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Disclaimer: I received these products, and giveaway, free of charge, from Salonpas, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. 

With the emergence of colder weather comes the need for tedious end-of-season yard work. From raking leaves to putting away patio furniture, there is always something to do around the home. How many of have put on our weekend warrior badges, crossed off every task on our honey-do-lists, only to find that we have overdone it, and now our backs are in searing pain? We’ve all been there, and it’s horrid!

Then in an attempt to get back to life in general, we often reach for OTC pain relievers, but as this is not always the best, or healthiest, solution, we are often left without a real solution to our temporary back pain issues. Luckily, there is a solution as Salonpas is can be your new solution for pain management, with its full line of topical analgesic products- creams, gels, sprays and patches.

What’s awesome about Salonpas is that you are able to put medicine right at the site of your pain, bypassing the stomach and liver, allowing Salonpas to not only use less medicine to deliver an effective dose but to also give you exacting self-care right from the comfort of your own home. And anything that helps keep you comfortable and enjoying your holiday season is a must in my book!

The Salonpas products are great for sore muscles, simple backaches, muscle strains, joint discomfort like a stiff neck or arthritis pain, sprains and even common bruises! We were recently sent a care package to check out, and within a week we had injuries to do home trials on thanks to our old friend, Murphy’s Law, or as my husband calls it, leaf clean-up.

We received the Salonpas Pain Relieving Jet Spray, perfect for immediate relief when you first get an injury. The smaller nozzle helps you to get the spray exactly where you need it and provides you with a cooling, soothing sensation for up to 8 hours of targeted relief! I found this great for shoulder injuries, as it immediately freezes your pain and stops it in its tracks.

We were also sent the Salonpas DEEP Relieving Gel. A product absorbs quickly into your skin and immediately rushes its three active ingredients, camphor, menthol, and methyl salicylate, which works quickly yo target the source of your pain, providing up to 8 hours of deep penetrating, effective pain relief.

We also received the Salonpas Pain Relief Patch, the first and only FDA-Approved OTC topical pain patch for the temporary relief of mild to moderate and provides pain relief for up to 12 hours! Its contains two powerful pain fighting ingredients, menthol, and methyl salicylate, which works in tandem to immediately provide relief to areas when applied. The patch is a generous size of 3×4, ample enough to cover injuries of various sizes, and with 5 patches per box, so you can always have one on hand!

(salonpas hot patch backing)

Finally, we were sent was the Salonpas Pain Relieving GEL-Patch HOT-L, made for larger injuries, like shoulder, full knee, lower and upper back injuries. This new patch utilizes Gel Patch technology with two powerful pain fighting ingredients: Menthol for immediate cooling and the soothing power of Capsaicin for long lasting, deep penetrating pain relief.  

Additional products in the Salonpas line include their Original Small and Large patches, Hot Patches, and their Arthritis Patch, all quality products great for acute pain and inflamed injuries alike. Also worth nothing, you can find Salonpas at your local drugstore, box store, and pharmacy, making this product available to most communities nationwide! 

I encourage you all to check out this new like of Salanpas products this cold weather season. Consider giving those near and dear to you the gift of lasting pain relief. So, friends, I have to ask, have you used Salanpas in the past, and if so, which is your go-to Salanpas product for lasting pain relief? I’d love to hear about it below! 

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SeizeYourPoiseMoment #CollectiveBias

If you’re anything like me, you love to be outdoors when the weather gets nice each summer. But when you have light bladder incontinence, you’re reluctant to leave the safe zones of your home. It can be exceedingly frustrating if you’re an outdoor enthusiast, like me.

You see, starting in my late twenties incontinence became just as much a social issue as a physical one when it came to vacationing, road trips, and sporting activities. Just the hassle of memorizing the location of every bathroom can be nearly impossible, and caused me to cancel far more date nights and engagements that I’d care to remember. 

