Tag: incontinence supplies

Our Top 10 Blog Posts of 2021

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by Michelle Stepp

Now that we are wrapping up the first month of 2022, we thought we would take a moment to share our top 10 blog posts from 2021. We are looking forward to providing a wealth of new information for you this year and thought we would share the topics that our customers have been interested in and enjoyed this last year.

Our Top 10 Blog Posts of 2021

1.

Choosing a suitable catheter lubricant is one of the most critical steps in a safe, clean, and comfortable self-catheterization experience. Learn why catheter lubricant is essential and how to use it to lubricate your catheter in the most popular blog post of 2021.

How to Lubricate Your Catheter

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2.

External catheters for men and women can be an excellent alternative to indwelling catheters and help prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). In this next popular blog post, learn how male and female external catheters are less invasive and possibly a more comfortable option for managing urinary incontinence.

man and woman looking out window embracing each other

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3.

Diarrhea leads to dehydration, and for those with an ileostomy or colostomy, this can be dangerous. In this blog post, learn the possible causes of diarrhea, the dietary impact of diarrhea with a stoma, and ostomy products that might be helpful.

woman holding her stomach in discomfort for the blog cover of managing diarrhea with a stoma

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4.

Don’t miss out on this extensive list of what we feel are the most helpful incontinence products for seniors in this next popular blog post. When managing an incontinence condition, stocking up on the essential incontinence products for seniors is critical. So, if you are purchasing for yourself or someone you care for, considering these incontinence products for seniors is a great way to be prepared.

elderly man grinning at a woman on a swing

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5.

Since COVID-19, many people have lost their health insurance coverage through their employers. If you or someone you know is regaining health insurance coverage, you don’t want to miss this blog post about 180 Medical, our sister company. We are incredibly proud to be connected to them!

are you regaining health insurance coverage blog header

6.

Learn all about a Foley catheter, when it is needed, and how to use it in this popular blog post. And, if you are already a Foley catheter user, you can view all the Foley catheters we offer on our website.

Foley Catheters - What they are, why they are used, and where to purchase.

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7.

GentleCath Glide catheters have transformed the experience of intermittent catheter users. With their advanced FeelClean Technology, these catheters offer a clean and comfortable catheterization without all the mess. In this blog post, learn all the benefits of GentleCath Glide catheters and the GentleCath me+ Program that provides free support to intermittent catheter users.

A little girl putting makeup on her dad's face as he sleeps

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8.

Incontinence diapers and briefs can cause rubbing and skin irritations, including diaper rash. Thankfully, you can use products discussed in this blog post to address this uncomfortable skin condition to help prevent it from occurring and improve diaper rash.

icons of protective underwear on the blog cover of how to prevent diaper rash

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9.

Children grow quickly, and diaper sizes can change unexpectedly. In this popular blog post, you’ll learn the signs to watch for that can help determine when it might be a good time to move up in diaper sizes.

Tips to Help Determine if Your Child May Need a Larger Diaper

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10.

In this informative blog post, learn about all the incontinence pad options available to men and women and their uses for different needs. Learn about the different styles, absorbency levels, how to choose the right size, and how to dispose of incontinence pads properly. We even discuss what may be covered by Medicare.

All About Incontinence Pads featuring a brief, belted undergarment, and pads

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We hope you have enjoyed these blog posts as much as we have enjoyed writing them. Our goal with these blog posts is to provide our readers with as much helpful information as possible for various medical conditions. At Personally Delivered, our team is committed to providing the very best service as a trusted home delivery medical supply company to help change lives and make life a little easier for you and your loved ones.

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Healthy Living: Staying Active Over the Holidays

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by Michelle Stepp

woman's calves with pink gym shoes walking on a pathMaintaining healthy living over the holidays may be challenging for some people. The holidays are about celebrating with our families and that usually involves a lot of food, sugary beverages, desserts, and often sitting around inside our homes. The weather is colder and the thought of outdoor activities might not be the first thing on our minds. For some, that may be difficult due to age or the need to use an assistive device such as a wheelchair or cane.

