Mild urine incontinence, but wearing pant liners causing problems.
Posted , 2 users are following.
I am female and 70 years old. For many years I have had slight urine incontinence. I know I have two mild prolapses, but they aren't bad enough to have anything done to them.
I've been wearing pant liners for about 20 years, but now have vulvar itching and inflammation. I'm seeing a dermatologist shortly.
I believe wearing pant liners every day may be the cause of the inflammation, but don't want to go without them. What to do? I'd be very interested to hear of anyone else's similar experience.
0 likes, 2 replies
Ginny31 Cheetah
Posted
I am sorry to hear that you have this discomfort. It must be most awkward and uncomfortable. Good you are seeing the dermatologist and hope they help.
You've probably already tried things like changing brand of liners in case it was a material used in one brand that you're allergic to.
Have you been to the GP to check there is no infection or other medical cause of vulval pain and itching?
Some people use creams on the skin when they put their pads on but I have not tried that personally so can't really comment but I'm sure others on this forum may have thoughts on that.
One thing that occurs to me is are you using pads specifically designed for urine leaks? Or just general panty liners / sanitary towels? General liners are not designed to contain urine (which is different from eg our menstrual flow). This means there is more chance of irritation occuring when the liner is wet (also more risk of odor though probably not so much with mild incontinence). A long time ago when my incontinence wasnt so bad I used sanitary pads when I couldn't get anything else and when I did change to incontinence pads I noticed a difference that they were much more comfortable. I can understand you not needing nor maybe wanting a thick pad for mild incontinence but there are some very thin incontinence pads and liners available.
My situation is different from yours as I have heavy incontinence (regularly completely wet myself) as well as bowel accidents, because of nerve and muscle problems and some stomach complications of my health conditions. This means I'm wearing large pads at the very least but normally tape on nappy style pads. Thankfully I haven't had skin irritation in recent years. I have had a couple of occasions of it in the distant past but this was when I did not have protective enough pads and because of a couple of other factors I was staying too long in used pads.
I think that having some time without a pad on is a good idea but as you point out this simply may not br possible. Because I use larger and "enclosed" ie tape on pads, I do try to have some time without the pad on so my skin can breathe. Obviously this is not an option when I'm out of the house or with others. In the morning, after I've been to the toilet and showered I will try to leave it a few minutes before putting my pads on and getting dressed. Also, from time to time when I'm at home on my own I use an insert pad rather than a tape on pad as this lets the skin get a little more air. The downside of doing this is if I wet heavily I will leak but this is manageable if I can go straight to the toilet and clean up.
I hope some of that might help and that you get some answers and treatment when you see the dermatologist.
Cheetah Ginny31
Posted
Thank you very much, Ginny, for your reply. I was so sorry to hear about your incontinence. It must make life very difficult for you and certainly puts my own mild incontinence into perspective.
Yes, I've seen the GP and, although he initially thought I might have Lichen Sclerosus, the biopsy result came back as 'chronic inflammation'. I'm hoping that the dermatologist will be able to expand on this and, perhaps, come up with a definite diagnosis and cause.
I've been using Tena Lights pant liners and actually checked with Tena themselves if the pads were perfumed - they aren't.
I don't need to have to wear a pad at night and always wear a nightie, so my skin is able to breathe overnight at least.
I hadn't thought about putting cream onto the pad - what a good idea - so will try that. At the moment, I'm trying to control things with lots of moisturising and the use of a water spray after going to the toilet. The GP prescribed Dermovate, but, although it has reduced the inflammation, I'm trying to keep its use to a minimum. It's such a potent steroid and the GP just told me to use it 'as and when' and longterm, something I wasn't particularly happy about. Again, I'm hoping the dermatologist will be able to advise me further on this.
I also tend to wear trousers a lot, so am looking into wearing more skirts in the future! A shopping spree is coming up!
Thank you again. Take care.