6 Types of Incontinence products

People suffering from incontinence are either suffering from the urinary tract or bacterial infections. Other factors like depression, stress, and anxiety can also lead to temporary incontinence. Managing incontinence is necessary, regardless of whether it is completely treatable or not. Due to the old stigma associated with it, many patients are quite secretive about their incontinence issues. And this is the main reason for the significant lack of awareness about its treatment. 

So, to help you with what can help the incontinence patients, we have a list of products for you to choose that suits you the best.

1. Pads

This incontinence product is made exclusively to manage light or mild incontinence. One needs to wear it inside their underwear. It protects their skin from excess moisture. There are various pads available on the basis of absorbency level, odour, materials, etc. So, you should buy an incontinence pad by keeping your flow and requirements in mind. Thus, these pads keep the skin normal dry and rash free to provide comfort and protection simultaneously.

2. Liners

Liners are for those who are suffering from light or mild incontinence. Just like pads, one can place this product too in the underwear. These too are available on the basis of different absorbency levels.

3. Protective Underwear

Protective underwear is one-piece undergarments with the adjustability of elastic that one can easily put it on and take it off as per requirement. They are available in varying capacity of absorbency and give complete protection from mild to severe incontinence.

4. Adult Diapers

Also known as fitted briefs, adult diapers are for those who are suffering from mild to severe incontinence. They come in a variety of absorbency capacities with adhesive or adjustable elastic. The main advantage of adult diapers is that they come with a breathable cloth-like or plastic sheet on the outer surface. This prevents perspiration that can harm the skin. As a result, you can have normal-dry and healthy skin. There are two types of adult diapers:

- Tape Adult Diapers

Recommended for bedridden patients and who need assistance in everyday tasks such as visiting the toilet or changing clothes.

- Diaper Pants

Suitable for people who do not have any mobility issues and can easily carry out everyday tasks without requiring assistance. 

5. Incontinence Pants

If you are looking for an alternative to wearing pads over underwear, then incontinence pants are the best choice. You can wear incontinence pants instead of underwear and pads. Materials that has the highest absorbent capacity are useful in making this product. It will help in avoiding leakage and will also provide comfort at the same time.

6. Catheters

Catheters are penile sheaths made of silicone. The one end of it is stuck to the penis with non-latex glue, while the other end connects to a bag where urine gets collected. One can hide them comfortably under the patients’ clothing.

However, doctors usually recommend a catheter only when anyone has been through surgical treatment and is not able to make frequent toilet visits because of the restricted mobility for a short time period. Also, doctors do not recommend catheters for long term usage because it may lead to urinary tract infections.

7. Under Pads

Unlike the above-mentioned incontinence products, under pads are helpful to protect beds, chairs, etc from incontinence. They are especially useful to prevent the furniture from incontinence while the process of changing the patient’s diaper is going on. They are like waterproof bed sheets. These waterproof bed sheets prevent the fluid from passing through it.

While choosing the right incontinence for your loved ones, you need to consider two prime factors:

  - Mobility

  - Level of incontinence  

Before you finalize to order incontinence products, we highly recommend you consult your doctor first and take their suggestions seriously.

Source: https://essentialaids.tumblr.com/post/669172358760775680/6-types-of-incontinence-products

10 Helpful Kitchen Aids for Your Elderly

Whether your loved ones love to experiment in the kitchen or just want to do some basic cooking, you can always make it easier for them to work in the kitchen by installing some inexpensive kitchen products. When we are young, there can be a few things like opening a jar or reaching the box on the shelf which we may find easy to do, but it can get difficult to perform those tasks, as you grow older. So, to make these tasks easier for them too, there are various pieces of equipment that can help to work independently and safely in the kitchen. Let us have a look at them:

1. Jar Openers

It is an inexpensive and essential aid for any senior’s kitchen. You can easily find various kitchen stores and online shops selling it. You need to look for the jar openers with a no-slip grip, which can open the multiple-sized lids from any smaller items like drink bottles to larger sized items like food jars. This tool is very helpful for the elderly with arthritis.

2. Can Opener

You might know that opening cans with a regular can opener would be almost impossible for seniors with limited mobility or diminished strength which makes it difficult for them to grip things. They can try the can opener with a non-slip grip.

3. Cookie Spritz Gun

For your senior bakers, rolling out the dough and using cookie cutters would be time-consuming and will require more effort. A cookie spritz gun can be helpful here. It has a wide array of disks with different pattern cutouts. They just need to put the dough in the spritz gun, and as the dough will be pressed inside the tube, they will have to pull the trigger. This will send the dough through the disk giving the shape of the pattern cut out to the cookie sheet.