For me, the more bouts of light bladder incontinence I faced the more I started to avoid activities, such as playing tennis, hiking, and walking on my local parks open access track due to the fear of a possible bladder accident. I feared something as simple as a contagious stream of laughter would turn into embarrassing bladder leakage. Especially places surrounded by water!

Thankfully, there are products like Poise incontinence products for women, that have helped me get back into the swing of life each summer, including walking at the lake. So today, I wanted to share five tips for enjoying warm weather outdoor activities this summer with bladder control leakage.

 When you’re making plans to go hiking or camping, make sure you verify the locations of nearby bathrooms in case of a bladder control emergency. If you are going camping or hiking, know how long your trail is, and the distance to your park entrances, trail caps, and restrooms. A little forethought goes a long way. 

 Apps such as the free “Sit or Squat” app, provide you with a restroom locator for summer activity favorites the world over- beach, national monuments, trails, and amusement parks included. 

 It goes without saying that if you go to the bathroom immediately before walking out the door, can help you cut down the need to go when you’re out and about enjoying the summer.

 Never avoiding hydrating fluids when outdoors, especially in the warm summer months. Instead, drink small sips of water at regular intervals, to help minimize leaks from occurring.

My best tip for preparing for light bladder control emergencies during the summer activity season is to always stay prepared for emergencies. Before I hit the road for any summer activities I always pack an in-case-of-emergency bag.

In my bag I always carry:

• A zero waste, stainless steel water bottle. 
• A change of light, organic cotton shorts. 
• A bandana.
• A small pouch of Poise Thin-Shape Moderate Absorbency Pads that will help me with bladder control. 

I find this bag vital as incontinence is often too unpredictable. So I intentionally make a point to equip myself with the best and most affordable incontinence protection I can to help me feel secure away from home. My favorite incontinence product for summer preparedness is the Poise Thin-Shape Moderate Absorbency Pads. I choose these pads as they give me both complete protection without any unnecessary, unsightly bulk that normal incontinence pads can cause.

I love that Poise Thin-Shape Moderate Absorbency Pads give me the absorbency of regular pads, just 40% thinner. An added bonus? The sides of each Poise Thin-Shape Moderate Absorbency Pad features Leak-Block technology to keep any unforeseen leaks under control, and the Dry-Touch top layer wicks moisture away from my body for up to eight hours too! These pads are your ultimate 3-1 protection for light bladder leaks, as they help control odor, prevent dryness, and most importantly keep you comfortable all summer long. I simply tuck my pouch into my travel cross-body bag and I’m all set!

What’s even better? When I’m prepping for fun summer activities, I can just stop by my local Rite Aid pharmacy to pick up Poise Thin-Shape Moderate Absorbency Pads.

The Poise Thin-Shape pads are located on the personal health care aisle. Which is makes for quick, easy one-stop shopping for me!

Before my last trip to the lake, I purchased the Poise Thin-Shape moderate absorbency pads, in the 66-count pack, which was affordably priced at only $14.99.

And all of my fellow savvy savers will appreciate that I was also able to use an on-package peelie coupon for an additional $2.00 off my purchase price, making my latest pack of Poise Thin-Shape Moderate Absorbency Pads only $12.99! 

While in-store it’s also a good time to check our or stock up on other great Poise Products like the Poise Impressa Bladder Supports. These awesome packs are available in sizing kits which include Size 1, Size 2, and Size 3 supports, and are also affordably priced at only $7.99 per kit!

I say all that to say this, folks. Poise Thin-Shape Moderate Absorbency Pads are my best-kept secret for bladder control as well as my first line of defense during summer activities. I encourage you all to stop by your local Rite Aid Pharmacy and stock-up on the Poise Thin-Shape Moderate Absorbency Pads before your next summer activities. Because when you are able to stay active is good not only for the body but for the mind as well.  With Poise I am back to not only enjoying the great outdoors this summer but four-mile jogs by the lake, too! 

