Depend (undergarment)
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Depend is a brand name for a type of adult-sized diapers marketed to those afflicted with urinary or fecal incontinence. It was invented by Bob Beaudrie (who is also known as "The Bear"). The Depend brand was introduced in 1980; television commercials first spotlighted the Depend brand, with actors urging adults with incontinence issues to "Get back into life!" Later, and perhaps more well-known, commercials showed actress June Allyson jumping for joy, exclaiming: "Depend: Because you've got a lot of living to do!"
Types of Depend products
Depend brand adult incontinence products are manufactured by the Kimberly-Clark corporation, and come in a variety of styles. These include Guards for Men, Protective Underwear, Refastenable Underwear, Fitted Briefs, and Boost.
Poise Pads are slightly thicker maxi pads for women who suffer minor urinary incontinence as well as heavy menstruation. They are worn inside the women's underwear in the middle. They come in regular and extra absorbancies.
Guards for Men are strips of absorbent material with a sticky backing that can be fastened to the inside of a man's underwear. Guards for Men protect the wearer against light urinary incontience. They are marketed to men with "drip" incontinence, generally after prostate surgery.
Underwear (previously sold as Depend Protective Underwear) resembles normal brief-style underpants. Depend Protective Underwear can be pulled on and off like regular underwear, and are absorbent enough to accommodate those afflicted with moderate urinary incontinence. Depend Protective Underwear has a cloth-like backing to reduce noise. They come in regular and extra absorbancies, but unlike the "fitted briefs" do not have any sort of leg cuffs to protect from leakage around the legs. They can be used for light liquid fecal incontinence. The garment can be torn away at the sides for removal in a public restroom when soiled, but pants will have to be removed to don a new pair.
The product grew out of a pair of disposable panties marketed mainly to adolescent girls experiencing their first menstrual periods, who were afraid of leaking onto their clothes. This product "Kotex Personals", failed in the marketplace. However, the Depend Protective Underwear is still used by some girls and women who have unusually intense menstrual periods.
Undergarments a very wide absorbent pad fastened by a velcro or buttoned belt. They are used for daytime protection against moderate to heavy incontinence. They can hold about one urination, and can be worn with or without underwear. They come in regular and extra absorbencies. It seems that Kimberly-Clark is phasing these older style products out as a lot of the users move to the newer Depend Underwear products.
Refastenable Underwear resembles normal brief-style underpants worn by men and women. Depend Refastenable Underwear can be pulled on and off like regular underwear, or taped on like a regular baby diaper. It does have perforated sides, allowing the diaper to be removed easily. Depend Refastenable Underwear also has four velcro tabs (two on each side of the diaper) to allow a secure fit or to allow wearing it without pulling it up like regular underwear. Refastenable Underwear is absorbent enough to accommodate those afflicted with moderate to heavy urinary incontinence. Depend Refastenable Underwear has a cloth-like backing to reduce noise. They can hold slightly over one average urination, and an indeterminate amount of feces. They can be used for day and night use. Such as bedwetters.
Fitted Briefs Fitted Briefs are basically baby diapers, similar to Huggies or Pampers, but in a much larger size. Depend Fitted Briefs must be fastened using six readjustable tapes. Fitted briefs have a water-proof plastic backing for maximum wetness protection, as well as a blue wetness indicator down the front of the diaper that disappears when the diaper requires changing. Depend Fitted Briefs are appropriate for those who suffer from moderate/heavy urinary incontinence as well as fecal incontinence, and have a raised barrier in the middle to prevent urine or feces from escaping the absorbent pad, as well as gathers around the legs. They are ideal for bedwetters as well; they are also good for older children and teenagers who can't be changed often during the day and very active people who cannot change often, as well as the wheelchair-bound. Because of the plastic backing, they make a good deal of noise (a crinkling sound) as the user moves about, but is not really that big of a problem when the alternative is less protection and more changes. Although the absorbency is o.k., it is a good idea to use boost pads, a size-6 baby diaper, or another adult diaper or absorbent underwear with a slit cut in the first diaper, wearing a fitted brief over it. This is ideal for the very active, students with incontinence, and travelers with incontinence. Wearing two or three fitted briefs at once may seem bulky at first, but isn't at all uncomfortable (and can actually be somewhat comfortable) and is very easy to get used to, which allows the diaper to be worn for over eight hours. They have an elastic waistband that allow them to be pulled up-and-down like underwear for people with only partial incontinence. These features can make it an excellent diaper for young people with incontinence, but is not always the best choice due to other choices such as Abena, Molicare, Uniquebrief, Attends, Tranquility, and some cloth diapers.
Boost liners are simply strips of absorbent material that are meant to complement the absorbancy of existing Depend products. A Depend Boost liner is fitted inside of a pair of Protective Underwear, Refastenable Underwear or a Fitted Brief. These liners have no waterproof backing, and must be worn with another protective garment -- they are designed to increase absorbancy, not replace a protective pad or diaper. A Boost liner allows the wearer to go for a much longer time without changing their brief, enabling the wearer to participate in a much more active lifestyle without frequent breaks for changing. They are ideal for boosted night protection.