4. Reaching Stick

Also known as a reach grabber, a pick-up tool, or a grabbing stick, a reaching stick is an extendable stick having a grabber at the end. This grabber will help seniors to reach things. This stick is perfect for seniors who cannot reach items on shelves or who cannot bend over for picking the items up from the floor. This stick also helps the seniors with neck or back issues, arthritis, or the ones dependent on the wheelchair.

5. Mixing Bowl with Grip

It is difficult for the elderly to hold a mixing bowl in one hand and mix the batter with the other hand. Because they have less hand strength to hold onto a smooth rim. There are many mixing bowls that come with grip edges or handles. These grips or handles help the elderly to prevent bowls from slipping of their hands.

6. Kitchen Equipment

This equipment is a great way to provide your seniors with all the gentle reminders while cooking. For instance, reminders to take their medicines, this way, even if they are indulged in cooking, they will not forget to take their medicines on time.

7. Cut-Resistant Gloves

Knives, scissors, graters, and other items can cause mild to severe injuries. Here, the cut-resistant gloves can prevent the cuts. It is made of a material like spandex, polyethylene, glass fibre, etc. and thus it can protect your elderly’s hands.

8. Auto Shut-Off Stoves 

There have been numerous times that we forget to switch the stove off. And with seniors, it is a common scenario. So through the auto shut-off mechanism, this stove helps in preventing fires when no motion is detected for a set period of time.

9. Soft Grip Kitchen Shears

A good pair of kitchen shears is able to cut through items as delicate as fresh herbs and as tough as some hard fruit shells. A soft-grip handle in this equipment provides extra stability in the elderly’s hands. And the scissors are useful for other projects around the house.

10. Kitchen Trolleys

These are helpful to easily carry materials from one place to another in the kitchen. The elderly do not have to carry all the things together or have to take several walking rounds over the kitchen for shifting materials. They can gather all the things they need for the recipe in the kitchen trolleys and can move it anywhere they want.

Conclusion

The above-mentioned kitchen aids can help your loved ones to cook safely and easily. You can get this equipment at any local kitchen tool shop or on online shops. Make sure you buy it from trusted suppliers otherwise there can always be chances that the equipment may not work properly which can put your loved ones in danger.

Source: https://essentialaids.tumblr.com/post/668725768863580160/10-helpful-kitchen-aids-for-your-elderly

Dining, Sociability and Independence

Aches, pain and reduced mobility are indeed a part of growing old. Failing eyesight and reduced mental reasoning may also present themselves in later years.

Once into retirement, physical duties and responsibilities begin to slow down and life can become more sedentary.

Whilst rushing off to work becomes a thing of the past and rising early becomes a pleasure rather than a chore, the task of nutrition remains equally important to a comfortable and healthy life.

It is said that ‘you are what you eat’ – sticking to sensible and healthy eating will help you maintain your weight, body condition and general health.

Good nutrition is important to physical health and mental balance.

The days of cooking and feeding a family may be behind you. Caring for yourself and maybe a partner is just as important in senior years as it was before.

What Does Healthy Eating Mean?

In order to eat healthily, there are some important facts to adhere to:-

• don’t eat too much
• do not overdose on salt
• eat all categories of food – carbohydrates, protein, fats, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables and grain, as all contribute to your health but understand where each fall as regards to the amount needed to maintain good health
• know that sugar is present in many of today’s prepared foods e.g. baked beans, tomato sauce, cereals and bread and that sugar contributes significantly to weight gain
• be aware of your fat intake and keep it low e.g. avoid fatty meat and too much fried food
• avoid, or cut back, on fast foods e.g. fish and chips, pizzas, takeaways and foods with high sugar content.

Bad eating habits lead to obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes and many other illnesses, all of which can reduce quality of life and day-to-day functioning.

Good eating habits can keep discomfort and ill health at bay.

The Dining Experience

- Dining Alone

Dining alone can cause the individual to skip the importance of healthy eating, with the idea of ‘why bother cooking for one’. This can lead to relying on fast foods, or simply picking at what’s available in the fridge and cupboards.

Whilst age may bring infirmity in different forms, eating unhealthy foods can bring on many serious illnesses and affect strength and mood. Feeling alone and ‘down’ may lead to lack of exercise and unwanted weight gain.

- Shared Dining

Dining can be a social activity and much more fun that eating alone.

