The present invention relates to a faecal management device for babies, children or adults to be attached to the perianal area of the wearer. More particularly it relates to an applicator for such a device, which can be used to place the device in the perianal area of a wearer.
Faecal management devices are known articles of manufacture that are designed to be worn principally by incontinence sufferers and in particular by bedridden patients. Such faecal management devices are attached to the perianal area of the wearer and are intended to entrap and immediately contain faecal material and other bodily discharges.
Such devices as they are mostly known today are constituted of a relatively long and narrow tube, at one extremity of which is positioned the aperture and the attachment device, which can be adhesive. Such bags are disclosed in, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,989.
A problem naturally associated with these devices is their attachment to the human body. The approach which is mostly used in the field is to provide the device with an adhesive flange, which will stick to the perianal area.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,522,807 and 3,734,096 disclose faecal receptacles having an adhesive flange surrounding the aperture in the device, for attachment to the body of the patient in nursing or medical applications; said flange contains a plurality of tabs extending outwardly from the aperture and said tabs are covered with adhesive in the same manner as the rest of the flange and thus are designed to serve as adhering aids, and must be covered by a release means before use of the receptacles.
In GB-A-2,116,849, it was attempted to provide an adhesive faecal incontinence device which, among other properties, was easier to put in place on the patient. The solution brought up by GB-A-2,116,849 is, however, quite complex, involving individually removable sections of the release layer covering the adhesive layer on the flange surrounding the aperture, said sections having to be removed in a predetermined sequence in order to ensure optimum adherence.
Besides and in connection with optimum adherence, the correct placement of the device is also a key issue in the field of faecal management devices. Total or substantial misplacement of the device will lead to a severe misfunctioning, in particular incomplete collection of faeces and leakage in leakage. If the aperture of the faecal management device is not sufficiently in registry with the anal opening, substantial pressure, in particular on the flanges of the device, can build up in the defecation process. Such substantial pressure can lead to the detachment of the adhesively secured device, obviously entailing the most unwanted consequences.
If the misplacement of the device is recognised before use, the placement of the device is normally corrected, typically by the carer. The necessary detachment and reattachment of the device causes an additional stress on the affected areas of skin of the wearer. Many wearers, who make use of faecal management devices have a sensitive skin due to their age, whether very old or very young, and furthermore sometimes also suffer from skin irritations. Proper placement of the device in the first place is therefore highly desirable.
The faecal management devices which are disclosed in the mentioned prior art are normally handled and placed onto the skin of the wearer by using the flange itself. Typically, one of the first necessary handling steps is the removal of the release paper from the adhesive surface of the flange. When then placing the device, the caretaker will normally touch the adhesive area of the flange with the fingers and leave finger marks. Such marks will reduce the adhesive force of the affected areas of the adhesive surface, if dirt is deposited from the fingers or if an adhesive is used, which tends to adhere less on second contact with a surface.
Furthermore, during application of the faecal management device to the wearer by holding the flange, pressure typically needs to be exercised upon the flange. However, as a result of such pressure the flange may suffer deformation, leading to a poorer performance of the device, in particular to a poorer adhesion, discomfort or possibly leaking of the device.
In Kokai Patent Application No. HEI8 (1996) 117 261, an external accessory is described to assist in the placement of the adhesive part of the disclosed diaper onto the wearer. Such a tool may help in the placement of such an incontinence product when compared to the placement without any aide. However, the successful use of such a tool will require training, in particular if the tool is not specifically designed for its purpose. A further problem with such a tool is that a caretaker, for example, when dealing with a bedridden patient, may have only one hand available for the application of the device.
Hence, there still exists a need for faecal management devices which can be easily and correctly positioned onto the desired area of the wearer by the caretaker or wearer themselves without causing discomfort to the wearer or damage to the device.
In attempting to overcome all the aforementioned problems relating to the prior art, it has now been found that a specifically designed applicator which can be utilised with adhesive faecal management devices greatly facilitates the correct placement of the device. Furthermore such an applicator maintains the bag of the device in a folded configuration prior to the use of the device and supports the hygienic and protective packaging of the device.
The present invention relates to a faecal management device (10) comprising a bag (11), said bag (11) having an aperture (21) and a flange (12) surrounding said aperture for adhesive attachment to perianal area of wearer. More particularly, the invention relates to an applicator (40) for the placement of such a device (10) to the perianal area of a wearer. Claimed and described is an applicator (40), comprising a handling portion (42); characterised in that said applicator (40) comprises at least two pressure points (42).