A lot of us give up our regular routines around the holidays and end up feeling guilty about not maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. We may tell ourselves that we are allowed this cheat time and will get back to that schedule once the celebrations are over. Sometimes this leads to ultimately not picking that routine back up and ending up in an inactive and unhealthy lifestyle.

Healthy Living: Holiday Excercise Tips

Plan Short Workouts

Roasting a turkey? Baking a pie? Use this time to create a quick workout that you could do right in your home. If you have stairs you could take a few trips up and down to get your heart rate up. Those that have a home gym or treadmill might incorporate a simple workout when you have an opportune time while food prepping. There are also short fitness videos or apps on your phone that you might try while you wait for your company to arrive.

HEALTHY LIVING BONUS: Think outside the box. If you have canned goods and water bottles, do a few reps lifting those overhead or doing some lateral raises.

Get the Family Engaged

group of disabled men and a woman drinking beer and playing outdoor gamesAfter everyone has eaten and their stomachs are full, instead of heading to the couch to either pass out or watch football, round everyone up and head outside. Everyone could go to the backyard, a park, or even sledding if weather permits. There are plenty of outdoor games such as cornhole, badminton, tag, or even hide and seek. If there is a basketball court nearby, that is another option. When everyone is involved, it can be an afternoon of family bonding and healthy living while burning some of those calories from the feast!

Take a Walk

Put on some comfortable shoes and go for a walk. Walking is a low-impact exercise that has many benefits that contribute to healthy living. Not only does it get the heart pumping, but is a less strainful physical activity. Go for a stroll around the neighborhood and take in the fresh air. Walking can also be one of those short workouts while you wait for a casserole to bake.

HEALTHY LIVING BONUS: If you have a family dog, this would be a great time to have them accompany you.

Park the Car Further Out

When you are out shopping for food or gifts this time of year, consider parking in a spot that is farther away from the store entrance. This will ensure that you will have a decent distance to walk and you can rack up those steps on your fitness tracker.

Healthy Living: Don't Let Incontinence Stop You

If you suffer from incontinence, you may be worried about being active and are also concerned about involuntary episodes while you’re around family and friends this time of year. There are plenty of things that you can do during the holidays to allow you to stay involved and enjoy every moment.

Watch Your Fluids

Although drinking water before a meal may help you to avoid overeating during the season, if you have urinary incontinence, you might want to slightly hold back from consuming too much and too often. Try to stay properly hydrated, but limit the amount of alcohol and caffeine you’re consuming, especially when you are going to work out. You are more likely to have an accident if your bladder is irritated by the caffeine.

Empty Your Bladder Often

Prior to heading out for a walk, beginning an activity with family, or doing a short exercise while your turkey is in the oven, be mindful of emptying your bladder instead of trying to hold it. This will help to avoid any strain on the bladder and may help to lessen any leakage while trying to enjoy your day on your journey of healthy living during the holidays.

Use Protective Products

assortment of incontinence productsAs with any type of incontinence, using the right protective hygiene products is key. For light to moderate urine loss, pantie liners, pads, and male guards should be used. Moderate to heavy urine loss calls for either a belted undergarment, pull-on, or tab brief. You’ll feel more confident and secure when you are being active if you are properly protected.

HEALTHY LIVING BONUS: Wear loose-fitting black pants! In the event that you have a leak, black can help hide the evidence and the loose-fit of the clothing can also help hide the extra protection you are wearing.

Shop Incontinence Products

The most important thing that you can do around the holidays is focus on enjoying all the moments with the ones you love. Take it easy on yourself and know that you are not able to control everything that happens. With a few of these healthy living tips, we hope that you can try not to veer too far away from your normal routine and remain active all through the holidays.

For more information on any of the products we offer if you suffer from incontinence, please give us a call or contact us now and one of our Product Experts would be happy to help.

Start Shopping!
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Maintaining a Healthy Bladder

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by Michelle Stepp

Similar to a balloon, the bladder is a hollow organ made of tissue that stretches and holds our urine until we are ready to release. It is part of our urinary system that includes the kidneys and urethra. We all use our bladder several times each and every day, but do we know how to keep this organ healthy?

