Ladies incontinence protection before Tena Lady

[DDBB]

These days in the UK ladies incontinence protection is sold everywhere. Tena Lady, Always Discreet and Supermarkets own brand. But what did women use before these were generally available?
Growing up in the 70s and 80s in the UK I remember seeing various adverts for mail order incontinence pants in newspapers and magazines. I'd imagine stress incontinence from childbirth was very common then, so did ladies use extra thick sanitary towels everyday with plastic pants?
Does anyone have any experience of what your mother or grandmother used?

 

[Guggy]

They had to use cloth things, my grandmother said she used old Terry cloth nappies and rubber pants, just cut better for adult use. Didn't have to be as wide as they weren't designed for pooing.

 

[TheWetOne]

My Mum used old towels as nappies and plastic pants. This was the case her entire life; mainly at night, but also on occasions during the day as well. I saw her wet herself quite often if she wasn't wearing, which she would do when at home. But her problems were genetic, in addition to the stress incontinence whch she suffered after I was born. Back then I don't think the same importance was attached to Kegel exercises as it is nowadays, and she didn't seem to worry about it overmuch. In later life she began to wear a nappy and plastic pants 24/7, and did so until she died. I don't think she ever wore or tried a disposable.

 

[DDBB]

Dr Whites looped sanitary towels were possibly used daily by some women. I've heard some women just accepted incontinence as a side effect of childbirth back then.

 

[HumanFly]

I always wondered who is still using things like Dr White's which was the main UK brand of pad back in the days of belts and loops but is still on sale now. I can understand that some women never made the jump because early press-on pads were unreliable but even if you started menstruating in, say, 1972, you'd have stopped some time between 2005 and 2010, and if you're having periods now, you couldn't have been in 1972. Do they even still make the belts?

 

[hoimi]

As a female, I have never seen belts for purchase in the thirty years I have been having a cycle.
I have used belted undergarments (diapers). They were the first proper undergarments I tried (as an alternative to pads). They were big, non-adhesive pads with button holes on the corners of each side. You got two wide elastic bands with buttons on the ends. Button goes into hole four times and you have the least sexy thong possible. No broken or stuck tapes, but I was not a fan. There was no leg gathers, so if you had a sizeable leak or were lying down, you were probably soggy.
And, it would have sucked in the before SAP and PUL times. I mean, even light leakage would have been evident on trousers. Pee soaked corduroy would probably feel horrid and stink. Bedwetters would have to rely on heavy hot rubber sheets and let their stained bed clothes dry out on the line for all to see. Skirts can easily hide a standing accident, but if you are sitting and you wet your slip, and petticoat, and frilly skirt? Three layers of sodden smelly fabric.
Even using the belted pads or fabric adult diapers would be a mess. I used to rely on pads as my incontinence progressed. I was okay with little pantyliners, then to period pads, but they don’t wick like the proper IC pads do. I had many situation where my pad leaked because my flow was more than it could handle. And fabric diapers for a full grown adult, with no additional absorption or water proofing like we have today? How humiliating...

 

[DDBB]

As a female, I have never seen belts for purchase in the thirty years I have been having a cycle.
I have used belted undergarments (diapers). They were the first proper undergarments I tried (as an alternative to pads). They were big, non-adhesive pads with button holes on the corners of each side. You got two wide elastic bands with buttons on the ends. Button goes into hole four times and you have the least sexy thong possible. No broken or stuck tapes, but I was not a fan. There was no leg gathers, so if you had a sizeable leak or were lying down, you were probably soggy.
And, it would have sucked in the before SAP and PUL times. I mean, even light leakage would have been evident on trousers. Pee soaked corduroy would probably feel horrid and stink. Bedwetters would have to rely on heavy hot rubber sheets and let their stained bed clothes dry out on the line for all to see. Skirts can easily hide a standing accident, but if you are sitting and you wet your slip, and petticoat, and frilly skirt? Three layers of sodden smelly fabric.
Even using the belted pads or fabric adult diapers would be a mess. I used to rely on pads as my incontinence progressed. I was okay with little pantyliners, then to period pads, but they don’t wick like the proper IC pads do. I had many situation where my pad leaked because my flow was more than it could handle. And fabric diapers for a full grown adult, with no additional absorption or water proofing like we have today? How humiliating...

