www.incontinentsupport.org

Things have been too quiet around here, so here is something to stimulate some discussion (hopefully)

What do we really mean when we use the term “Wetting?"

Diapers often are referred to as having the capacity for one, two, or even three “wettings.” Although we each have our individual urinary habits is there any known yardstick for what we mean by the term “wetting” in terms of ounces? Has anyone standardized the terminology?

I grant that individual urine volumes are highly variable from one person to the next.

When I think of a diapered ‘wetting” I do not mean necessarily the capacity of a “full" bladder but the amount we normally pee at one time (which I think is less).

In some medical sources, bladder capacity commonly is given as 16 oz. The desire to urinate is listed as usually beginning when it contains between 5 – 12 ounces, but typically about 7 - 8 ounces. At 14 ounces we really need to “go.”

I think that most of us who are incontinent usually do not wait to pee until our bladder contains 16 oz. Particularly, I would think that most of us who pee in a diaper initiate urination at a lesser capacity, say around 8-12 oz. for those with some control and probably smaller volumes for those with little or no control.

Although I have not weighed my diapers to measure it, I doubt that for me a “wetting” would be on the upper end of the range or my total fluid loss through urination would be unrealistically sky-high! Actually, as I have varying periods of some control and others of nearly no control, I am using theoretical average figures below.

O.k., to provide some perspective, I usually wear a ConfiDry 24/7 with a 18 oz North Shore Care booster. When I remove the diaper (after about 6 - 6.5 hours) it is very heavy, the central and lower front portions are totally saturated and bulging and the booster is about 80% saturated. The upper front and the rear of the diaper remain mostly dry. The diaper probably would leak in the next 30 minutes to an hour.

Lets see — for me, a very highly hydrated day (coffee, tea, beer) might involve 4 diapers X 14 oz per wetting X 2.5 wettings per diaper = 35 oz per diaper or a total of 140 oz (4.3 quarts)

Slightly more realistically, a more typical day might involve 3 diapers per day X 2.5 wettings per diaper X 12 oz per wetting = 30 oz per diaper or a total of 90 oz (about 3 quarts).

In terms of ounces, what do you think a standard diapered “wetting” should be considered to be? Think of this for the general incontinent population, not just yourself.

If anyone knows of any reliable references I would love to see them.

--John

Well if its conversation you want I will try. I'm not that scientific to really figure out how much a wetting is. Your figures do sound good although I have not done any research on the subject. I would think, at least more for me, it isn't about how many wettings or how much those wettings are that are high on my list but rather how wet I feel and weather or not I leak. That is twhat is more important to me.

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"Why is the rum always gone?" - Captain Jack Sparrow

"There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise." -
Gore Vidal

As people use the term "two wettings" or "three wettings" to compliment a good diaper, I would think that they are not including small dribbles at all.

Of course, in the practical world, it is how long I can get a particular diaper to last for me.

--John

I can tell when I need to change my diaper by how saturated it feels to me. As a rule of thumb,however, during the day I change it every four to six hours.

A standard wetting... Should this be established by the NBS?

For me there is no standard wetting, it's different every day. Some days it's an almost constant dribble, and other days I have a few gushers. Then there are the days where I swear I will pee a whole bucket full, and almost nothing comes out. Nuerogenic? How about psychotic!

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- Tom

JD. Good discussion topic. And likely one that will not find a good resolution. I don't believe there is a standard definition "out there". Rather, I prefer to call them "episodes" since they can be very random and unpredictable. And they are unique to each individual.

Similar to WetDad, I have the constant dribble followed by unstoppable floods: all can be called episodes. At the end of the day, it's not how many episodes my diaper can hold as much as "I'm nearing capacity or else ...".

Diaper capacity to a particular individual is unique.

I definitely agree with all of you as my urination patterns also vary significantly. The question is more of a theoretical nature. There probably is no good answer, but interesting nevertheless.

--John

You made me smile when I read that.. for sure, its the darn truth! My bladder gets all psycotic on me too. Some days i have a drip drip dribble, wi th small spurts..please excuse the graphic image here..but it feels as if I'm ejaculating urine..which, i know is impossible since the male urinary and reproductive organs are set up so one cant function when the other is..but the sensation of flow is a lot like that of.. well, you know;its the small forced spurts. Does this happen to anyone else? Is this a symptom of oveflow incon? or could it be detrusor sphincter dyssernigia? I really hope not.. that usually requires a sphincterectomy. I haven't brought this up to my urologist yet, but maybe I should.. i just never remember to. And then some days i have full on FLOODS which would probably humble any pullup.. which is why i wear briefs all the time. I just never know when my bladder will fill without any clue given that its gettig full and then,.. all of a sudden.. I get the urge...and hte muscles try to hold it it, but by then, its often too late.. and the dam will break and here comes Niagra falls..

Heres to hoping this lithotripsy will clear up some of these symtoms.. I don't want to get my hopes up that it will make the incon stop altogether.. because ive been through too many times where i thought for sure hey this is going to work only eventually end up right back at square one, diapered and wet.

Peace out!

Rob

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"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II

I've also come to the conclusion as others state it is a mostly a meaningless marketing term that varies even within brands. It would be nice if manufactures were required to publish stats like xpmedical did for some brands which did give a good ballpark for rate of absorption and effective capacity. Too bad I think xpmedical's are very outdated. I know the NHS does internal testing but there's is more along the lines of leakage episodes per type/brand of incontinence product for their current clients.
Stuff like this mattered to me a lot more in my early stages of urge incontinence as I did suddenly lose like 15 ounces in one episode. When I complained about the massive leakage of stuff like "depends" a continence nurse did tell me they are spec'ed for one leakage episode of a 60 year old who practices timed voiding every 3 hours so they can only handle like 8 ounces. As my incontinence got worse and I let myself just rely on protection leakage episode are now just like 3-6 ounces. That does mean rate of absorption on longer matters much and like others I rate a product more in terms of how many hours of guaranteed protection it will give me. Like I would only trust a depends underwear for a quick 2 hour errand. But wearing a tena super brief I'm good for 6 hours.

Agreed. The main issue is how many hours of protection a giver will provide us and that varies greatly from one person to another and even from one day to another. I went to a brunch this morning, drank lots of coffee and tea, and only made it 3 1/2 hours in a diaper/booster combination that normally gives me 6 hours!

--John