There are several things that can affect the health of our bladder. We will discuss what those are, the signs that you should look for, and how you might be able to prevent them here.

What Can Affect the Bladder's Health

Diabetes

Diabetes is a serious disease that can affect many parts of the body and can lead to other health problems such as nerve damage. The bladder is made up of many nerves that could be damaged by diabetes. This damage could affect a person’s bladder control.

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

When bacteria grows in the urethra and bladder, a UTI has occurred. A bladder infection is the most common type of UTI and can cause urinary urge incontinence. This is when there is a frequent and sudden need to urinate and may also cause you to leak urine before making it to the restroom. One common activity that might cause a UTI is the use of a catheter to urinate. Indwelling catheters introduce bacteria into the lining of the bladder, causing irritation and infection. Closed catheter systems may be helpful in preventing UTIs.

Constipation

Constipation can happen when a person doesn’t have enough fiber in their diet, are taking certain medications, have a medical condition, or are inactive for long periods of time. This puts pressure on the bladder because of the stool that is built up in the colon. The bladder is unable to stretch like it should, therefore affecting the bladder’s health.

Being Overweight

When a person carries a lot of extra weight, it increases pressure on the abdomen and bladder. This can also contribute to the weakening of the pelvic muscles and result in leakage from the bladder.

Smoking

You may not think smoking has any relation to the health of one’s bladder, but the opposite is the case. Smoking causes harmful chemicals to collect in the urine and affect the bladder’s lining. This can ultimately lead to bladder cancer. Because the chemicals from smoking make their way directly into the bloodstream, they are filtered into the kidneys potentially forming ‘stones’. Kidney stones pass through the urethral tract, which can be a painful process. Also, ‘Smoker’s Cough’ can cause spasms in the bladder and lead to leakage.

man on a scale and woman lighting a cigarette

Signs You May Have a Bladder Problem

Every person is different, therefore each person’s bladder behaves differently and some signs you may be experiencing could mean you have a problem with your bladder.

Come of the most common signs of a bladder probem are:

  • Strong and frequent urges to urinate (urinary urge incontinence)
  • Blood in the urine
  • Cloudy urine
  • Waking up multiple times throughout the night to go to the bathroom
  • Leaking urine or the unability to hold it until you get to a restroom (urinary incontinence)
  • Experiencing a burning sensation before, during, or after urinating
  • Problems fully emptying your bladder

Just like any other health concern, always consult your doctor for their professional opinion if you are experiencing any of these symptoms. They may be able to do some testing to see if your bladder is actually in an unhealthy state and offer the right treatment options available to you if necessary.

Some Tips to Keep a Healthy Bladder

Even though we cannot control everything that happens to our overall health, including our bladder, we can take some measures to improve the health of our bladder. Here are a few suggestions that may contribute to keeping your bladder healthy:

Stay Active and Maintain a Healthy Weight

As we mentioned earlier, keeping your weight down will lessen any pressure on the bladder and allow you to release urine when it’s actually full. Exercising will also help to maintain a healthy weight and prevent possible constipation that can irritate the bladder.

Drink Enough Water

Try to drink the equivalent to your body weight in ounces of water each day. For most, this is 6-8 glasses of water per day. The bladder loves water and it is one of the best fluids that can help maintain its health. When you are getting enough fluids, your urine can flow freely and should be pale in color and odor-free.

woman drinking water and a group of women doing yoga in a park

Limit Intake of Caffeine and Alcohol

Caffeine and alcohol are known to increase bladder activity and can lead to a higher frequency and urgency to urinate. Reducing the intake of these types of beverages may help decrease these symptoms.

Do Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises

Known as Kegel exercises, doing pelvic floor exercises help to strengthen the pelvic muscles and prevent leaking. The stronger the muscles, the better the bladder is at holding in the urine until you can use a restroom.

