Does your loved one have urinary incontinence? If they do, they are not alone. After all, urinary incontinence affects millions of people each year, and mature adults are the ones who are most affected. Unfortunately, because of humiliation or shame, this problem is often ignored or swept under the rug. Urinary incontinence is a difficult problem to address with anybody, but thankfully, there are actions that may be taken to increase receptivity to the notion of adult diapers. Hence, here is how you can ask your loved one to wear diapers with dignity and respect.
How to Begin the Talk
Make sure you sympathize before you say anything. Explain that you are aware that this is a regular occurrence among the elderly and that it does not have to be a humiliating or restricting occurrence. Do not mention the word “diaper” for the time being, since it will elicit instant opposition from your loved ones. Use terms like “briefs” or “underpants” instead. Your loved ones should be able to follow where you’re going with the talk, and they’ll appreciate it if you start out politely.
How to Deal with Denial
It is critical that you should not panic if the conversation takes a bad turn or you are greeted with denial. Denial is motivated by vanity and pride, and it’s logical that someone suffering from urine incontinence would feel this way because it’s a difficult problem to acknowledge. Play on their pride by reminding them that preventing a public accident is far more embarrassing than preventing one, and you’ll see a shift in their defenses.
Get More Help
If you’re having trouble getting through, do not hesitate to ask for support from family and friends. For a multitude of reasons, you might not be the greatest person to bring up the matter with your loved one. And that is completely OK; don’t allow your pride to get in the way of getting this matter resolved as quickly as possible. See if a talk with a friend or sibling may be more appropriate.
Loss of Senses
It is also possible that your loved ones are unaware of their incontinence issue due to their loss of senses, especially their scent. And given how our senses’ ability decrease as we age, it is completely possible that is why you can detect the issue, but they are unable to. Thus, check if they have a loss of sense or scent. At the same time, recognize that urine incontinence is as widespread as any other illness and that it must be treated as such.
Allow Time to Process Everything
It is critical that you give them time to comprehend all of the information after it has been given out. After all, you run the danger of making a loved one feel even more helpless if you force them to make a decision right away. At this point, sympathy and empathy are really important. In many circumstances, the elder will recognize your gesture of kindness and will cooperate when the time is right.
