Adult Diaper Leaks vs Baby Diaper Leaks

[jfkforever]

This might just be an observation from someone who's never had actual kids in diapers but I'll post it anyway.

It seems to me that regardless of how consistent I am with taping and fitting my diapers I always have to be in a fairly similar position when wetting in order not to leak. Theres rarely a day where that horrible sensation of wetness running down the leg gatherer or down the wings and something gets leaked on.

So my question is, How can actual babies in diapers be in all sorts of positions and movements while wetting and barely ever leak? Is it something to do with the high amount of elastics in baby diapers?

 

[LittleICme]

likely a slower discharge rate

 

[bambinod]

I'd also question the "reported diaper leak rate" of babies. I think parents just kinda get used to frequent minor leaks. They're thankful it's not worse. You only really hear about the "blowouts" where there's poop on the rug etc ;P

 

[Llayden]

Also there is a much larger layout in people, cash, and time towards research and development in the baby diaper industry. They have entire product lines that are completely dedicated to working on children "on the go". Adult diaper development is rather archaic and non-existent by comparison.

 

[RMS401]

I'd also like to point out that the differences between baby's bodies will vary by a very small amount. Differences in adult bodies can vary by FEET in total measurement. The potential for gaps between an adult body and an adult diaper is enormous. Getting a good fit is incredibly challenging when one adult weighs 100 pounds and another weighs 300 and there are only three sizes in the range.

-RMS

 

[MetalMann]

There's a lot of factors that need to be examined before settling on a reason why. Taping jobs could have something to do with it. There are many others as well. Sizing, how you void, how much you void, diapers, it's a decent list.

As for babies, they have very small bladders and very light streams. Babies are often changed more often and baby diapers are designed that way. They have more sizes available than adults do considering their small frames, N-7, 2T-5T, then you have Goodnites.
This means they have less possible gaps through the fit.

Another thing to consider is that adult diapers are designed for incontinence. Most incontinence issues are dribbles or short uncontrollable bursts through a period of time. That's why sizing isn't as vast as baby diapers.

How about giving some information like your waist size, what kind and size of diapers you are using, what is your taping method and ect. Maybe we can help to patch the issue.

 

[Cottontail]

I'd also question the "reported diaper leak rate" of babies. I think parents just kinda get used to frequent minor leaks. They're thankful it's not worse. You only really hear about the "blowouts" where there's poop on the rug etc ;P

Yeah. This, pretty much. There's no perfect diapering system, whether for babies or adults. During the years that our two kiddos were in diapers, we dealt with leaks almost daily. Most were extremely minor and no big deal--a small wet spot on the pants or whatever they happened to be wearing. As a parent, you do just get used to it. And of course your kids don't worry about it at all!

 

[AdorableRabbit]

During the years that our two kiddos were in diapers, we dealt with leaks almost daily. Most were extremely minor and no big deal--a small wet spot on the pants or whatever they happened to be wearing. As a parent, you do just get used to it. And of course your kids don't worry about it at all!

Yup. Same for us!

Thing is a small leak for a kiddo is gonna be tiny and dry up quick. A 'small' leak for us... well. *blushes*

 

[KimbaFoxNatsume]

Yeah. This, pretty much. There's no perfect diapering system, whether for babies or adults. During the years that our two kiddos were in diapers, we dealt with leaks almost daily. Most were extremely minor and no big deal--a small wet spot on the pants or whatever they happened to be wearing. As a parent, you do just get used to it. And of course your kids don't worry about it at all!

Gosh though, you'd think with today's baby diapers, leaks would be relatively rare occurrences. And then they boast their ''12-hour protection''...

 

[ArchieRoni]

I recall reading at some point that part of it is that babies are shaped differently, being in particular more rounded and fatty at the legs and waist. That means that a fitted diaper that's the right size tends to make a very tight seal with their skin and hold in liquid. Add to that the points already noted about babies peeing less in total and less at once on top of that, and I think it's easier to see why baby diapers might do a relatively better (if still imperfect) job of stopping leaks relative to the adult ones.

