John,
In general, I think your paper is a good start and would be helpful to many. Individual situations vary though, so here are some of my thoughts based on my own experience and that of others I know
Some of us are partially or fully incontinent in addition to or as a result of other disabilities. Not everyone is able to stand or move or see or have the dexterity to manipulate tapes or fasteners well. It would be helpful to some to know more about the brands with a higher number of reclosable tapes, hook and loop, pull ons, rather than just the tapes etc. from members with experience with them.
I respect your own experience but as a person who is frequently and unpredictably bladder and occasionally bowel incon, at least in my own experience, high end pull ons can indeed work for moderate bladder and/or bowel incon or extended wear, (although not ideally because I can't change often. My own physical limitations don't give me much of a choice in that. If people do have one, then yes, they might find a brief better.) While your only pull-on recommendation of the Tranquility Overnights were okay for me, in my experience, they were not the best. You asked for a woman's point of view. Well, my apologies to you and other men for being graphic, but I disliked the distinctive "peach mat" (pinkish orange lining) because if a woman is menstruating, it's difficult to distinguish how much blood (vs urine vs sticky stool) has come out and when it has to be changed because of that-- is that a stain or is it more than that? Women who haven't stopped yet have to consider that aspect too in terms of capacity. On a white or blue or whatever other color lining, it's easier to see what one is dealing with than that pinkish orange that blends in with the colors of what's coming out. Tranquility also does not have the highest reported capacity for a pull on (Abena, and now the new Northshore product do) and I found while it was better than the lower and mid range, it leaked on me more than the Abena. I have just started trying the Northshore and while it's ok so far, I don't think it's going to surpass the Abena for me.
It would also be good if members gave some feedback on relative sizes of individual products and their packaging. Some people have limited storage space in their homes, little or no personal storage space in workplaces or school lockers, no cars, travel by public transit, etc, and even though fit on the body is most important, storage and disposal also become practical considerations. One brand might be thinner but bigger. Another might be bulkier but smaller. How many can one discreetly fit in one's work or school bag or luggage if one happens to be going away for several days? I personally think about these things because other household members don't want my bulky personal hygiene trash overflowing before a pickup or I might be staying in someone else's home where discreet disposal is more of a concern than just tossing it in a public restroom trash can. Here, there's a difference in the female experience too, because we usually have trash cans or sanitary product disposal bins in public restrooms and nobody cares or notices if you're making noise or throwing something out. They just assume it's a sanitary item or a child's diaper or whatever. I don't think, in general, women are as concerned about who's listening or who's watching as men. Unless it's a small workplace or something, one is not going to see strangers in a public restroom again. But in another person's home, even if they have some idea one is incon, one doesn't want to be having them deal with one's personal hygiene trash or creating an odor in their bathroom or so on.
|