Shared dining has so many benefits, including:-

• cooking becomes a pleasure, as well as an interest
• being in the company of others creates social interaction, which can lift mood and lead to planning ahead
• when cooking for two, food can work out cheaper
• preparing food can be a shared activity and a form of exercise.

Preparing Food and Task Limitations

For the young or non-disabled person, preparing food is straightforward. Opening tins and jars, carrying pans of boiling water from oven to the worktop and reaching up or bending down for items needed (e.g. tins, sauces, pans, plates and bowls) can be performed with comparative ease.

For an elderly or disabled person, preparing food may raise questions and / or limitations. Such conditions which may need to be addressed may include:-

• weakened grip and reduced strength– arthritis is a common condition which can lessen our ability with certain tasks. Lifting items such as pans full of water and cups of hot tea can become risky, the first for the danger of scalding or slipping on a wet floor and the second for burning oneself. Opening tins becomes a challenge.

Adapted aids include two-handled pans and cups, specially-designed tin openers and bottle and jar openers for those with weakened grip and reduced strength.

• shaking hands and diminished dexterity - tremors caused by stress and anxiety and also by Parkinson’s disease are conditions which may cause hands to shake. This will make tasks a little more difficult but will also affect confidence and self-esteem.

Weighted items can help reduce shaking and two-handled items can promote a stronger grip.

• unsteady balance and walking difficulties – arthritis and general ageing may mean that support (e.g. a walking stick or walking frame) may be needed to stand upright and to move over short distances. A small kitchen may make manoeuvres difficult.

Making your kitchen ergonomically friendly will reduce the need to move from one place to another. For example, keep the worktops next to your oven and hob free from clutter, so that lifting food from the oven and moving pans from the hob can reach a worktop with minimal time and fuss.

• reduced vision – different eye conditions change vision in different ways e.g. tunnel vision, blurred vision and discomfort with bright light. Old age also causes a need for spectacles, as short and long distance ability change focus. Reading recipes and following menu instructions won’t be as straightforward as before the eye condition developed.

A magnifying glass may help with reading menus and food instructions. Having a spotlight directed towards a particular area (e.g. to the control buttons on the oven, microwave and hob) will make working in that area much more comfortable and safe.

• reduced mental ability - dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, lack of confidence and loss of short-term memory, may lead to being unable to remember the sequence of tasks to prepare food. All could lead to failure of the task in hand but could also cause danger (e.g. working with hot water and hot oil, as well as a hot oven and hob).

Come to terms with what you can still do for yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for help in tasks which are no longer straightforward to you. Taking on the supportive role in the kitchen may prove to be more within the individual’s abilities than taking on the main responsibility of ‘cook’.

The Tasks of Eating and Drinking

Seniors may find motor movements for eating and drinking to be somewhat impaired, due to the ageing process e.g. weakened grip, shaking hands and diminished dexterity.

Visual changes may make eating and drinking feel like a challenge e.g. blurred vision (cataract issues) and failing eyesight (macular degeneration and glaucoma).

In order to find solutions to make the dining experience still bring pleasure, the distinct needs of the individual should be sought. For example, how does the person’s new way of life affect how they manage the dining experience?

- Weakened Grip

Weakened grip, maybe through arthritis, will make holding cutlery and cups less safe than in earlier times.

Identifying fatter handles on cutlery, as well as Velcro straps which fasten to the hand and also pocket the cutlery item, can make cutlery more secure for the eating process.

- Shaking Hands and Diminished Dexterity

Shaking hands and diminished dexterity may benefit from two-handled cups, to give more confidence in lifting drinks.

Using cutlery with weighted handles can help reduce the intensity of tremors.

Weighted holders, which can be used for cutlery as well as toothbrushes and other items with handles, can also be purchased.

Eating with a spoon may not be the individual’s ideal but will save spilling food before eating.

Adapted plates and bowls heighten the experience of dining independently.

A scooper plate is simply a plate with a lip on it, designed to prevent food from finding its way over the edge of the plate. Individual bumpers and guards can also be bought separately, to attach to average shaped plates and bowls.

Plates and bowls sometimes fidget on the table. They can be secured by a anti slip mat, gripper feet, or suction bases. For the individual with shaky movement, suction-based plates and bowls will prove the better experience.

- Reduced Vision

For the individual with changing vision, knowing where food is on a plate can severely impede the dining experience. Where does one scoop with a fork, or cut with a knife, will be a question which will come to mind.

