How high should internal leak guards be for fecal incontinence?

[John Davis]

Most of us who are fecal incontinent recognize that internal standing leak guards can play a significant role in preventing fecal leaks.  But, what should we look for?  I don't know of any formal studies on the subject.

How high do you think the internal standing leak guards need to be in order to be effective at preventing stool from coming in contact wth the leg gathers?

IMO, leakguards that are 1 ½" tall are very effective while 2" is ideal.  Anything is better than nothing, but the ¾" tall leak guards found on many inexpensive diapers are only marginally effective and I frequently have found stool overflowing those leak guards.😱

What do you say?

--John

[Slomo]

I'd have to agree. For both pee and poop. Anything less than 1" tall just isn't effective enough. 1.5" seems to work ok enough, and 2" just works better. 

The Betterdry/Crinklz I use have about a 2" tall leak guard, and I might have a urine leak 1-2 times a month with them. And even with my occasional IBS-D I have never had a fecal leak.

[John Davis]

Yes, for both pee and poop.  For urine the internal standing leak guards help keep the fluid over the mat until it has time to be absorbed.

--John

[John Davis]

I forgot to mention that many inexpensive (read "cheap") diapers have no internal standing leak guards at all and depend on just the leg gathers.  I avoid these like the plague.  However, they may play a useful role as they are very inexpensive.

--John