest: adjusted odds ratio = 2.48, 95% confidence interval: 1.22, 5.06) and was strongly associated with severity (Ptrend < 0.0001). Results suggest that dietary changes, particularly decreasing saturated fat relative to polyunsaturated fat and decreasing total calories, could independently account for some of the benefits of weight loss in women with UI.
Incontinence caused by Childbirth
Childbirth is the most wonderful experience a woman can have in her entire life but for a small minority this experience can leave lasting injuries that will degrade their lifestyle.
One of these injuries is called obstetric fistula – a fissure, or hole, between her rectal and vaginal passages that can damage nerves cutting brain communication with the bladder leading to a severe case or urinary incontinence.
Such problem is not very common here in the UK but a recent article on The Guardian caught our attention and we decided to share it with our readers.
The article “Torn Apart by Childbirth” tells the story of Mel who had a problematic delivery that caused her change ever since. Sex is difficult and painful; she rarely goes out socially, and she has only been able to return to work in the last two months.
Despite Mel’s case being a rare one, birth injuries that lead to long term or permanent damage are more common that many people think. One study found that between 25 and 40% of patients will have a birth injury of some kind if you actually look for it. It’s much more widespread than anyone believes.
Many women suffer in silence and here is where the problem needs to be tackled. We’ve heard from women in their 50’s that gave birth in their 30’s and have lived with faecal incontinence all this time and done nothing because they thought they were freaks.
Maureen Treadwell at the Birth Trauma Association agrees: each week, she says, her organisation hears from women who haven’t known where to turn for advice before. “It’s a totally hidden problem, and it affects women’s lives in devastating ways,” she says. “Many of the women who contact us have rectal as well as urinary incontinence, and they can’t have sex . . . for some, their relationship totally breaks down as a result of it all. Women tell us it makes them feel dirty; it wrecks their work, their home and their social life. And it’s a total taboo.”
Every day we hear from people that are ashamed of their condition and don’t seek help because they simply don’t have the confidence to do so. For years now here at All About Incontinence we have been stressing out the fact that Incontinence is nothing to be ashamed off and it is TREATABLE.
Our aim here is to help you feel more confident through giving you the best incontinence products for reliable protection and the right information to help you understand and manage your condition.
Do not hesitate to contact us or ask our nurse specialist Shona with your doubts. All emails and calls are dealt with total discretion.
Facts and Figures about Stress Urinary Incontinence
Stress urinary incontinence is by far the most common type of incontinence there is. In our previous article “NHS approves new pelvic muscles’ toner”, we talked about a revolutionary new treatment to this condition and now we decide to bring you some facts and figures about the stress urinary incontinence.
1. Stress incontinence occurs as a result of reduced support for the bladder.
2. It affects both men and women.
3. It is the most common form of incontinence for both genders
4. In men, stress incontinence is common following a prostatectomy.
5. In women, physical changes resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause often contribute to stress incontinence.
6. IT IS TREATABLE
7. Pelvic floor exercises are the most effective treatment.
8. Obesity can increase stress urinary incontinence episodes in patients already experiencing the symptoms.
9. One in ten women in the workplace experience it, as do a third of all new mothers.
10. It accounts for 65 % of female urinary incontinence.
11. It is estimated that 4 million women in the UK are affect by stress incontinence.
12. Surgery is only suggested after other treatments have not shown any positive results.
Got any more questions about stress urinary incontinence? Don’t hesitate to contact us or our nurse specialist Shona.