Reducing odors

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So as mentioned before I am a highely active 23 year old with an overactive bladder and off and on urge incontinence. When my bladder issues are flaring up I tend to have quite large voids so because of this I typically use high capacity tape on briefs. I’m often due to work in a situation where I can’t quickly change. I’ve had some issues with odor and was wondering what I can do to reduce odor especially when I am not able to immediately change. Also, does anyone have any advice for protection while being active, I have really struggled to find something that I can feel confident in that I can also comfortably work out or run or bike in?

 

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One brief to consider possibly is abena-flex special protective underwear. A form fitting pull up and one of its applications is for work outs. In terms of odours is an internal deodorant like nullo as it may help with your odour concerns.

My only other recommendation is not sure if you are wearing tape on diapers as opposed to pull ups and the actual diapers hold much more and have built in more odour controls. So if using a pull-up I would suggest changing over to actual briefs. And then for the long periods you may be wearing them without able to change I would consider like north shores mega max or rearz or confidry just for the amounts their briefs can hold and contain.

Hope that is some help.

 

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There is a system called Afex from Arcus Medical that is available for men. I used it for a while and is really nice. It’s a comfortable system and can hold large Or a few larger voids. Not a diaper and allot cooler during the summer. If you like to walk or bike it works pretty good. I’m not a runner by any means or ability so you will have to figure that one out.
It consists of a really well made pair of special underwear a comfortable cut type thing that you penis sits in and a thigh urine bag that attaches to the underwear and cup type thing.
Thanks for the post. I had forgotten about this as it’s been several years since I used it last but it works well while out and about.
Didn’t work so well for me for sleeping but for day was great at the time and kept me dry.
Checkout Arcus Medical. You can clean the cup and bag easily my mixing some white vinegar and water and let it soak for 20 minutes then rinse and dry. Worth the money if you hate sweating in a diaper when it’s hot.

 

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Thanks for the advice, I use Northshore pull ups sometimes but my concern with pull ups is if I have a large accident they don’t always contain it. I typically use tape on briefs and currently use the MegaMax but have issues with odor still when I can’t change quickly enough. I take chlorophyll, would Nullo be more effective also do internal deodorants have a major effect on urine odor since I seem to see them more often mentioned for bowel incontinence.

As far as Afex or any condom catheter like that my concern is visibility of the urine bag since typically I would be wearing shorts. It isn’t something I have tried though and might be worth trying.

 

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Yup fully agree that the internal deodorants are usually used for bowel which fortunately for me I rarely have those incidents like 2-3 time’s a year so very much thankful for that. Lol.

I just started on nullo and haven’t really noticed any urine odours from myself granted I consumed a stupid amount of water / fluids a day so I have the change like every 4 hrs if I am solely relying on my diapers as otherwise I will overflow which is just a different story lol.

Not sure if it’s worth trying nullo for a change and see if it makes a difference for you.

Otherwise maybe try another brand of diapers and see if the odour control is better. Not sure if it’s easy for you to get rearz in the United States as up in Canada they are quite easy to get access to. Otherwise maybe try abena diapers however they don’t have nearly the capacity of mega-max. I am sort of shocked that the mega-max don't have better odour control. Maybe Adam can comment and provide some more constructive answers on what possibly you can do to help control the odours.

And thanks jrpoorman for the afex suggestion. They look like they could be worth a try. Unlike you greengold4 I rarely wear shorts so it’s something for me to consider. Honestly I have never tried a condom catheter as my penis changes in size throughout the day I am not confident it would stay on but perhaps it’s my hesitation stopping me from giving it a go. But that’s like I should do intermittent cathing to alleviate my issues I just don’t want to be putting in and out a catheter 4-5 times a day as in my head that just spells infection eventually whereas diapers have no real side effects other than skin irritation etc.

 

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When I used it i was wearing shorts. Normally conceals pretty well but that depends how long the legs are on the shorts. They also have different size leg bags and they are shaped to conform to your thigh.

 

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The cool thing about their design is it’s not a condom catheter but more of a comfortable cup that penis fits into.
Back then I had tried all the condo catheter but couldn’t get one to fit right for me. And yeah for guys if your anatomy changes around the clock It is a bit of an issue. If that happens Bioderm makes a special catheter that wraps around the head of the penis with hydrocoloid adhesive. That thing is amazing but if you don’t follow the directions it will not work right. I think they call the thing Liberty pouch now.
If you have urge incontinence, use a vented leg bag with it and it’s a great combo.
The trick with hydrocoloid adhesive is to hold a warm, wet washcloth around the adhesive and gently peel back the adhesive.
Brilliant person designed the device and it’s great for heavy or retracted males.

 

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Thanks for the feedback, I’ve tried Abena before and had even worse odor issues my issue is that I get a weird chemical smell that permeates the plastic if I don’t change quickly enough with multiple briefs in addition to the urine smell not sure what the cause is but I’ve found it occurring with multiple diapers, of the ones you’ve mentioned I’ve tried everyone of them except Rearz which I’m not really familiar with. The MegaMax has decent initial odor containment but still if I don’t change for a bit I run into issues. I mean obviously I should probably try to make sure to change more frequently but both cost difficult to afford going through multiple briefs every day when my issues are flairing it and also often I’m not in a situation to change quickly.

Yeah it is 100F most days here in Texas so shorts are a must.

Yeah, I get the not doing the recommended treatment, I’ve been on medication before for my OAB but the side effects basically kept me from sweating which was difficult with being outside so came to the same decision of protection being better than the medication.

 

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And on the condom catheter thing my other concern would be I don’t want a bag of warm urine sloshing next to my leg, I guess it is probably mental more than anything

 

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Well my first thought was thst I assumed when you said you were wearing "tape on" briefs thst it was the cloth backed ones vs plastic..but since you said Megamax later in another post, that ruined my suggestion of going to a plastic backed product.
When I was using cloth backed at night, my girlfriend at the time used to complain about the smell so she wanted me to use the plastic ones wich according to her helped a lot. Although the other thing that I did was use baby powder as well to help mask any possible smell and that works very well. Since mine is only at night and confined to home, I don't know how comfortable you would be smelling of baby powder scent in public but it would be better than pee j guess.

 

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Greengold4:
You could try a pair of side-snap PUL pants. The area between the side snaps allows a bit more air circulation (for cooling) than a pull-on PUL pant and although it can also let out a bit of oder it might just reduce it to an acceptable amount. As most of us know it's always a trade off between too much protection being too hot and too little having poor capacity and allowing oder to escape.
I live in Florida and know all about high heat and humidity and when I feel I need to wear a PUL pant during the summer my choice is the side-snap Leakmaster PUL pant sold by Adult Cloth Diaper Company.

 

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I've tried PUL and still have the chemical smell that seaps through the plastic also seeping through he PUL which I find odd but it happens, I'll use them in certain situations but especially with summer plastic backed briefs can already get uncomfortable and adding PUL pants turns it into a sauna which is not comfortable, side snaps could possibly help but also as soon as things start allowing air in they also allow odors out. It is definitely though something to consider. I agree it is a trade-off, just feel there are some large gaps in the market, like for example, the lack of any pull up products that perform even close to a decent tape on brief. Just frustrating how it feels like their are no choices

 

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Hi GreenG I can highly recommend d Lume deodorant for topical use on the skin of all private areas. It comes in a cream in a tube or a creamy stick and is effective for the skin of the most intimate parts which could be helpful when you find a diaper or the item Jim Poorman suggests when you are changing and cant wash with a soap and water. Under arm any part of your skin including smelly feet! It is I believe, hypoallergenic.
Lumedeo.com or google Lume deodorant

 

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Something else to consider also is if you are getting a strong smell from the brief that seems bitter or chemical. Have a urinalysis done to make sure you don’t have a uti. I had one and didn’t even know it. As soon as I started the antibiotics the odor went away. Can’t mess with uti stuff.

 

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If it is an UTI I’ve had one for two years, I guess it could be me not drinking enough fluids (ADHD meds cause me to not think to eat or drink often). As far as the deodorant does it help before an accident because cleaning myself up isn’t a big issue

 

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I think you hit it right on the head, Greengold4 by not drinking enough fluids! And that's especially true during the summer. If urine doesn't get diluted by fluids it gets concentrated and then things are a bit ripe. And that's such a simple, uncomplicated solution. Usually the simplest, most obvious things are the most effective. And believe it or not, not drinking enough could aggravate incontinence and certainly lead to irritation. And jrpoorman's idea to check for UTI is also a sound one as well.

 

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For what it's worth. I think I severely irritated my bladder one hot humid summer by drinking copious (think better part of a gallon) of Publix lemonade daily which left me with a peculiar irritated feeling at urination but not an infection. My incontinence started during that time.
Now I drink copious amounts of water not flavored liquids but that sensation lasted for a couple years and returned if I drink citrus or too much coffee.

 

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Maymay, you're wise to just stick with water and not a bunch of sugary, syrupy liquids. Water is the simplest, therefor the most effective, I think. But I have to admit that sometimes flavored liquids can hit the spot as well! But I'm kind of familiar with Publix generic "lemonade." The type that comes in a big gallon jug. I've had some at gatherings at the nature center where I volunteer and it isn't very refreshing, to say the least! I have no idea what they put in that stuff and I don't think I even wanna know!!! I can tell you it isn't genuine lemonade for sure! And their generic sweetened ice tea is also quite hideous! But I think citrus (even in industrial strength artificial "lemonade") is a bladder irritant just as coffee and other things with a lot of caffeine. It's really hot here today and a glass of ice-cold water sound good about now!

 

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Billie some people turn to alchohol when times are tough I turned to battery acid. I mean Publix lemonade.

 

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MayMay,
The lemonade isn’t that bad is it?