Explaining where food is on the plate (e.g. mashed potato at four o’clock (the position of that food on the plate), meat at twelve and carrots at nine) is a life saver for those who wish to be independent.

Partitioned plates-cum-bowls can keep food items separate and help the person with the visual impairment to access the food item by pushing towards the partition wall.

- Reduced Mental Ability

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease can be so difficult on the individual and their partner or carer:-

• eating habits change; food preferences may change and regular favourite food might be rejected
• the function of eating may become slow and erratic
• a reduced desire to eat may become a worry.

When supporting a person with eating, the encouragement and support given will be so individually tailored, as each individual with reduced mental ability will present themselves differently

Do what’s best and what works for the person you are supporting and encourage as much independence as possible, via special eating aids (e.g. cutlery, cups, plates and bowls) available.

Summary

Being social is for most people a human need and instinct.

Age and illness can alter a person’s ability to perform what were once easy and straightforward daily tasks.

Nutrition is a key player in maintaining fitness and health.

Understand what you are eating and where it falls as regards to the amount needed to maintain good health.

Dining can be a social activity and much more fun that eating alone.

With conditions which come with age (e.g. weakened frame, shakiness and reduced vision), all of which can affect the dining experience, seek suitable special aids to allow the person to maintain as much independence as possible.

Source: https://www.essentialaids.com/blog/dining-sociability-independence.html

Age, Independence and Safety in the Bathroom

Hygiene is an important part of our personal health regime.

Age, onset of arthritis, loss of energy and strength, mobility and dexterity changes, as well as major illnesses due to weakened immunity systems, can make everyday activities a struggle.

The bathroom is one of the two most dangerous rooms in a home (the kitchen is the other) and our senior years make it more difficult to feel safe in a bathroom.

Shaky hands and weakened grip, as well as unsteady balance and lack of mobility, will affect many tasks in the bathroom e.g. cleaning teeth, toileting, shaving, bathing and showering. Tailoring solutions to the individual’s needs is paramount to overall safety and independence.

Depending on a senior’s health issues, special aids and adaptations should be identified to keep bathing or showering as independent and safe a task as possible.

Changes in eyesight can also present difficulties.

Staying Safe

Possible risks in a bathroom include:-

• locking oneself in the bathroom
• falling because of a weakened frame e.g. unsteady balance, or general weakness due to illness
• slipping on a wet floor
• being unable to stand from a seated position e.g. after toileting
• falling in the shower after standing for too long a period
• slipping when entering or exiting the bath or shower
• not recognising how hot the water is on the skin.

- Locking Oneself In

Privacy is a human expectation, particularly during self care in a bathroom.

Locking the bathroom door is a natural thing to do and expect.

-Solutions

A double-sided lock will allow the individual to have the promise of privacy, with the inbuilt safety element of help being at hand in an emergency.

- Falling

Age brings instability and falling does happen. Knocking against a hard surface (e.g. the corner of a wash hand basin or pillow for bathtub) may cause bleeding and even unconsciousness.

-Solutions

Place grab rails in appropriate places and close enough together to allow the individual to hold another grab rail before letting go of the other.

Depending on the size of the bathroom, a walking frame could give support to the individual, if there is enough turning space available.

- Slipping on a Wet Floor

Washing, as well as shaving, at the wash hand basin can make the floor wet.

Stepping out of a bath or shower can leave quite a lot of water on the floor. Slipping could cause broken bones, as well as damage to any part of the body in the resulting fall.

-Solutions

Choose floor tiles which have rough, rather than shiny, surfaces, to reduce the chance of slipping.

Stone tiles absorb spilt water, reducing the likelihood of slipping.

Grab rails will again prove useful in the bath / shower (entering and exiting) and immediately outside the bath / shower, to steady the user during changing location and to hold onto whilst drying oneself, or preparing to sit down.

- Being Unable to Stand from a Seated Position

Rising from a seated position on the toilet can be a challenge for people with balance problems or weakened frames. Weakened grip can also contribute to the difficulty.

-Solutions

The average toilet has a height of 17 inches (42.5 cms.) and it is possible to purchase toilets with a height of 20 inches (50 cms.) and 21 (52.5 cms.) inches. This extra height makes it easier to get into a standing position.

An extra thick toilet seat can also give extra height, making standing a little easier.

A shower chair with wheels can fit around the toilet bowl. Some designs have a hole cut out of the shower chair seat, so that toileting can be done from there.

Appropriately placed grab rails will steady the individual when getting into a standing position.

