Thread: Diapers for bedwetting

I do agree that patience and understanding are very important in dealing with problems such as bedwetting(or any other form of incontinence) but I'm not sure I know what you mean with your comment about diapers not supporting a youngster's development. There are a number of physiological reasons for bedwetting,in addition nocturnal enuresis can be caused by psychological issues such as stress. For example there have been cases of individuals suffering from bedwetting as a result of significant stressors in their lives such as divorce,child abuse,natural disasters such as earthquakes,and I've even heard that there were a number of cases of individuals suffering from bedwetting after 9/11.

I do believe that a person should look into different cures to try to resolve the bedwetting but in some cases the bedwetting can't be resolved for whatever reason. Or in some cases the person might not like the treatment options currently available to resolve the bedwetting. For example some people might not like taking medicines,some may not like surgery or the surgery might have side effects which the individual finds intolerable,etc. I've heard a number of people say that diapers are a band aid for the problem and perhaps with certain people that's true. However there are situations in which diapers might be the best or only option to manage the bedwetting.Or as mentioned the person may prefer to wear diapers to bed because they don't like the treatments available to deal with the problem. In some cases it's prudent to wait for the individual to outgrow the bedwetting in which case diapers should be used in my opinion.

This society is very focused on image and unfortunately we can be very superficial. In my opinion this emphasis on image has influenced the incontinence market. When incontinence products are sold for older children,teenagers,and adults the thing that is emphasized the most is the appearance of the garments. The phrase that is used for many incontinence garments is "looks and fits like regular underwear" or "underwear like design". Don't get me wrong I'm not against products of this nature but in many cases good old fashioned diapers are the best choice particularly for the management of heavy incontinence such as bedwetting. Many bedwetters lose a large volume of urine during the night and in a large number of cases wet more than once per night. It's be said by a number of people(both sufferers of bedwetting as well as people in the field) that diapers provide superior nighttime protection.That's not to say that people shouldn't use products that look or fit like underwear but in general these products seem to be more effective with managing lighter or more moderate forms of incontinence. In my opinion we need to be more pragmatic about this issue-stop focusing on the appearance of the garments and focus more on the following criteria when choosing a product to manage the enuresis-how comfortable the products are as well as how effective they are at protecting both the person and the bed. If the person's bedwetting resists all attempts at treatment the person should sleep in diapers. After all it's uncomfortable(not to mention unsanitary) lying all night in wet bedding and clothing. It's been shown that urine can cause skin problems and by not wearing protection to bed the person is just exposing more areas of the skin to the urine.While it is true that diapers can cause skin problems such as diaper rash these problems can be mitigated or eliminated by using skin care products such as Desitin(or other brands of diaper rash ointment),sprays,creams,powders,or other items.

As a psychology major I feel that the stigma surrounding older children,teenagers,and adults using diapers to manage their bedwetting should be studied in further depth. If we can get to the roots of why we have such negative attitudes toward people over the age of five wearing diapers to deal with their bedwetting perhaps we can become more accepting of these individuals. Another thing that puzzles me is this-we seem to have no problems with special needs children,the elderly,or people with disorders such as Alzheimer's disease,multiple sclerosis,Parkinson's disease,cerebral palsy,or other diseases wearing diapers but for some reason we feel that it's unacceptable for an older child,teenager,or adult to wear diapers for bedwetting. I've written a number of articles on this issue and would be interested to know what other people think.