Here’s to summer,

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyCareGivingStory #Ad

When we’re busy growing up, we forget our loved one’s are also growing older. While we are finding our way in the world, they may find themselves trying to adapt to new and more difficult situations in life such as mobility, safety, and incontinence. 

Difficulties with using the toilet, including accidents and incontinence, can be troublesome for the elderly. This is especially true for people living with dementia, particularly as the condition progresses. These problems can be upsetting for both the person coping with embarrassing health ailments, and for loved one’s caretakers assisting them daily in these situations. 

At the age of twenty-five, I became caretaker to my grandmother due to her early onset, stroke-induced dementia. This was a very difficult period in my life. And despite settling into our new normal as caregiver and care receiver, one issue we struggled with in our care giving journey, bathroom incontinence. 

Consider a typical morning for us: My grandmother, an avid television binge watcher, would laugh at a humorous television program, have a little incontinence leak, begin walking to her bathroom, and then cry because she soiled her clothing in transit. She felt very sad, helpless, and embarrassing in those moments. In the early days I would feel resentful she didn’t let me know when she needed help.  My grandmother would not understand my reaction. It was an unending drama in my home my first year of care taking. 

I soon came to realize that someone living with dementia is more likely to have accidents simply because they may not being able to react quickly enough to the sensation of needing to use the toilet, to be able to get to the toilet in time, or not wanting to let others help with issues of bladder leakage due to embarrassment. 

It was through this knowledge that I was able to equip myself with the patience and understanding it required to help my grandmother with her incontinence issues. And after lots of time and patience on my part, as a caretaker, we were able to work together to create a plan of action that best suited my grandmother’s incontinence needs. We were able to turn embarrassing, exhausting moments into lessons in time management, preparedness, and compassion.

So, here are my best tips to help caretakers aid elderly loved one’s deal with incontinence. 

Keeping the urinary tract healthy is a good first step to preventing toilet problems and incontinence; loved one’s with overactive bladder symptoms should replace drinks that irritate the bladder, such as tea, coffee, cola, with water, herbal teas, and fruit drinks. As caretakers we must make sure our loved one’s drink six to eight glasses of fluids each day, being mindful that cutting down fluids for long periods of time, such as at night, can cause urinary tract infections and constipation. We must also help to keep our loved one’s as mobile as they can. Walking every day helps with getting loved one’s quickly prepared for quick trips to the bathroom. 

Giving regular reminders to loved one’s about using the can greatly help prevent accidents. For someone with urinary incontinence, the caregiver should ask loved one’s every 2-4 hours whether the person needs the toilet in a calm, positive manner. Prompting needs to be done sensitively. Avoid patronizing. This can help reduce the number of accidents.

Watch for signs that loved one’s need to go to the toilet, even if they cannot communicate this directly. Signs may include fidgeting, pacing, standing up and down, or pulling at their clothes.

Incontinence can lead to skin irritation and discomfort for loved ones. After an accident, it is important for caretakers to act quickly to make sure loved one’s feels comfortable again by making sure they wash afterwards with mild soap and warm water, laundering soiled clothing as soon as possible, and being aware of any irritating rashes that come about.

When dealing with a loved one’s incontinence issues as a caretaker, your best tool is to create an environment of success for your loved one. For us this meant creating a bathroom that promoted proper hygiene and health. A few ways we did this were by:

1) Dedicating an entire bathroom for my grandmother’s use only. This allowed her privacy, dignity, and autonomy over her own bathroom space. 

2) We cultivated a calm, neutral space. We painted the walls white and used breathable natural linens to ensure the bathroom would be a quiet, serene space. 

3) We created a Daily Bathroom Usage Station. We placed a visible, easy-to-access basket containing the hygiene products I could anticipate as her caretaker she would need for each visit to the bathroom.  Her basket was placed on top of her bathroom toilet, which gave her all the tools for success she needed to have successful bathroom visits at home each and every time. 