- Falling in the Shower after Standing for too Long a Period

Falling in a shower could lead to banging one’s head and upper body against the shower screen and possibly breaking bones.

-Solutions

Appropriately placed grab rails will give the individual the support needed when standing in a shower.

Using a shower seat will take the pressure off the legs and allow for a more pleasurable bathing experience.

A shower mat is a must, to give the user a firm footing with the wet shower base.

- Slipping When Entering or Exiting the Bath

Slipping when entering or exiting a bath could prove fatal.

-Solutions

The importance of grab rails can’t be underestimated.

For bathing comfort, a bath board can be attached to the width of the bath, to allow for easy entry and exit.

For added safety, choose a bath board which can be locked into position.

A bath mat inside the bath is a must, to prevent the user slipping when getting in or out of the water.

- Not Recognising Water Temperature

Ageing can lead to thinner skin. Thinner skin + medication for some health conditions, as well as neurological damage, may lead to not recognising that water is too hot for the skin.

-Solutions

Fitting anti-scald mixing valves in the bathroom will eliminate the dangers of scalding and keep the individual safe whilst bathing or showering.

Bath, Shower, or Wet Room – Which is Safest?

When it comes to bathing or showering, for most of us, it’s down to personal choice.

One can relax in a bath but cannot get the same ‘sprawled’ pleasure from time spent in a shower.

When health problems come into the picture, a bath or shower may not be a choice available to the individual. The following points may need to be addressed:-

• the individual who has epilepsy may feel safer in a shower; being unconscious from a seizure could prove fatal in a bath of deep water
• having a balance difficulty might rule out standing whilst showering
• climbing into a bath may prove unsafe for people with weakened frames, general weakness, poor grip and shakiness
• bathing can lead to splashed water finding its way to the floor, making slipping and falling likely
• a shower screen keeps water from the floor, as it acts like a barrier whilst showering or bathing
• if a shower is your choice, space within the bathroom may be needed for opening the shower screen outwards, to allow the individual to enter and exit the shower or shower-over-bath facility.

- Bath

Baths now come in different designs, shapes and sizes, including short, regular and long baths lengths, round baths, P-shaped baths and jacuzzis. Each has its own merits but all depends on the space available.

- Shower-Over Bath

By fitting a shower screen over the edge of the bath, the bath now twins as bath and shower.

A shower screen can be either one pane of glass, or a folding shower screen.

One pane of glass needs space within the bathroom to be opened outwards, for both entering and exiting the bath-cum-shower.

A folding shower screen needs less space than a single pane, as folding it reduces its width.

A sliding shower screen is two panes of glass which, when entering or exiting the bath-cum-shower, slide side by side next to each other.

- Shower

Standalone showers need not much more than a square metre of floor space.

With a full shower door, there will need to be another square metre free in front of the shower for the shower door to open to full capacity.

Some showers come with double panel bi-fold doors. Due to their folding ability, they need less clearance space in front of the shower unit.

- Wet Room

Wet rooms don’t have a door and the floor is angled to go down slightly towards the back of the showering area, so as to keep used water flowing down the drain and not out of the front of the showering area.

Entry into a wet room doesn’t have a risen floor to tackle and so the individual can enter the shower in a shower chair which has wheels, or in a wheelchair.

Eyesight Changes

With age as well as with disability, changes in our vision can make tasks take longer and be somewhat more difficult.

Colour contrast can play a big part in getting around e.g. white walls and blue towels. The contrast in colour makes identification easier.

Spotlights directed to important areas (e.g. the light switch, the toilet, the shower / bath and the wash hand basin) will make working in those areas more comfortable.

Light from above is less challenging than wall lights which can shine in one’s face and cause discomfort.

Summary

Personal hygiene is paramount to good health.

For safety and security in the bathroom, take your health conditions into consideration for safe bathing and showering.

It is important that shower screens are made of thick, toughened, safety glass.

Quality glass looks good for longer.

Shower screens now come with handles, shelves and towel rails, making ergonomic use of the space available.

A folding shower screen allows more space to the individual for entering and exiting the bathing area.

Clean the glass after every use, to prevent soapy films building up and to keep the screen looking good for longer.

Consider fitting anti-scald mixing valves, to be certain that water doesn’t become too hot for safe bathing / showering.

For elderly, infirm and disabled people, a double-sided lock makes a lot of sense, as seconds of delay with entry could change the outcome for the worse.

Ambient lighting is more comfortable to all.

Source: https://www.essentialaids.com/blog/age-independence-safety-bathroom.html