Surgery – Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material – Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
Patent
1993-08-19
1996-09-17
Willse, David H.
Surgery
Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material
Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
604369, 604374, A61F 1315
Patent
active
055563937
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an insert which is intended to be carried by a male user and to be placed, in use, around the genitals of the wearer, within an absorbent article, such as a diaper or an incontinence guard. When designing incontinence guards for adult persons, it is necessary to bear in mind that the degree of incontinence, and therewith the volume of body fluid discharged, can vary greatly from person to person. Furthermore, the requisite absorbency of an article, may vary for one and the same individual. For example, the article is often required to absorb a greater amount of body fluid during the night, since the incontinence guard is not changed as often as it is during the day. In order to meet these different absorbency requirements, it is therefore necessary to manufacture adult incontinence guards in various sizes. A large range of sizes, however, results in higher manufacturing costs and storage costs. Consequently, it is desirable to limit the number of sizes to the greatest possible extent.
Incontinence guards are also required to be narrow, discrete when worn and highly reliable against leakage. Since the size of the incontinence guard is directly contingent on its absorbency, the guard should be constructed in a manner which will enable the available absorbent material to be utilized to the full. This creates a particular problem in the case of male incontinence guards, since the male anatomy makes it difficult to know precisely where the liquid discharged will impinge on the guard. This is because the wearer's penis is able to move within the guard as the wearer moves, for instance. It is also possible to position the guard wrongly, such that the penis is initially located in an inappropriate position, for instance pointed up towards the wearer's stomach or towards one edge of the guard. Such wrong positioning of the incontinence guard may be because the incontinent is handicapped and is unable to use his hands properly, which is quite usual with older males. Another reason may be because the person fitting the guard is unfamiliar with how the guard should be positioned or is in too much of a hurry.
Randomly chosen parts of the absorbent material will be utilized in the absorption of liquid, depending on the position of the penis within the incontinence guard. In this regard, there is a serious risk that one edge part of the guard will become saturated with liquid and that when further liquid is discharged this liquid will be displaced and leak from the guard, despite the fact that parts of the absorbent material have not been used in absorbing or taking up liquid. There is a particular risk of urine splashing and leaking from the guard, when the wearer's penis is directed vertically towards the stomach of the wearer. This is primarily a problem when the incontinent lies on his back. Since many male incontinents under hospital care are bed-ridden, the care of these patients would be greatly facilitated if the problems associated with urine leakage were solved, so as to reduce the number of times which bed linen and clothes need to be changed. Older men often have a small and retarded penis and therewith present a particular problem, since they are unable to use urine-collecting tubes, bottles or like devices which are intended to be fitted over the penis. The need for a well-functioning incontinence guard is particularly great in the case of male incontinents who suffer this particular affliction.
The majority of incontinence guards used at present by male incontinents are primarily constructed to suit female incontinents. This is not because no incontinence guards that have been designed particularly for males are available, but primarily because the majority of adult incontinents are women. The use of female incontinence guards thus affords satisfactory reliability against leakage for the majority of users. At the same time, the number of different variations of incontinence guards can be kept low, which is a cost advantage, as before mentioned.
Since
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Molnlycke AB
Reichle K. M.
Willse David H.
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