As people get older, some individuals experience a reduction in their ability to control their bladder and bowel functions. For those who do experience incontinence, it can be an embarrassing or shameful experience. However, as a carer, there are a variety of ways in which you can make the situation better for those you are caring for. These tips will help you to reduce incontinence stress.
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Reassurance
Individuals suffering from incontinence can be helped by explaining to them that it is common and they are by no means the only person going through it. Explain that it’s not their fault so they shouldn’t feel ashamed by it. It can be extremely reassuring to know that others are going through the same experience, and to know that there are is a huge range of incontinence products to help.
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Prepare
As a carer, being prepared for any potential incidents not only makes the situation easier for you, but it also gives piece of mind to the person you are caring for. Many individuals are conscious of the incontinence and this can be a stress in itself, as they can worry about it happening. If they know that you have everything you need in preparation, this can help them to relax and not worry as much.
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Consider Aids
Investing in incontinence products can make life a lot 
easier to the carer and individual being cared for. There is now such a large range of discrete and practical products. Everything from incontinence briefs to reusable bed pads – these products can keep you covered for every activity during the day and night. Having these products on hand not only helps you to prepare, but it also considerably helps with rectifying an incident quickly. Disposable incontinence pads can be an extremely efficient way of cleaning up after an incident. Simply throw the used pad in the bin and replace it with a new one.
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Alter Their Diet
Certain foods can affect bladder and bowel control, contributing to the worsening of incontinence. Being aware of these food and drink products can help to lessen the chances of an incident. Any caffeine, spicy food, chocolate, or excessive consumption of fruit can contribute to this. Anything that can help reduce the number of incidents will help to lower stress levels to the individual being cared for.
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Prevention Techniques
As well as avoiding foods that can worsen incontinence, ensuring that the person you are caring for has frequent trips to the bathroom will help in preventing an incident. This simple technique can make an individual feel a lot more confident. As much as this can be more work to you as a carer, it is definitely worth it if incidents can be avoided.
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Be Sensitive
There are many reasons why an individual may feel embarrassed about incontinence. If they are your loved one and haven’t had to rely on you in the past, needing you to care for them can be embarrassing and a knock to their confidence. Equally, if an individual was previously very independent, having to have a carer can be extremely upsetting. Because of this, ensuring that the person you are caring for can keep their dignity is extremely important. To achieve this, researching and having the right products and being respectful to the individual goes a long way.
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Avoid long outings
Particularly if an individual has just started experiencing incontinence, they will be experiencing a huge knock to their confidence when leaving their house. The likelihood is that their incontinence will be constantly playing on their mind, and this can cause them to worry when out of the house. Because of this, try to venture on only small outings. This will help to restore their confidence in leaving the house.
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Pack a Bag
During any outings, it’s good practice to take a bag with any products you may need should an incident occur. Consider taking incontinence products, as well as products that will help you to clean up, such as disposal bags, hand wipes, and skin cream.
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Ensure they are wearing sensible clothing
Clothing items that are hard to get on and off can make the process of preventing an incident by going to the toilet, a lot harder. Clothing garments that are easy to take on and off makes dressing and undressing a lot more efficient.
At Beaucare Medical, we are a professional incontinence products supplier, and have a vast range of incontinence aids to help carers and those being cared for. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any help or advice!