In her basket we included:

• Poise® Maximum Absorbency Pads (for daily wear)
• Depend® Fit-Flex® Underwear (for overnight support)
• No-Rinse 2-in-1 Shampoo and Body Wash
• Hand Sanitizer
• Bamboo wash cloths
• Pack of wipes
• Aloe Vera Plant (located next to basket for rash first aid treatments)

We also included a clipboard mounted above the toilet with My Daily Bathroom Visit Sheet. The sheet listed just little reminders so my grandmother was able to be gently reminded of how she needed to best safeguard her own health while using the bathroom, and maintained more of her dignity and autonomy in the process, too! Next to her reminders sheet, we keep a second clip board of paper and a pen to joy down any notes we need to mention on her next follow-up visit to the doctor, dealing with urinary or bladder symptoms. 

I’ve included a copy of my print out for those who could use it as well. Just right click to save. 

Now, of all the products we stocked in her Daily Bathroom Usage Station, we could come to consider the Poise® Liners to be one of our ultimate tools in care giving success. These awesome pads, which can be worn both day and night, help to draw fluids away from the skin, helping to keep my grandmother comfortable without chafing or leaking.

Another bonus? Should my grandmother have needed extra time in getting to the bathroom, Poise® Liners provided her with the extra absorbency needed to give you the confidence and protection for your Light Bladder Leakage to and from bathroom visits. And Poise® Liners come with absorb-loc® core technology, which quickly locks away wetness and odor, with leak-block sides that provide worry-free protection leaving your loved one happy, health, and secure. As any caretaker will tell you, sometimes the confidence in knowing you have just one extra minute in getting a loved one to the bathroom, can make all the difference in the world! This extra protection was a lifesaver for us both! 

I cannot tell you how much of a lifesaver it was to equip my grandmother with Poise® Liners because they helped her to maintain her dignity, and it made my job as a caretaker much easier during our first few seasons of  establishing my grandmother’s healthy bathroom habits schedule. 

While my grandmother always preferred the Poise® Maximum Absorbency Pads we also used the Depend® Fit-Flex® Underwear for Women for overnight needs, so we always made sure to keep them stocked-up at home! What was really nice is that not only did my grandmother love using her pads, she would often request them by name.

So, for me, it was super simple just to pick up a pack of Depend® Fit-Flex® Underwear and Poise® Liners when I was in-club at my local Sam’s Club, during my monthly shopping trips. And when she saw me bring in the big, purple box into the house, she always knew just who they were for!

And as a savvy saver, I appreciated being able to pick up my caregivers products like Depend® and Poise®, in club at Sam’s. Right by the pharmacy counter, I am also able to pick-up my other care giving demands like wipes, santizer, and No-Rinse products at affordable pricing, making Sam’s Club my one-stop destination for all of my care giving needs.  

Also, our local Sam’s Club has a pharmacy, an optical center, hearing aid center plus offer free health screenings every month.  So, when someone in our family, including my grandmother, needed any of these services Sam’s was always our first stop! Being a member of Sam’s Club saves me not only money, but time. Valuable time that could be given back to my family and care giving responsibilities.

Now, what really neat is that currently at Sam’s club, when you scan the new  and scan the new boxes of Depend® and Poise® products, you can access the Sam’s Club Family Caregiving website.  This site gives you tips and ideas for items that caregivers need on daily basis.  

Also, when in-club purchasing Depends and Poise products remember:

• If you download the Digimarc Discovery app, you can scan anywhere on the packaging, and it will take you to the Sam’s club Caregiver website.
• When you open your depend packaging, there will have a sticker inside, that you can use to redeem at your local Sam’s Club pharmacy for an awesome caregiver sample kit!

So, savvy savers? Do you know someone who could use a Daily Bathroom Usage Station?  Then I encourage you to be sure and check out Sam’s Club Caregiving website for more ideas.

Here’s to caring,