Incontinence Specialist
Gary Hirsch realized the need to design and produce quality incontinence care products during...read more
- Adult Diaper Disposal: Environmental Awareness
- Final Words of Wisdom: Buying Adult Diapers Online
- Buyer Beware: Tips for Buying Incontinence Products Online
- Deciphering Adult Diapers from Protective Underwear from Briefs
- Adult Diapers: Pads, Liners, Inserts & Guards—Oh My!
- Disambiguation Part 1: Adult Diapers vs. Adult Briefs
- Disambiguation Part 2: Deciphering the Incontinence Care Product Aisle
- Let’s Talk Diapers: What Goes Into an Adult Brief?
- How Long Should a Longer-Lasting Adult Diaper Last?
- Managing Incontinence: Your Guide to Personal Comfort
Incontinence
Disambiguation Part 1: Adult Diapers vs. Adult Briefs
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One of my favorite parts of the collaborative online encyclopedia Wikipedia is the disambiguation feature. Disambiguation literally means to remove the ambiguity from language, or—practically speaking—to choose the closest possible meaning from many interpretations. Wikipedia’s disambiguation feature allows users to better understand what they’re looking for by offering several results for every search. Consider this post, and my next, a kind of disambiguation for you, dear reader. I’ll be addressing the most common terms that we use in the incontinence care market when naming our products.
Adult Briefs or Adult Diapers: Which is Right?
Adult briefs or adult diapers: which is right? Technically speaking, both are correct. I’m not sure which was the first company to refer to an adult incontinence undergarment as a “brief” or a “diaper,” but I can say this: many of the first designs of adult-sized incontinence care products, briefs in particular, were basically adapted maxi-pads that were remodeled in the fashion of baby diapers. In the world of diaper manufacturing, there is no difference between an adult disposable brief and an adult disposable diaper—the only difference is the name! So why use more than one name? Let’s take a closer look.
The name for the product lines is rooted in psychology: the term “diapers” was deemed to be more baby-like while “briefs” was more mature, and pertained to an older generation. Some companies have gone even further and simply labeled their incontinence care products “undergarments.” We label ours “briefs,” but there is certainly no shame in calling Secure products “adult diapers.”
Public perception, however, records a different perspective: the media often mentions “adult diapers” hand-in-hand with seniors, aging, caregiving and, as of late, a certain astronaut, whereas mentions of “adult briefs” are reserved for medical journals and nursing discussion. Even Google gets in on the act: Google recorded over 80,000 searches for the term “adult diapers” last month versus only 600 or so for “adult briefs.
What's Wrong With Wearing An Adult Diaper?
Perhaps in the public eye, the term “diapers” carries an unnecessary connotation of weakness or deficiency, and here I would like to discuss the damaging stigma associated with adult diapers. As I’ve mentioned before, nearly 20 million Americans are incontinent and wear adult disposable products—pads, diapers, briefs, underwear and more. Despite the enormous need for these products, the term “adult diapers” often carries a stigma with it, as the Defeating Stigma campaign of the Simon Foundation points out. The campaign aims to defeat all forms of stigma, including those directed at incontinence. I urge you to take a look at the Simon Foundation’s informative Web site and see for yourself how damaging this adult diaper stigma can be. There is nothing wrong with wearing an adult diaper!
What Do You Think?
So, readers, I’ll close by asking this: what do you think about this diapers vs. briefs business? Is there a stigma associated with the term “diaper,” and if so, what can we do to remove that stigma from the very real and important need to wear these adult incontinence products?
In my next post, I’ll recap the discussion here with regard to adult diapers, and I’ll take a look at another naming menace that needs clarification: the types of absorbency in incontinence care products sold at your local supermarket.
Until then, be well.
Your Partner in Comfort,
Gary
Learn everything about adult diapers by visiting Everything About Incontinence.
