Caring For Someone With Incontinence

How To Care For Someone With Incontinence

For many men and women, the thought of speaking about incontinence to their family is daunting. However, sharing concerns with someone you trust can be good for your mental health as well as helping to alleviate fear. Having support can help you take control.

Feel Confident Talking About Incontinence

It is important when caring for loved ones that you have a basic understanding of incontinence. You can find information on the different types of incontinence and what products are available through our interactive E-learning or if you would prefer, give one of our friendly advisors a call for personal advice.

Let your loved one know that they are not alone, and that treatment is available – incontinence is more common than hayfever! Don’t be embarrassed to seek professional advice through your GP and local continence service. Millions of people around the world live with incontinence and still manage to enjoy life to the fullest.

Incontinence is still very much a taboo subject and often a difficult issue to talk about. Be patient with your loved one as they may not be ready to admit they have a problem (issue) and may not be comfortable talking about it. Make sure they know you are there for them, give them time and they may soon start talking.

Depending on the person’s personality, some may prefer a humorous approach to talking about the subject, others may prefer a more formal approach - you know your loved one best so do what you both feel comfortable with.

What Can We Do Before We Are Seen By A Specialist?

Try and figure out what triggers their incontinence. Medication, caffeine, trauma (related to surgery or giving birth?) and weight gain can all be causes.

Some lifestyle changes can help with managing/reducing incontinence:

Fluid intake - consider reducing caffeine intake and ensure that the daily fluid intake is approximately 1.5-2Litres. Be aware that some medical conditions may require you to increase or decrease fluid intake.

Stopping smoking - persistent coughing can place additional pressure on the bladder.
Losing weight - obesity causes pressure on the bladder and in some cases can restrict mobility meaning you may not make it to the toilet in time.

Prompted voiding - set prompts (e.g. phone alarm), to remind you to go to the toilet regularly throughout the day.
Equipment/aids - these can help with the management of incontinence such as handheld urinals, commodes, raised toilet seats, urinary sheaths (for men) and adaptive clothing.

If containment products are required, Attends have a variety of products to help promote continence care. We offer different designs to help suit different body shapes and levels of incontinence. Our numbering system makes choosing a product simple.

The Attends product selector tool can help reduce the stress of choosing a product, alternatively you can contact our friendly advisors who are happy to assist you in choosing the correct product

It is important to remind your loved one that they are not doing this alone, and help is available via the GP or continence nurse specialist. Encourage them to take back control and start doing the things they love again!