Complaints about the tena lady ad

I agree, and yes I understand that a lot of us suffer in silence and the ad tries to convey it can happen to anybody it doesn’t explain that a lot can be done to alleviate the condition and implies that living with it is ok and to be expected.

Oh I agree it is completely irresponsible. It is not "normal" to be incontinent. Sure, those of us who are DO need good products to use but women do NOT need to "put up with" something that is fixable. It is hard enough getting health providers to take womens health issues seriously without the message being literally broadcast that it is just something that women should accept!

I cannot stand this advert. That woman with her blessed boobs and bit of wee. Oh it is just diabolical

Untreated incontinence can contribute to pressure sores which have a high mortality rate!

It is not a "little problem"

It affects intimacy, activity, it can cause irreversible kidney damage when women start avoiding fluid intake in order to reduce accidents.

Some of the CAUSES of incontinence should never be considered "acceptable" either e.g. miss managed birth trauma. Overuse of pads in hospitals rather than support with continence etc

It is not "normal" to be incontinent after childbirth. Yes it is "common" but not "normal". And often could have been avoided with better care. And in the unavoidable cases, it should be fixed as a priority!

Are we expected to shout with glee, ‘I just wet my knickers’

It's very common with the burden of years to be incontinent. The absurd woman in the ads wearing white tight trousers implies an exaggerated claim for the products, but there is a problem with incontinence that's not easy or even possible to solve.

But it is not "NORMAL"

It is a disfuntion of the urinary system.

And enough women get fobbed off as it is when they try to get it treated.

It cannot always be treated but it should always be investigated at the very least.

The womens' health phisio who advised me said that if we all did the exercises as properly instructed then most low level stress incontinence could be cured. She certainly cured me, from an unusual variety that was mainly to do with sport, though it took 6 months of squeezing.

Yes, cringeworthy ad isn’t it?

I have to be honest here, my incontinence is directly related to my weight and fitness. When I gain weight it comes back. There is no quick fix for me, I have to stay fit or it recurs.

And as Pernilla said it does involve complying with exercise and advice.

However women are discouraged from seeking that advice in the first place because they get all these (wrong) messages that its a "normal" part of aging or childbearing etc!

People are bad at judging what is healthy.

Because these days, what is "normal" is not necessarily healthy.

An average sized portion is not necessarily a normal one.

An average sized person is not necessarily a healthy sized person

Etc

Oop wrong thread. That was re the obesity thread

I can't understand why she says, 'no-one told me about incontinence' - didn't a health profession mention pelvic floor exercises? The actress doesn't look like she's ever given birth either.

It's not only normal but extremely common for anyone who's had a stroke and that's not a urinary dysfunction at all.

Who wants to wear knickers that look like blackout curtains ?

Besides the ad. being an insult it's also suggestive that all women who've given birth wet themselves. Not true !

Shouldn't all these comments be directed to......

www.tena.co.uk/men/contact-us

The adverts are alarming;

diarrhoea,constipation, tooth problems, indigestion, arthritis, gum disease, leaking bladders, no end of stomach disorders, dry vaginas, erectile dysfunction....need I go on. " What a piece of work is Man?"

And her voice.... Ghastly..

Doing those clench your buttocks for count of 10 etc does work to an extent but may need catching up with over the years..

Interesting..... I listened to a doctor only yesterday stating that 'leaks' are 100 per cent curable with pelvis exercise persistence. I'm going to give it a go. He reckons three months of five second pelvic 'keep it in' squeezes every hour. I plan to set my alarm until it hopefully becomes my norm.

All these ads are making me think that leaking is normal. I don't leak but do have to run to the toilet in the middle of the night. I wish they'd take those ads off. I hate them.

Thank you for highlighting this. I think it's worth a campaign to get it stopped! I hate the suggestion that incontinence is an acceptable price to pay for childbirth when so often it's inadequate intrapartum care that's to blame! For example
- Bad positioning in 2nd stage labour so pelvic floor is stressed.
- Failure to get the woman's bladder empty so urethra is stretched
- shouting PUSH

I agree with some of the comments on here. Especially the one ( notanan2) who suggests it’s worse if we are overweight. When I lose weight it certainly improves.
Currently ‘ squeezing’ as typing

I presume I'm one of the lucky ones. I have never suffered with incontinence even though I have given birth four times. I must admit that I am surprised at the presumed level of incontinence amongst women, I had no idea!!! One thing that puzzles me though is this just a women's problem or do men suffer as well?