Posted in Everything about Incontinence, Incontinence, Incontinence: Gary Hirsch   | |||||
I know that some people still call it diapers and others say briefs. Now there’s pull ups or protective underwear. Is it an Incontinence Liners, Bladder Control Pads, Male Guards, or Guards for Men. It’s all preference and I think it has to do alot with self esteem. It’s also branding of the products. “Depends” “Attends” “Prevail” Tranquility” “Tena” “Abena” and so on. Some people are embarressed with incontinence, and others couldn’t care less.
I just found this site! what a find! love that you are discussing stuff we don’t get to hear much about. just learned about adverse reactions to meds and you just answered some questions I’ve had about my mom’s incontinence. I was almost too embarassed to ask and wasn’t even sure who to ask. THANKSSSSSS
One of the reasons I feel a stigma exists is due to the color as well. Why do adult diapers have to be white? For a change of pace it would be nice if a color of some type was available. One of my fears was recognition that I was wearing a diaper? At times they can be exposed to a wandering eye and should that wondering eyes see a blue or red or some other color it would not be quite so apparent. Just a thought.
Hello all, and thanks for the great comments.
@ Joe - You’re correct. A lot of what you see on the market has to do with marketing and the names that companies, many of which you listed, like to call their products. My next post in this corner will cover that exact topic.
@ Joelly - thanks! I’m glad that the info you’re finding here is useful! As always, a big thanks to the great people at the Gilbert Guide for putting this whole production on!
@ Blaine - your point about product color is a good one. While a lot of diapers are produced in white (including most of our Secure products), a lot of products made for institutional use have color-coding that is used for easy identification by nurses and caregivers. Most of these products are either blue, green or yellow; to date I haven’t seen anything produced in red, but, with new products and styles entering the market every month, who knows!
Thanks to everyone for their great input!
As you explain, adult diapers/briefs are basically the same thing as baby diapers (absorbent, self-contained garments) except they are sized for adults; and you say, “there is no difference between an adult disposable brief and an adult disposable diaper,” why not just call them adult diapers, and not briefs. It is more precise and accurate since there are many other types of underwear, not meant to be absorbent, that fall under the category of “briefs.”
Actually, if the word diaper were used consistetly the stigma associated with it would wear off, and people having trouble accepting the reality of their condition would not have euphemisms to hide behind.
As I understand, manufacturers sometimes color code the briefs to designate a size, green for small, white for medium, blue for large, tan for xlarge.
[…] As I said in my last post, understanding the different terminology applied to incontinence care products can be a troublesome task. A lot of manufacturers use different names for similar products. Adult diapers or briefs, liners or inserts, guards or pads, slip-ons or pull-ons, protective underwear or discreet underwear, belted undergarments or belted shields: how do you know which is which? Â […]
It’s interesting: just recently I was talking to someone else who is incontinent about leakage issues. I referred to my “brief” and was asked “you mean your diaper?”
Even in this context I was afraid to say the “d” word!
Over time I have gotten a bit less ashamed, but the shame is still there, and it shows in the language.
I use the terms interchangeably. Brief, diaper, absorbent pant, etc. It’s all the same to me.
But then, I don’t mince words. I call a spade a spade, and often refer to myself as a cripple.
Hello Rocky, Matthew, Robert, and everyone,
Thank you for your great comments.
@ Rocky - You bring up a good point, and one that we have addressed here a good bit. Since people are used to the term “diapers” then why not call briefs diapers? The same can be said about their familiarity with the term “briefs,” however, and so we have a chicken-egg problem. I think that as soon as some of the larger adult diaper and incontinence care manufacturers start re-branding their briefs as diapers that this entire debate — and perhaps the “diaper stigma” — will go away. The entire naming debate is really controlled by the diaper/incontinence care products aisle at your local supermarket.
@ Matthew - if you were talking to someone about leakage issues, you surely weren’t using my Secure X-Plus diapers, now were you?
Thanks for your excellent comments, and remember that there should be no shame in diapers - whether you’re young or old(er)!
