Incontinence Hygiene – How to Stay Comfortable and Dry

October 15, 2014

If you’re suffering from incontinence, you’re likely to think of it as being inconvenient and embarrassing, but we also need to think in terms of our health. Having urine trapped against the skin can create many problems, including skin irritation and infection. This is why incontinence hygiene is important, whether you face incontinence, or whether you care for a loved one who is afflicted with incontinence.

Problems Caused by Incontinence

Too often when we’re faced with incontinence, we can be afflicted with a host of other problems associated with incontinence. What happens is that the moisture gets trapped against our skin, and that leads to all sorts of problems, including incontinence dermatitis, bacterial infection, weakening of the skin due to being waterlogged, fungal infection, and exposure to ammonia in the urine, which burns the skin.

These problems can cause us to suffer pain from the irritation, or can actually be threatening to our health. This is why incontinence hygiene is so important to our health and comfort. If we don’t keep ourselves clean and dry, our skin becomes fragile, and that makes it a magnet for sores and infections.

Things We Can Do to Prevent Skin Injury and Infections

The good news is that we can prevent skin injury and infections by simply adhering to these good hygiene principles.

Change Incontinence Pads Frequently

Incontinence bed pads or underwear must be changed as soon as they get wet to avoid having the moisture build up and irritate your skin. Your incontinence underwear need to be of the type that have a core that wicks away the moisture as soon as possible to avoid contact with the skin. Thankfully, Wearever’s incontinence briefs and panties are designed with just this feature.

Wash Affected Area as Soon as Possible After an Accident

If you accidentally urinate, not only do you need to change your incontinence underwear, but you also need to wash and dry the affected area as soon as possible to avoid possible irritation. This will help to avoid injury to sensitive areas.

Use a Barrier Cream or Ointment

Using a barrier cream or ointment, such as a diaper rash cream, will help minimize exposure to problems related to accidents. These creams will help soothe our skin and will help prevent incontinence dermatitis, which can be difficult to manage after its onset.

Wash Your Hands Before and After Changing

To avoid possible bacterial and fungal infections, you should wash your hands before and after changing. That way, you don’t transmit any bacteria to other areas of yourself, or to others.

Use Incontinence Cleaners

While you might be tempted to use just plain soap and water, over time that may dry out and irritate the skin. The better idea is to use special incontinence cleaners to clean yourself so that the frequent washing isn’t hard on your skin. These incontinence cleaners often have moisturizers, and are properly pH balanced so that you don’t experience irritation.

Talking to a Doctors About Incontinence

Incontinence is often curable, which is why it is wise to talk to doctors about it. They can often recommend treatment for incontinence. In the meantime, they can also recommend an appropriate diet, barrier creams, and other items that may help you be more comfortable during time of symptoms. Incontinence is a common problem and one we should never be embarrassed to talk to our doctors about. With a little help, we may be able to put our incontinence behind us for good.

 

Incontinence hygiene is an important factor in keeping you healthy and safe when experiencing symptoms. To help you maintain a clean and hygienic lifestyle, be sure to have a look at Wearever’s incontinence panties and briefs. They are designed with you and mind, and you’ll be happy you chose them!

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