MNer – do you have a sensitive bladder and use pants? Share your story and help empower women like you! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We have been asked by Always Discreet to find 3 MN or GN volunteers who have a sensitive bladder - who wear pants to help with this - and who are willing and able to act as a case study for the brand. If this is you, please read on, if not then ignore this email.

We are working with Always Discreet and last year we successfully recruited a number of mumsnetters and gransnetters who were part of an awe inspiring female health project around sensitive bladder, sharing their stories, helping to banish the taboos surrounding the topic and talking about the products that worked for them.

The team at Always Discreet say "did you know, 1 in 3 women in the UK experience sensitive bladder at some point in their lives? We understand the huge impact this condition can have on a woman’s day to day life and how it can sometimes stop her wearing the clothes she loves, travelling to new places and even exercising the way she used to".

Now, they are looking for three more women who live with bladder sensitivity to share their stories. And this time, they are looking specifically for any ladies who use incontinence pants as their main form of protection from bladder leaks. They want to capture the stories in a variety of different ways including on film, as short audio podcasts and as written stories and share the positive effects that new Always Discreet products are having on the users lives. Exact details of how they hope to work with volunteers can be found in the below terms and conditions, and they will of course compensate you for your time if you are one of the selected three.

If you are selected as one of the three to share your story, Always will send you two month’s worth of Always Discreet Incontinence Pants for Sensitive Bladder to trial. They will then work with you to capture your story on film as well as your feedback on the product similar to Elaine’s story which can be seen here. Exact details of how we hope to work together can be found below, and you will be compensated for your time if you are one of the selected three with £500.

So if you have a positive story about how you manage your sensitive bladder and you’d like to help empower other women living with sensitive bladder, we would love to hear from you.

Do add your details here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/HGXWGHX

We look forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes

MNHQ

Terms & Conditions

In order to participate you must be 18 or over and have experienced a sensitive bladder and used Always Discreet at least once before.
The recruitment phase closes on 17 August.
Mumsnet/ Gransnet will send a list of everyone who applies (with no contact details) on this date to Always. Always will then indicate who they’d like on the shortlist and contact details for those folks will be passed on.
Shortlisted applicants will be contacted by phone/email by a member of the Always Discreet team within one month of this date.
Shortlisted applicants will be required to sign a Consent Form before participating in the final selection stage and confirm their availability for filming (exact dates to be agreed at final selection stage).
Shortlisted applicants will be required to participate in a face to face or remote meeting (via phone call) with a member of the Always Discreet team to have a further discussion around their story and how comfortable they feel telling it. The final 3 participants will be selected based on our need to show and discuss a wide range of stories and experiences with the condition.
Successful participants will be contacted by Hill & Knowlton on behalf of P&G and need to confirm their participation which includes availability for filming (location to be confirmed at time) in August and September.
The selected 3 participants will be required to tell their story and talk about the Always Discreet products that they use, which will be captured on video. Photographs will also be taken. The video and imagery will be used in digital and print channels supported by paid media and editorial media placements. The selected 3 participants will be compensated with a cash incentive of £500 each for their time. All expenses incurred during filming/ photography will be covered

[Pico2]

This is a really weird request. What is "sensitive bladder"? A quick Google seems to bring up links to Always or give you the option of "overactive bladder" which is a recognised condition. Is Always trying to coin a new term? And if so, what for?

Coupled with the question "do you use pants?", this seems to be full of euphemism. Are women really to be empowered through this coy use of euphemism?

[JennyOnTheBlocks]

I'm with you, Pico

seems to me that 'sensitive bladder' is a rebranding of stress incontinence

i'd rather visit my GP tbh

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

I think Always is trying to create a new market for their foul smelling, thrush inducing, landfill filling, shitty plastic products.

[ChestyNut]

"Do you use pants"

The above term sounds almost infantilising and what is sensitive bladder?

[CultureSucksDownWords]

Doesn't everyone use pants? Presumably you mean pant liners or other similar products for women with stress incontinence?

[HelloNewman]

I fail to see how using 'pants' for a 'sensitive bladder', which I presume means stress incontinence is empowering women in any way.

Surely not putting up with pissing ourselves and doing something about it, is a slightly better option.

[HelloNewman]

Where's GertyGussett (or whatever her name is) when we need her!

[mindfulandgrateful]

Sensitive bladder is NOT to be confused with stress incontinence so stop getting on your high horses!!

A sensitive bladder can be caused by certain medical conditions , as in irritable bladder, which can be caused by sitting still for too long, by chronic pain conditions, by conditions where the nervous system is over stimulated, also by caffeine and side effects of medication, etc etc.

Research irritates that the acidity of urine particularly in summer can irritate the bladder, leading to discomfort and leakage of urine - not to be confused with stress incontinence which is related to muscle tone.

[Pico2]

Mindfulandgrateful - none of that seems to come up when you Google "sensitive bladder". Are you referring to overactive bladder?

In fact Always have a webpage which defines "sensitive bladder" as "light adult incontinence" and very briefly mentions disorders of the nervous system but focuses on stress incontinence. If you have a problem with sensitive bladder being conflated with stress incontinence then you might want to take that up with Always as they seem to have combined the two to make their own definition.

[DayLillie]

There is treatment available for overactive bladder too.

If your are menopausal, hrt helps. There are other things such as oxybutanin etc.

You do not need to resort to plastic pants!

Drink plenty water

[AnnMumsnet]

Thanks very much to all the folks who have volunteered so far for this. We had sent it to the panel but wanted to try and widen the recruitment a bit - hence the thread.

We asked Always about the queries over "sensitive bladder" and this is their response

"Hello Everyone.

We've been looking at your comments and wanted to explain why we use the term ‘sensitive bladder’. We use this to describe a common condition among some women which leads to an increased urgency and frequency of urination, also referred to as urinary incontinence, overactive bladder and bladder weakness. Women of all ages can be affected by this common phenomenon and the severity can vary from a few drops to larger quantities. We asked many women to identify a terminology that would be a good way for them to describe their unintentional urine loss, and "sensitive bladder" is at term many women liked and related to. We listened, and this is why we use the term Sensitive Bladder, but we continue to take on-board all feedback from our consumers, so appreciate all your comments".

[JennyOnTheBlocks]

so yeah, instead of seeking a cure, buy our pads

[pinkfrocks]

Well that response is not good enough!

There is such as thing as 'sensitive' bladder but that usually means bladders that are irritated by certain foods and drinks which can cause pain and frequency. This can be overactive bladder or Painful Bladder Syndrome. This is not the same as stress incontinence.

It's very annoying to use the term 'sensitive bladder' for all leakage, because for women who have over-active bladder or PBS, finding treatment that works fully can be difficult, whereas for stress incontinence, exercises and surgery can help.

Saying someone has a 'sensitive bladder' when you mean stress incontinence is patronising and resorting to euphemisms. There are correct medical terms for all these conditions and lumping them together as 'sensitive' is stupid but actually meaningless. It does nothing to educate women about the right sort of treatment and implies it's something they should put up with.