Wednesday 14 May 2014

Modern disposable shields and pads for men.


There's increasing advertising on television for incontinence products for men.  Most of this features mainstream brands where they are both educating the market and trying to get a beachhead ahead of others. 

We of course love the education going on because better understanding of men's bladder leakage will help men take more control of the issue.  The main thing is for men to understand that bladder leakage is normal as we age. If you are over, then expect to have a gradual weakening of your bladder closing mechanism and subsequent drips and small flows.

Take control early by getting accustomed to wearing an absorbent shield in your underpants and if the flow is greater - use a pad.  These are purpose-designed for the male anatomy - obviously quite different to women's products.

I heard an interesting story the other day where a man had just had prostate surgery.  The nurse was giving him the normal post surgery instructions which included showing him that he should wear an absorption pad inside his undies until 'discharge' stopped.  To her slight amusement, he commented, "Oh I've often wondered what a tampax looks like." The nurse hid her chuckle and thought - ignorance is bliss. (Women 'insert' Tampax for menstruation control) Trouble is, there's hundreds of men out there who are just as ignorant of their health, their waterworks and general management of such things.

I was also somewhat surprised to hear that many men often refuse to wear these pads after an operation because they just don't want what they think is a 'woman's' gadget in the underpants.  Some even throw them away before they leave the hospital or medical centre where they have been fitted.  They soon find out why they are a good idea when they get a real mess inside their trousers.  Man-up guys - get to know how to deal with these personal health issues.

Purpose designed disposable shields and pads are available - specially designed for men. www.dryfella.co.nz Have a look. You may not need them now, but over time you will.  Be prepared and know when to adopt them for everyday use.

The dryfellas

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Shields are good for air travel


An 'ATTENDS' shield will give you great peace of mind when you are 'up there.'

Wearing a shield also lowers your stress when the crew announces the plane is coming in to land and all services are closed down until after landing. 

It just seems your brain says to you, "Oh by the way, I feel like going to the toilet about now."  It seems to take ions for the plane to get down, taxi to the terminal and everyone gets off so you can race to the first toilet available. 

I have found that by tucking a shield in my undies the thought doesn't arrive and on the odd occasion when it does, I just say to myself, "Hold on mate." And the thought fades away.  I would not be game to let it all flow - that may be pretty risky when there's really no need. 

The dryfellas

Wednesday 2 April 2014

Talks at Rotary and Lions Clubs etc


Yes, I would be happy to be invited to talk at your club.  We live in Auckland, so anywhere in greater Auckland is ok.  Elsewhere, it will depend on travel arrangements etc. 

We travel around the North Island a bit and I want to make a trip to Christchurch some time, so who knows, we may be able to arrange some coordination. 

My talk is about getting into eCommerce, setting up dryfella.co.nz and showing the products.  I'm not a doctor, so I do not get into the heavier medical side of things. The purpose is mostly to educate men on the products available and how the products work.  If anyone needs the products - they will know! And as you know by now, if they are aged over 60 - most men either need the products or soon will. Better to be knowledgeable than ignorant.

The dryfellas

Wednesday 12 March 2014

What to do with used shields and pads


DON'T put them down the toilet. 

There's a strong possibility these pads will block the drain. Put the used pad in a plastic bag; wrap it up in paper and dispose of it in a rubbish bin.

You may have seen disposal systems in unisex toilets where special containers are put there for women to dispose of sanitary pads.  On rare occasions you may see one of these containers in a men's toilet - but it is very rare. 

So here's a thing, how about we all put some effort into getting these disposal systems into men's public toilets and progressively into 'work' toilets.  One way to get the process moving would be to have men put used pads down the toilet and jam the drain.  That would get some action.  But it would also be irresponsible.  Rather, lets take the lead and ask councils and employers to 'do the right thing' and provide these disposal containers in men's toilets.

The dryfellas

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Men's special purpose underwear.


One of the problems men face is finding suitable under pants to hold the shields or pads required to absorb their bladder leakage. 

Most normal underwear doesn't fit firmly enough for safety.  And boxers or any loose fitting underwear just don't work. Fortunately there are purpose designed under pants made for the job. 

There are two types of purpose designed underpants - fine cotton weave and net.  The fine cotton weave in white, [Molipants]are in a short leg style like boxers but they fit really firmly to your torso.  Whereas the net style [AbriFlex] are a similar design,but have a more open weave.