That said, I definitely haven't had the same bad experience with adult diapers, at least the really good ones. I wore an ABU Littlepawz all day today and peed on my back in bed, then standing, and then sitting later on before it finally felt full enough to change, and everything else was totally dry.

Gosh though, you'd think with today's baby diapers, leaks would be relatively rare occurrences. And then they boast their ''12-hour protection''...

That sort of thing is usually with day trips in mind, so they're probably not drinking that much either, which of course makes a big difference.

 

[Argent]

Do you void slowly or something close to flooding which in my experience babies don't do and I have never found a diaper that does it's best absorbency with a flood.

Also are you folding your diapers before use to activate the channels to run the length of the diaper rather than the machine fold/compression leading toward the legs?

I hate leaks too btw and have experienced them from babies/children and personally.

 

[Cottontail]

Gosh though, you'd think with today's baby diapers, leaks would be relatively rare occurrences. And then they boast their ''12-hour protection''...

Yeah, but all those different positions and movements don't help at all. Neither does sitting in car seats, strollers, high chairs, etc., which flatten out and compress the crotch and leg cuffs of the diaper, leaving no room for un-absorbed urine. Even with a toddler's relatively low-volume output, that's an issue. Leaking while sitting was something we experienced quite a bit of with our kids. Leaking while sleeping was another. Both of ours were side-sleepers. There are diapers that work better for that than others, but again, nothing's perfect.

That sort of thing is usually with day trips in mind, so they're probably not drinking that much either, which of course makes a big difference.

It's actually with sleeping in mind, believe it or not. My avatar is the Pampers Baby Dry 12-hour logo, and you'll note that most other references to the protection duration either show a sleeping baby or talk about enhancing the quality of baby's sleep. The funny thing is: Ask any parent how long their baby or toddler sleeps in one stretch. Yeah. 12 hours my ass!!

 

[Slomo]

Scaled per size, a baby diaper is much thicker and has way more sap than adult diapers do. A baby diaper extends up higher, and has higher standing leak guards. The material is much thicker, as are their tapes.

Seriously, if you scale up a baby diaper (on everything) to the same size dimensions of an adult diaper, then you'd see a huge difference. Adult diapers are simply not made to perform like a baby diaper is. And the biggest reason for this is if you also scale up the price, then remove or reduce the economy of scale for manufacturing savings, and well I can only imagine they wouldn't sell at all because of the huge costs.

 

[rennecfox]

Leaks happen for babies too, generally though toddlers are dressed in closthes where wet spots won’t show

 

[Vinylfeet]

My kids aren't long out of diapers and Pampers Cruisers rarely leaked unless they were way over capacity. There were some repeated issues with overnight leaks but one of the kids has always drank a lot more liquids. There's clearly better engineering in good baby diapers than in even some of the best adult diapers. I often found myself thinking, wow, this baby diaper is HOW full of liquid and there's not a drop on the clothes? Granted, they usually poop themselves before it gets that wet, because they seem to poop more than the laws of physics should allow.

The frequent leaks described by the OP are what I've experienced with all top of the line commercial brands such as Tranquility ATN, Tena anything, Abena, etc. Yes, they can hold a lot if used carefully, but all seem like they probably function best if you are a leaky faucet that drips all the time. I get less leaks with Northshore Supreme or Dry 24/7, then less with ABU, and right now my best is Rearz which I find to be really quite good. With anything other than the very best, I feel the same way...I need to be in a certain position to trust it fully.

Sure, fit is one thing, but if you are really trying to rely on the elastics and leak guards, then the battle is lost. Liquid that reaches the edge will find a way out. But you can help quite a bit by adding waterproof pants with a thin booster between them and the diaper and putting wicking underwear such as UnderArmour boxer briefs over the top. That will get the first or even second leak that reaches the edge and give you a warning signal because the wicking nature makes a very cold spot and you know something has gone wrong.