Mesh Pants And Pads

[jaytay]

I've recently been experiencing minor bladder/bowel incontinence. While I don't experience these issues all of the time, they do happen often enough to warrant some kind of protection. Up to this point, I have mainly stuck to protective underwear, or pull-ups, but they have started to get a little costly.

I have been looking at Tena's "comfort pants" and "knit pants" as well as the pads that are designed for them. I'm just wondering if anyone here has tried these combos themselves, and if they like them or not. I'm thinking I will probably go for Tena's comfort pants and their Day-regular or Day-plus pads and their Night-supers.

What I'm essentially asking is, are these products a good form of protection for light-moderate incontinence? Also, would anyone recommend this combination for this problem, or is protective underwear a more reliable solution? Would anyone recommend the day-plus over the day-regular, or vice-versa? Are there any other pants+pads combos I should look into? I've only come across this Tena combo in my area and online. Also, if anyone has tried the day-plus pads, how discreet are they?

Here are the products I'm talking about:

http://www.tena.ca/english/general/products/healthcare/tena-day-plus-pads/

http://www.tena.ca/english/general/products/healthcare/tena-uday-regularpadsu/

http://www.tena.ca/english/general/products/healthcare/tena-unight-super-padsu/

http://www.tena.ca/english/general/products/healthcare/support-products/tena-comfort-pants/

Any and all suggestions are welcome, and thanks!

[babykeiff]

Jaytay,

there is no way to correctly answer this without further information. Yes, pads and mesh pants do work successfully for a large number of people - if they didn't, people would not buy same and the manufacturer would cease producing a product that doesn't sell.

That been said, the question that you are looking for the answer to is will they work satisfactorily for you. That answer will only come from you trying them out, and evaluating same.

You need to know -

• Are you a highly active person

• Will the pad move from its prime position

• Do you wet less than the pads absorbency

• Do you have some bowel incontinence

• Do you need pads to contain same

Most of these question can be figured out during a weekend in the safety of your own home, where you wear one of these pads, see how effective they are, and how long do they last after a wetting. Will they take a second wetting and not leak. You need to prove to yourself how effective these pads are - in the privacy and security of your own home, so that you are confident of their ability when you are out in public.

For a lot of people - those with urge incontinence and/or who suffer with after void dribbling, these pads absorb enough between visits to protect the dignity of the wearer.

Yes, I have tried these pads, and they are convenient at times - but I am dual incontinence, and I also need to employ bowel void management techniques to gain the benefit of these, and they do work.

[jaytay]

Thanks for the reply,

I am a fairly active person, and do use the bathroom whenever I can, so I guess I'm wondering how effective are the mesh pants in keeping the pads in place? Is the pant & pad combo recommended for people with an active lifestyle? Because it seems like Tena is promoting them more as an alternative to the products required for aging folks who need assistance.

[Guitarzan]

I'm currently using the Tena Day Plus pads and have used the Night Super also. They work well for moderate leakage. The night time pads are good if you flood. I use these pads with Adidas athletic stretch underwear and have zero issues with the pads shifting around.

[Bettypooh]

I have limited experience here. I began using store-brand pads with great success until my leakage became more than they would conveniently handle. They had a tape built onto the backing which kept them in place with tight underwear. These never failed directly in that they never leaked through the backing or failed to absorb, rather they reached the limit of absorbency and let the excess pass around them. This was predictable so only on rare occasions did my undies become damp when a change was called for but not accomplished. I am not well-endowed anatomically and preferred tight underwear (panties) so this might have some bearing on how they work for you.

Although purpose-made, I have to question the usage of mesh underwear (which I have not used) for this purpose, as it will not absorb any excess, potentially leaving you with wet pants instantly, as well as with the mesh also not being able to contain or control any urine odors. Even as slight as their absorbency is, regular briefs might buy you enough time to change the pad and your underwear when you've waited too long. Of course, mesh offers no help with bowel issues. I will defer these opinions to others who have actually tried the mesh products.

I have to wonder if you have tried the store-brand pull-ups, as these are about as cheap as protection gets provided they have your needed capacity. Here in SC USA these are about $6 for 14-18 based on size, with larger quantities even cheaper. Name brand pads at retail approach these prices here. You may find thrift stores with bargains; the non-profits like Goodwill are best bets. Also it pays to keep an eye on your local Craigslist. I have found the cheap pull-ups at $4-5 a bag here regularly and I've heard from others elsewhere of similar bargains found there.

As with any incontinence product, there is a learning curve involved so until you become comfortable with their usage and find the product you prefer, it would be wise to have a more than adequate supply available and change more frequently until you can always gauge the capacity before leakage occurs. If possible, test them away from your usual social settings such as work, school, or church before switching over to them completely just in case they prove unreliable for you.

Bettypooh

[babykeiff]

Bettypooh,

mesh pants are so designed for one reasons - cost.

1. It is the least amount of material required to hold a pad inplace

2. It is naturally elastic - due to the changing shape of the holes.

3. If the pad leaks, one changes to a new one, so to avoid the leakage, one would change more often than the pads absorbancy.

... and the cost / cost savings are for the manufacturer only, not the end user.

[Bettypooh]

Babykeiff, it is actually tougher and more costly to weave and sew mesh fabric than solid cloth I spent a lot of my childhood in what was once the 'center of the textile world' where almost everyone here worked at one of the twenty or so textile mills which are almost all closed down now- there are two left running here with under 100 people employed in both; all the jobs and the mills went overseas for cheaper labor costs I'm not an expert on the matter but I do know a lot more about it than most

I think the idea behind mesh for this application is that if it does get wet, there is almost nothing to dry out; it has little mass to retain moisture which could transfer to outer clothing; it allows air circulation which may prevent odor build-up; and it is cooler and therefore more comfortable to many. I just don't feel any of those reasons are valid enough to buy them as I never had any of those problems when I used pads (except for wetness transfer when I didn't change in time, and that was my fault). Pads will work well with any underwear which will hold them in place, so unless you prefer boxers, there's not much point in buying new undies just for using pads Plus the lack of change in that will make the transition to pads easier on your mind since other than the pad itself, you won't feel any difference

To each their own, and if someone wants to try the mesh pants then by all means do so, just know there other options

Bettypooh

[stevewet]

I wear tena pads held in place with mesh fixing pants. I wear these under large incontinence pants. Everything stays in place and I have few leaks.

[Walesiswet]

I have used and do use on occasion the tena comfort super pads Andean pants, they are ok for minor leakage.

One full bladders worth your ok....but be warned! They don't have the standing leg guards so a floods will leak out of the pad before being absorbed.

For example, las year on holiday i used these pads but I couldn't rely on them for 2 wettings as they would leak. This year I'm using attends activ as they have standing guards which give you a good 3 wettings of a full bladder.

The problem with pads and urge inco is your talking about large ish volumes of pee and it needs time to soak in. Pads are perfect for stress inco.

It comes down to the situation you will be in as to what type if inco protection you wear, also your sex.