Void Often and When You Need To

Try to never hold the need to use the restroom. Holding urine in the bladder for extended periods of time can not only lead to a bladder infection, but it can also weaken the muscles.

Make Sure to Wipe Correctly

For females, be sure to wipe from front to back after using the toilet. This process will help keep bacteria away from the urethra that could cause a UTI as we previously mentioned.

Maintaining a healthy bladder is good for your general health and an important organ to take care of. Should you have a medical condition that causes you to have urinary incontinence or urge incontinence, we offer products that might help you confidently get through your days and nights. As always, consult with your doctor first if you have any concerns that your bladder is not functioning properly.

drawing of a bladder

Popular Products for Managing Incontinence

Attends Premier Underwear

Attends Premier Protective Underwear

Tranquility SmartCore Disposable Briefs

Tranquility SmartCore Disposable Brief

Tranquility Select Personal Care Pad

Tranquility Select Personal Care Pad

Cardinal Simplicity Basic Underpad

Simplicity Disposable Fluff Underpad
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Walk to End Alzheimer’s 2019

Posted on
by Michelle Stepp

Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common cause of dementia and it is ranked as one of the leading causes of death in the United States. When someone loses their ability to think, reason, and remember things to a degree that it begins to interfere with their daily activities, dementia has begun to set in.

Changes in the brain cause dementia and can be difficult to pinpoint at first because they may develop well before the cognitive problems appear. Once Alzheimer’s has set in, neurons die off and the brain begins to shrink in size. Because this is a progressive illness, Alzheimer’s slowly begins to interfere with the basic daily self-care functions and in the later stages, other medical conditions are common.

Walking to Show Support & Raise Awareness

On October 5th, our Personally Delivered Team will be participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Orlando, Florida. We are excited to show our support and raise awareness for such a debilitating disease.

We believe that supporting the continuous research, clinical trials, therapies and treatments that doctors and scientists are involved in every day, will help find a breakthrough and all will be able to have memories that last a lifetime.

By walking on this day, our team will be part of one of the world’s largest events to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research. We will walk in memory of those that have lost their battle to Alzheimer’s as well as those that are currently fighting this disease.

Walk to End Alzheimer's home

What You Can Do

There are many ways to get involved if you know someone that has Alzheimer’s, are related to someone with the disease, are a caregiver, or just want to show some support. Here are a few we suggest:

1. Put Together a Team

Hundreds of communities across the country hold a Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Just like our team, the walk encourages teams and their participants to fundraise in a variety of ways. Once you sign up your team, you’ll receive a packet with a ton if useful information, ideas, and ways to set and achieve goals. It really can be a lot of fun for a cause that is so great!

2. Take the Purple Pledge

During the month of September, the Alzheimer’s Association encourages you to take the Purple Pledge and spread the word about this disease helping to inspire action and continue to raise awareness.

Take the Purple Pledge here: alz.org/pledge

3. Wear Purple to Show Your Support

You can simply wear purple on this day to show your support if you are unable to participate in or organize an event. This small effort is a way to contribute to the cause. Our Personally Delivered Team are Difference Makers every day!

Personally Delivered team

4. Donate Financially

Consider making a financial contribution to a research organization. Many of these organizations are consistently looking for ways to raise money for studies and would largely benefit with the extra funding. Some organizations we suggest are the following:

alzheimer's association home

 

Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation home

Alzheimer's Foundation of America home

 

Cure Alzheimer's Fund home

5. Take Time for Yourself

Practicing self-care is one of the most important ways that you can potentially prevent Alzheimer’s from happening to you and those that are important to you. By eating right, exercising, and getting enough rest, you can reduce your stress levels and are acting proactively to possibly prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

No matter what you choose to do to show your support this September, just know that every effort you make counts. The common goal is shared- joining together to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s in hopes that we can help end the disease.

For more information about Alzheimer’s Disease and other ways to get involved, visit National Institute on Aging or Alzheimer’s Association. As always, talk to your doctor if you have questions or concerns about symptoms that you or someone you know may be experiencing. Taking the proper precautionary steps early on may lead to making more memories later on.

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