I remember seeing the Depend belted undergarments available in the UK about 25 years ago. They were being sold in a medium sized pharmacy. Back then incontinence products were not always on display, except in some "Boots the Chemist", which sometimes had a very small range available.

 

[HumanFly]

I remember seeing the Depend belted undergarments available in the UK about 25 years ago. They were being sold in a medium sized pharmacy. Back then incontinence products were not always on display, except in some "Boots the Chemist", which sometimes had a very small range available.

Boots used to have a fairly good incontinence range available, including a plastic backed adult nappy. Not sure what absorbency but it was pretty good as I recall. When I first saw the 'breathable' replacement, I thought WTF? I wondered if you were supposed to wear a plastic brief over it.

 

[DDBB]

Boots have had their own range of incontinence products for over 30 years, originally pads and plastic pants.
These days they sell their own pads, pullup pants and nappies, while also selling ranges from Tena, Always Discreet and Depend.

 

[DDBB]

Here's some sales catalogues of the Boots range from years ago.

 

[DDBB]

Another one from a few years later, when they sold other brands next to their own.

 

[DDBB]

Here's Boots products from 1999.

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

Several years ago, I read an article which touched upon urinary incontinence in women: childbirth did indeed take its toll on women's continence but the one other thing that made me cringe was reading about how, in days of old, moronic doctors who performed hysterectomies would often snip a nerve bundle out of convenience for themselves, to "get it out of their way". The result was loss of most or all urinary incontinence for the woman.

Sick, really. Not sure if that still happens or not.

 

[DDBB]

It makes me wonder how many women must have been incontinent years ago, and how did they cope.
Were most older women incontinent years ago.

 

[HumanFly]

As a female, I have never seen belts for purchase in the thirty years I have been having a cycle.

The belts would have been available by mail order for many years after they ceased to be sold in shops. Not sure if they still are but the pads themselves still are in the UK. I've seen sex education books that suggest that the belted pads might be more secure for heavy bleeding.

 

[HumanFly]

Several years ago, I read an article which touched upon urinary incontinence in women: childbirth did indeed take its toll on women's continence but the one other thing that made me cringe was reading about how, in days of old, moronic doctors who performed hysterectomies would often snip a nerve bundle out of convenience for themselves, to "get it out of their way". The result was loss of most or all urinary incontinence for the woman.

The same used to happen with prostatectomies in men, before nerve sparing surgical techniques became commonplace, so it might not have been because the surgeons were morons.

 

[DDBB]

In the 1950s and 1960s there must have been very limited information about pelvic floor exercises after child birth. Combined with risky hysterectomies and protatectomies causing nerve problems to the bladder. Thats alot of potential incontinence problems.
Obviously a very common problem that no one talked about.

 

[DDBB]

Does anyone know what the NHS supplied for incontinence in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Was it just pads and plastic pants, or big nappies also?

 

[HumanFly]

Does anyone know what the NHS supplied for incontinence in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Was it just pads and plastic pants, or big nappies also?

At the beginning of that time, if anything (outside institutions which is where a lot of disabled people were forced to live), it would have been cloth as that's what everyone used. I was in cloth nappies as a child and that was the late 70s. Prefolds were unknown here (hence their absence from the UK incontinence market); it was Terry cloth which you had to fold yourself.

 

[DDBB]

In the 1980s British television would very very occasionally show a programme where they talked about incontinece. One programme I remember seeing was Afternnon Plus on Thames TV. They did a feature about incontinence and spoke to a couple of people who suffered with it. They also showed the plastic pants and pads that were used.
I don't know if this programme is available to see again.
Another programme, a few years later on Channel 4 or BBC2 spoke to sufferers. One older lady had started to wet the bed and the Doctor was showing her what dispoable products she could use. She was shown a bed pad, which she didn't like. A very large pad to go inside her knickers. And a very large adult nappy, which she did like. The doctor comented it was like a childs nappy.
It would be good to see both of these again.