@ Rocky - great comment, thanks!
I’ve been incontinent for most of my life, and they have always been diapers to me.
Seems like the whole “Brief/ Undergarment” thing comes from society and the need to be political correct. People in today’s world have this fear of saying anything that might be degrading or might offend others. So in effort to not hurt feels they use words for things they wouldn’t find offensive. Secondly I guess is the whole taboo of adults in diapers. Just the thought of them use the words “diaper” and “adult” in the same sentence makes them uncomfortable. My wife works in a nursing home and for “dignity reasons”; she needs to call them briefs around her residents. Even NASA calls them MAGs (Maximum Absorption Garment) and not diapers. The funny thing is most of us that do use diapers, call them just that. Even in the nursing home most of my wife residents call them diapers. Society just needs to get over this whole thought of “Oh No I might offend you if I call them what they are”. Now I do understand that for some people who haven’t been incontinent for most of their life, “briefs” takes away a little of the shame they might feel. At the same time I have to say why feel shame at all? I’m incontinent, I wear diapers and I’m an adult, and all my friends know. I’m comfortable with that, and I see no need to replace the word “diaper” with “brief” it is what it is. You can call a duck a water fowl all you want but in the end most people will still call it a duck.
Hello Anthony,
Great comment - thank you. The need for political correctness aside, your point is one echoed here by your other fellow commenters and by our greater discussion: there’s nothing to be ashamed of about adult diapers and incontinence!
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
Gary
[…] Adult Diapers and Briefs: The Old Standard As I’ve mentioned before (and we’ve had a great discussion about this in past posts), the mainstay of the adult incontinence care product market has been the taped, fitted adult diaper—aka the adult brief (you say “to-may-to…”). No matter what you call them, following are some common features shared by most brands: […]
I don’t understand all the who-do about what we wear. I mean its a diaper big deal. When i call to order my monthly supply i tell them I need my mothly supply of diapers I don’t say Briefs. I call them what thay are Diapers!!!As for me ive been in diapers for about 3 years now and to me its like anything else. It’s just something I wear. So call them what you wan’t to but to me thay will always be Diapers
Hello Johnny,
Thanks for your comment and for chiming in about the great diapers-vs-briefs debate!
Your partner in comfort,
Gary
Call a spade a spade! Call them diapers. Not briefs.
If they’d start calling them diapers maybe they’d make a product worthy of being called a diaper!
It’s a diaper. There’s really nothing about it that’s anything but a diaper. Big deal!
I’m a 35 yr old man and I wear diapers. Unlike most people, I have no problem whatsoever with the word “diaper”. I don’t think it’s a symbol of weakness or deficiency. I believe that if someone needs to wear diapers, they should be allowed to wear without shame or worry. What’s the problem?! If you need to wear diapers, wear diapers. If you like wearing diapers, wear diapers. Who cares what it’s called or why it’s called what it’s called?
Ciao.
Jason
Although I am incontinent and need the security of leak protection, I prefer to call the products I use a diaper. I used to use an “incontinence system” but the sound of that was really degrading in my mind. Sounded like a science experiment or something.I realized after a couple years of being a total recluse from everything that, what was, is always going to be, what it is. I did some investigating and found sites, though in their infancy, pardon the pun,catered to my awareness. In the long run I felt the proper terminology for me was to call myself in diapers. It fits me.
i use depend and poise brief. i would like to know if there is anything to help the oder. even tho i change there is a very unpleasnt oder. it ca get expense.
Hello all,
Thanks for the great comments and discussion about diapers!
@Frances: The more polymer (absorbency) a diaper has, the less odor it will have. This is because the odor comes from a bacteria called “proteas,” which is sterile inside the body and reacts with oxygen when outside the body to produce that terrible ammonia smell. The more polymer the product has, the more that this process is stopped.
There are products on the market that help control odor, but I have not seen any that work with great success.
Thanks for the comments!
Your Partner in Comfort,
Gary