CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--It’s a common experience, yet many women avoid talking about it: bladder leaks. Having a sensitive bladder is a fact of life for more than 40 million American women of all ages who experience bladder leaks when they’re dancing, laughing, exercising or just going about their daily lives2. A sensitive bladder affects one in every three women ages 18 to 75. In women over 40, it affects more than 40 percent3. After extensive research and state-of-the-art consumer testing with thousands of women, Procter & Gamble’s Always brand, the global leader in feminine care that’s protected women for over 30 years, has launched new Always Discreet, specifically designed to revolutionize the way women manage their sensitive bladders.
New Always Discreet’s liners, pads and underwear are designed to offer incredible comfort, protection and discretion, in a flattering feminine design, that absorbs leaks and odors in seconds. Always Discreet pads are up to 40 percent thinner than the leading brand and absorb twice as much fluid as women may need, based on the average consumer usage of incontinence products. The curve-hugging, disposable Always Discreet underwear is easy to wear and discreet, with the extra protection of Dual LeakGuard barriers™ to help stop leaks where they are most likely to occur.
Actress and author Marilu Henner has partnered with Always Discreet to encourage women to talk about their sensitive bladders, because women who experience bladder leaks have nothing to be ashamed of.
“I’m a girl who’s not afraid to talk about anything,” said Henner. “So when I heard that 33 percent of women have a sensitive bladder and that it keeps many of them from doing what they love, like exercising, traveling, or even having sex, I wanted to get this topic out in the open. Women shouldn’t feel self-conscious, isolated or alone. They should be open about it with their doctors, family and friends, and not let it hold them back. With the right protection and support, managing leaks can absolutely be no big deal.”
Consumer research shows that managing bladder leaks can have a major impact on women’s personal relationships, physical activity, self-confidence and overall outlook. In fact, 30 percent of women say their sensitive bladder impacts their relationship with their partner, and one in four admits it influences their sex life, according to an Always Discreet global survey recently published in the British Journal of Urology (BJUI) online4. Having a sensitive bladder also limits almost on in three women’s ability to visit their friends, and over a third of women say the threat of bladder leaks affects their ability to travel.
Women also say having a sensitive bladder affects their daily activities. Thirty percent of women are careful about how much liquid they drink, and 62 percent report their sensitive bladder impacts their sleep. Eight in 10 women with sensitive bladders experience a little leak when they cough or sneeze, and more than half (69 percent) worry they might smell.
Always has provided protection for changing feminine care needs for more than 30 years. With Always Discreet, the brand continues to support women in all phases of their lives with the extraordinary comfort and protection they’ve come to expect from Always.
“Always Discreet products have undergone extensive consumer testing and are specifically designed to provide the things that matter most to women with sensitive bladders, including odor neutralization protection and discretion,’’ says Chandrika Kasturi, Always Discreet product research director. “Our advanced OdorLock™ technology traps odors instantly and for hours, and our innovative Advanced Core Technology absorbs fluids to the core and locks it away, offering incredible dryness protection.”
Always Discreet is on a mission to let women know that having a sensitive bladder can feel like no big deal and to encourage an open dialogue. On the new Always Discreet website, women can learn more about sensitive bladder issues and how to manage them comfortably and confidently. The branded site offers tips, facts, and articles written by experts on fitness, health and aging topics. For women who aren’t quite ready to talk openly, it features an anonymous forum for women to ask experts questions and connect with other women. It also offers a selector tool to help women choose the Always Discreet product that best suits their needs and lifestyles.
New Always Discreet liners, pads and underwear are available now in all major supermarkets, pharmacies and mass retail locations. For additional information about Always Discreet products or to learn more about managing a sensitive bladder, please visit AlwaysDiscreet.com.
About the Always Discreet Survey
Always has a rich heritage of supporting women through their life stages and has now developed Always Discreet, a range of incontinence liners, pads and pants designed to light to heavy degrees of bladder sensitivity. Always worked with an independent Steering Committee made of leading incontinence experts and a health psychologist to develop a validated in-depth questionnaire of women with urinary incontinence across France, Germany, the US and UK. The survey of 1200 women (aged 45-60) delved into the lives of women with the aim of uncovering the burden of urinary incontinence (UI) on women’s quality-of-life, their body- and self-image and behaviour. They survey was published in BJUI online on June 24, 2014.
About Always
Always®, the world's leader in feminine protection, offers a wide range of feminine pads, wipes and pantiliners designed to fit different body types, period flows and preferences and offers puberty and period advice for teens through BeingGirl.com. The Always line of products includes Always Infinity™, Always Ultra Thins, Always Maxis, Always Pantiliners and Always Feminine Wipes. Always now offers a full line of incontinence products - new Always Discreet for sensitive bladders. Please visit Always.com or AlwaysDiscreet.com for more information.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves nearly 5 billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Duracell®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, Wella® and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.
1 Fem Care AI analysis – “Nielsen Homescan Panel ending March 2012 looking at Fem Care purchases in HH 50+ that have no teenagers at home.”
2 2013 Habits & Practice Study
3 2013 Habits & Practice Study
4 Data has been extracted from the “The Impact of Urinary Incontinence on Quality of Life: Results from a survey in France, Germany, the UK and the USA,” published in BJUI online on June 24, 2014. This data was calculated using a Quality of Life validation tool; for a full representation of the validated data, please refer to the BJUI article http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bju.12852/abstract.
