Before You Buy Incontinence Supplies in Bulk, Check Her Size, the Return Rule, and Where the Cases Go | Caring for My Wife

The bulk order looks like the easy part of the week. You are tired, the box looks like a good deal, and you want the closet full. Before you pay, check four things, because a wrong size or a sealed return rule can leave you with cases you cannot use.

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Check her size first

Measure her, not the last box. Use a soft tape around the widest part of her hips and around her waist, with her in the position she usually sits or lies in. Write both numbers on the day sheet next to the supply line. Then compare them to the size chart printed on the package, not the size you think she wears. If there is no chart, ask the seller to send one before you order.

Ask her clinician or the supply seller which product type fits her transfers and how much she moves in bed. The right type for someone who walks with help is not always the right type for someone who is mostly in bed.

Get the return rule in writing

Opened or partly used packs often cannot go back. Ask before you pay: Can an opened pack be returned? How many days do I have? Who pays the shipping on a return? Get the answer in an email or on the order page, not from memory of a phone call.

If the seller offers a small starter pack, take it. One week on the day sheet tells you more than any size chart.

Check where the cases will sit

A bulk order arrives as heavy cases. Find the shelf before the delivery. It should be at a height you can reach without a step stool, close to the room where you change her, and out of the path you use at 2 a.m. If the cases must go in the hall or the garage, decide who carries them up and when.

Check the used-product route too. Know where used items go, what bag or bin they need, and when the bin goes out. A bin that is still full at 2 a.m. becomes the first job of the next morning.

Questions to ask before you pay

Ask these in this order: Is this the same product type she used in the hospital or with her clinician? Which size chart applies to this exact pack? Can I return an opened pack, and by when? Who answers if the fit is wrong? Can you deliver to the same door at the same time each month?

The first week

Put one line on the day sheet at 6 a.m. and one at 6 p.m. Note the size in use, any fit problem, and any change in her skin or comfort. Keep the box and the receipt until the first full week is over. If the fit is off, you still have the return window and the proof you need.