How You Can Support Someone Who Has Incontinence*

*This is a collaborative post*

If you know or live with someone who suffers from incontinence, you will know just how seriously this can impact upon their lives. There are ways and means through which you can provide support for loved ones who are incontinence, and this can make a big difference to their lives.

Anyone suffering from incontinence has a lot of challenges to cope with. While there are many products available for those who are incontinent through specialist providers such as Hartmann Direct, the problem can still cause lots of issues for sufferers. This includes low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, embarrassment, and a wide variety of other issues.

It is also difficult for those that live with someone who is incontinent. Often, those who are incontinent lost interest in socialising, relationships, and even day to day activities. This can take its toll on other members of the household as well as on the sufferers themselves. This is why it is important to look at ways in which you can support someone who has incontinence, as this is something that can benefit them and the rest of the household.

The importance of support

The many adverse effects that incontinence can have on a person make support from loved ones all the more important. Incontinence can make sufferers feel as though they have lost their dignity and that they are a burden to others. Making sure you support an incontinent loved one can help them to overcome these emotions and make it easier for them to live with incontinence.

How you can provide support for a loved one

There are many different ways in which you can provide valuable support for a loved one who is incontinent. This is something that will prove invaluable to them and will help them to overcome many of the negative emotions and effects that incontinence can have. Some of the key ways in which you can provide support for your loved one include:

• ·     Develop an understanding: If you have never suffered from incontinence or had to look after a sufferer before, it can be difficult to understand the ins and outs of the problem. In order to provide support, you need to take the time to develop an understanding of what it is, what it has been caused by, how it affects the life of your loved one, and what products are available to help. This will make it easier for you to help and assist the sufferer.

• ·    Think about the emotional requirements of your loved one: The emotional effect of incontinence can be profound, which is why you need to also develop an understanding of the emotional needs of your loved one. It can lead to all sorts of mental health issues such as a low sense of self-worth, confidence issues, depression, anxiety, and stress. Making sure you understand the emotional effects and needs of your loved one will make it easier to provide them with the support that they need.

  

• ·     Exercise patience at all times: One of the things that incontinence sufferers often feel is that they are a burden to others, which can lead to all sorts of emotional issues. If you are always snappy and impatient, this is going to make them feel even worse. If you want to support them, you need to make sure you exercise patience at all times and remember that they cannot help what happens.

• ·     Always be prepared: When you are living with someone who is incontinent, you need to be prepared at all times. This means making sure you take supplies and products with you when you go out with your loved one, making sure that there is plenty of stock in the home, and even familiarising yourself with the location of public toilets when you are going out somewhere. This will enable you to provide your loved one with practical support while lightening the burden on their shoulders.

• ·     Make sure you are flexible: As someone who cares for or lives with an incontinence sufferer, you need to be prepared to change plans and exercise flexibility should the need arise. For instance, you may have made plans for the day but bladder issues or even emotional issues stemming from the incontinence may mean you have to change or adapt your plan accordingly. This is something that you should do without kicking up a fuss, as otherwise, it will just make your loved one feel even worse.

Improve their life by offering support

In a nutshell, the support and understanding of a loved one is something that can have a really positive effect on the life of someone who is incontinent. With the various emotional and physical problems that they may be experiencing, having the help and support of someone close to them can make all the difference. 

*Contributed by a third party

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