Either style are fine.  It would pay to try them both to find what suits you best. Have a look at these two examples at dryfella.co.nz

The dryfellas

Wednesday 29 January 2014

Limited supply of samples


We have managed to negotiate a limited supply of free samples.  Trouble is, most men have specific issues and a particular sample product may be completely hopeless for their situation. For this reason, we do ask people to send an enquiry through the ContactUs page on our website www.dryfella.co.nz and provide some brief details of their situation.  This way we can try to send a sample that is worthwhile trying out.

We stock over 50 variations in our product catalogue from shields to pads and underpants and from size S to XXL. Because single unit samples have such limited value, we have assembled Starter Packs.  We have FOUR in our range and they are supplied according to the size requested. 

Each Starter Pack has a purpose-selected range of products so the customer can try out a range of products in the privacy and comfort of their own home. Normally customers can only purchase a bulk pack from a very limited range of products. dryfella.co.nz has solved that problem by providing the range of Starter Packs. Starter Packs cost $29 plus handling and freight.

Once the customer knows what suits them best, they can buy regular supplies with confidence. Regular orders over $90 have free handling and freight. 

The dryfellas

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Penile dribbling


I found this excellent article the other day.  I think it is worthwhile reading for all men who are experiencing slight dribbling after finishing a pee. I think these two doctors [Kevin Pranikoff and Richard Macchia - see references below] have provided an excellent summary. After all, you can't stop the aging process so you will experience this sooner or later if you are over 50 years of age and certainly if you have ticked over 60.

Unfortunately, some men do dribble a little - a little urine, that is. But they shouldn't worry. If it's not more than a few drops, it usually isn't a sign of a serious health problem. And it's often easy to correct. [While it's not a problem - wearing a shield such as the ATTENDS model - avoids these dribbles being uncomfortable and possibly smelly]

Before we proceed, let's define what dribbling isn't. We're not talking about incontinence, the outright inability to control your bladder. By dribbling, we mean that little extra urine that almost inevitably seems to trickle out after you have deliberately tried to stop the flow or those little wet spots you unexpectedly feel in your underwear.

A couple of built-in obstacles interfere with the flow of urine from the bladder through the urethra and out of the body. In men, urine has a tendency to pool in the bulbus urethra, the widest part of the urethra near the base of the penis.

Poor form can compound the natural obstacles, men constrict the flow of urine when they expose their penises over the top of their pants or underwear instead of through their fly.

But even with exquisite urinary etiquette, if you have lax pelvic floor muscles, you'll be at a disadvantage in trying to internally clamp off the urethra and halt the flow of urine. If the muscle weakening is minor, you'll probably dribble a bit. Should the weakening continue and urinary control become more difficult and less successful, you may be on your way to developing a form of incontinence.

'If the cause is weak muscles, dribbling is sort of an intermediary step between full control and incontinence,'

Aging is a prime cause of muscular weakening. Men have a slight advantage in this regard thanks to prostates. The prostate gland, which surrounds the urethra below the bladder like a doughnut, grows as a man ages. If the enlargement is otherwise benign and not great enough to cause a significant obstruction, the prostate squeezes on the urethra only lightly, compensating for any loss in pelvic muscle tone that could lead to leaking.

All men should know that an inflammation of the gland, called prostatitis, can produce a discharge that could be mistaken for dribbling, It'll also cause a tingling sensation upon urination and a frequent need to go to the bathroom. The bacterial infection that results in prostatitis can hit men at any age, but younger men are especially prone to the problem.

Symptom Relief

Ending wet spots could be as simple as learning better bathroom form or strengthening the muscles in your pelvis, say urologists.

Try these tips before seeing your doctor.

1. Nudge out what's left. 'Men should learn to milk their urethra,' First, urinate through your fly, not over the top of your pants or that constrictive elastic band around the top of your shorts. When finished, with one hand apply some gentle pressure behind the scrotum to coax out any remaining urine from the bulbus urethra.

2. Give it a squeeze. Kegel exercises can help you strengthen the muscles in the pelvis and gain better control, even if you do have an enlarged prostate. And they're simple to do. The muscles you want to strengthen are the ones you use to start and stop the flow of urine. Squeeze and slowly release those muscles several times. Urologists recommend that you
practise this action until you can contract those muscles 50 times in a row several times a day.

3. My addition to this article. Do the above, but also:

a) Use a cubicle in public toilets so you have some privacy to 'nudge the last drips out' and use a small piece of toilet tissue to wipe the end of your penis.

b) Buy a box of shields - see the ATTENDS 1 product - so you can have additional security and comfort that if a small amount does discharge, it will be absorbed and deodorized by the shield.

The dryfellas. 

Source(s):

Kevin Pranikoff, M.D., associate professor of urology at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Richard J. Macchia, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Urology at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn.