The Prevail eNurse Experience
by Adrienne Glusman, Family Caregiver
Incontinence can affect people at any age, regardless of gender, but when you're managing a loved one's health and wellbeing, you want the tools and support you need to provide the best possible care. You also want to ensure you have the best information as it specifically relates to your loved one's level of leakage and what products work best for them.
My mom has been wearing "pads" for light leakage as long as I can remember, but over the past nine years as her caregiver, trial-and-error has been my middle name in helping her manage her condition. This takes not only time and patience, but money! I've tried numerous products for both her daytime and nighttime leakage, but nothing ever seems to do the trick as she would continue to leak through her products. As a caregiver, finding the right protective product for my mom was yet another daunting challenge in my day-to-day: what size protective underwear or length of pads does she need? What level of absorbency (the more absorbency the better, right?). Just looking at all of my options while trying to be cost-conscious, might as well just go for the store brand to save money, right?
I was frustrated and tired of playing the guessing game, so I turned to the Prevail® eNurse™ Team to help me figure out the right products for her needs. They are team of clinical nurses available 24/7 to provide personal assistance and lend their expertise to your loved one's incontinence needs.
I went to Prevail.com and saw I could either start a live chat or give them a call. I really wanted to have an educational conversation so I called the eNurse hotline and they picked up right away.
The Conversation:
It was so nice to get my eNurse immediately on the phone with a bright and cheery tone of voice, ready to tackle all of my questions. I took a few minutes to paint a picture of my mom's incontinence and explain the challenges I was facing. Her first reaction "you are doing a lot of extra work and using a lot more products than you need to/probably should!" Well that’s a sigh of relief!
My eNurse went on to explain there are three pieces of the incontinence puzzle to consider:
the type of incontinence, level of leakage and choosing the right product. We talked through the first two components and defined my mom as having heavy leakage. Given that she is primarily wheelchair bound and cannot toilet herself on time and properly was also a large factor in choosing the right product. After discussing mom’s daytime protective hygiene needs, I also discussed the challenges of overnight protection to avoid middle of the night sleep disruption for a product change and constant morning bed linen changes.
The Verdict:
Mom is currently in the wrong size/type of product! My eNurse assessed that a main reason for leaking through current products, was not only the product itself but the fit. I previously determined size by what I "thought" my mom would be, a large, not based on her height/weight which the eNurse assessed as a Size 1 (or small to medium). She was leaking easier due to the brief being too large and the leg/cuff area not fitting properly. My eNurse told me taking into consideration height/weight is more accurate versus body circumference as this factors in how the weight is distributed.
Secondly, with mom's high level of incontinence, the protective underwear she was wearing were not the best product and my eNurse instead recommended briefs, which with the advanced breathability and technology, allows them to perform like a protective underwear but with maximum absorbency.
The Winning Product:
Prevail Air™ Briefs which provides Prevail's most advanced technology for persistent, heavy leakage which locks away wetness and allows air, heat and humidity to escape.
What I was also surprised to learn from my eNurse is that I was using too many products at the same time! I was layering two pads inside of the disposable underwear – which still was not providing maximum absorbency. Even though I was purchasing generic brand products, I was doubling my price. Now, purchasing only the Prevail Air briefs I won't be spending much more than I previously was on two separate products and in turn, getting better protection for mom.
Before our call ended, my eNurse directed me to the Prevail.com website where I signed up for a free sample kit to test out the new Prevail Air™ briefs. She also recommended I try to take some time to read up on their "Common Questions" section which was very informative as it relates to general incontinence and protective hygiene. She assured me that an eNurse is always available if I have future questions and wished me the best of luck with the recommended product!
In fifteen minutes, I found out more about what I had been doing wrong in managing my mom's incontinence over the past nine years and am now empowered and excited to get my sample kit in the mail! My mom is going to feel so much more comfortable, confident, and dry wearing the right product, in the right size and absorbency. I'm excited for her!
Are you having trouble navigating incontinence challenges or unsure if your loved one is wearing the right products? You can contact a Prevail eNurse 24/7 at 1-866-573-3776 or chat with them online at Prevail.com Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST.
My mom has been wearing "pads" for light leakage as long as I can remember, but over the past nine years as her caregiver, trial-and-error has been my middle name in helping her manage her condition. This takes not only time and patience, but money! I've tried numerous products for both her daytime and nighttime leakage, but nothing ever seems to do the trick as she would continue to leak through her products. As a caregiver, finding the right protective product for my mom was yet another daunting challenge in my day-to-day: what size protective underwear or length of pads does she need? What level of absorbency (the more absorbency the better, right?). Just looking at all of my options while trying to be cost-conscious, might as well just go for the store brand to save money, right?
I was frustrated and tired of playing the guessing game, so I turned to the Prevail® eNurse™ Team to help me figure out the right products for her needs. They are team of clinical nurses available 24/7 to provide personal assistance and lend their expertise to your loved one's incontinence needs.
I went to Prevail.com and saw I could either start a live chat or give them a call. I really wanted to have an educational conversation so I called the eNurse hotline and they picked up right away.
The Conversation:
It was so nice to get my eNurse immediately on the phone with a bright and cheery tone of voice, ready to tackle all of my questions. I took a few minutes to paint a picture of my mom's incontinence and explain the challenges I was facing. Her first reaction "you are doing a lot of extra work and using a lot more products than you need to/probably should!" Well that’s a sigh of relief!
My eNurse went on to explain there are three pieces of the incontinence puzzle to consider:
the type of incontinence, level of leakage and choosing the right product. We talked through the first two components and defined my mom as having heavy leakage. Given that she is primarily wheelchair bound and cannot toilet herself on time and properly was also a large factor in choosing the right product. After discussing mom’s daytime protective hygiene needs, I also discussed the challenges of overnight protection to avoid middle of the night sleep disruption for a product change and constant morning bed linen changes.
The Verdict:
Mom is currently in the wrong size/type of product! My eNurse assessed that a main reason for leaking through current products, was not only the product itself but the fit. I previously determined size by what I "thought" my mom would be, a large, not based on her height/weight which the eNurse assessed as a Size 1 (or small to medium). She was leaking easier due to the brief being too large and the leg/cuff area not fitting properly. My eNurse told me taking into consideration height/weight is more accurate versus body circumference as this factors in how the weight is distributed.
Secondly, with mom's high level of incontinence, the protective underwear she was wearing were not the best product and my eNurse instead recommended briefs, which with the advanced breathability and technology, allows them to perform like a protective underwear but with maximum absorbency.
The Winning Product:
Prevail Air™ Briefs which provides Prevail's most advanced technology for persistent, heavy leakage which locks away wetness and allows air, heat and humidity to escape.
What I was also surprised to learn from my eNurse is that I was using too many products at the same time! I was layering two pads inside of the disposable underwear – which still was not providing maximum absorbency. Even though I was purchasing generic brand products, I was doubling my price. Now, purchasing only the Prevail Air briefs I won't be spending much more than I previously was on two separate products and in turn, getting better protection for mom.
Before our call ended, my eNurse directed me to the Prevail.com website where I signed up for a free sample kit to test out the new Prevail Air™ briefs. She also recommended I try to take some time to read up on their "Common Questions" section which was very informative as it relates to general incontinence and protective hygiene. She assured me that an eNurse is always available if I have future questions and wished me the best of luck with the recommended product!
In fifteen minutes, I found out more about what I had been doing wrong in managing my mom's incontinence over the past nine years and am now empowered and excited to get my sample kit in the mail! My mom is going to feel so much more comfortable, confident, and dry wearing the right product, in the right size and absorbency. I'm excited for her!
Are you having trouble navigating incontinence challenges or unsure if your loved one is wearing the right products? You can contact a Prevail eNurse 24/7 at 1-866-573-3776 or chat with them online at Prevail.com Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST.
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