When you need to wear diapers for bedwetting or incontinence reasons, it may come as a shock to you that many adults actually wear diapers for a variety of other reasons. One common reason, in particular, is for feminine issues.
There are many women out there who use adult diapers for their menstrual cycles due to having such a heavy flow that regular feminine pads aren’t absorbent enough. Even a disposable baby diaper can be used as a pad if you find yourself in a pinch and that’s all you have access to.
I’ve actually learned about how common this was from the multitude of comments about it on my Tiktok account. The good news is that not only is it a really normal practice for many women to do this but there are also a lot of quality absorbent products to choose from these days.
What Diapers Can You Wear For Your Period?
Adult diapers are designed to absorb a substantial amount of fluid and are made to be worn all day. As someone who is incontinent and uses adult diapers for urine, I can say with confidence that a quality diaper will last anywhere from 6 to 8 hours for the absorption of urine.
That said, the flow of blood out of the body is far different than the flow of urine. So the frequency of how often you would need to change may be slightly different depending on your body, your flow, and the products you choose to use.
To get a better handle on what products could potentially be used for these types of situations I made a video asking my female friends in my Tiktok audience to weigh in. Check out the video and what they said in the comments here!
It turns out that they use a mix of products.
Many use baby diapers like pad inserts because they’re cheaper and for a lot of women they just happen to be handy. Not to mention they are more absorbent than a normal pad.
This table is comprised of all of the products that the women in my Tiktok audience use as well as the products that I am familiar with for incontinence.
All of the above products are the pull-up type of protection for ease of use during the daytime. Allowing you access to the bathroom as needed.
I’ve been told that even the off brand pull ups you can find at the dollar general will work if you’re on a tight budget.
If you find any of the above options still are not absorbent enough for you the following options are all the tape up kinds of adult diapers you can look at trying.
These would be great especially for nighttime use when leaks are more likely to occur due to the tossing and turning of sleep. (Read this to figure out if YOU should be wearing diapers to bed.) They likely would also be the better products to go with if you need some quality protection after giving birth.
These are all diapers that I would use and so they would also be great for anyone who also has moderate to heavy incontinence issues too.
| Confidry 24/7 | Northshore Megamax |
| Better Dry | Molicare Slip |
| Abena Abri Form | Northshore Supreme Briefs |
| Tranquility ATN | XP5000 |
All of the products featured above are not only the tape up kind of diapers but also plastic backed. They vary in levels of absorbency but I have confidence that more than one of these would offer great protection for you and what you need.
Whether you need them to make it through the night or you need them during the daytime because nothing else will work, one of the above mentioned products is bound to do the trick for you.
I grouped them specifically for the plastic backed brands because the plastic backed material does a better job at keeping any potential smells contained.
So if that is something that is a concern or issue selecting from these products would be a better way to go.
If you would prefer a cloth backed product instead many of the brands above also offer cloth backed versions of their diapers.
Most adult diaper companies would be willing to send you a few free samples as well so you can try them out before you buy a bag or case.
There are far more diapers out there than these as well. There are even a bunch of diapers with cute prints if you decide you want something a bit more fun to wear.
Those particular diapers are designed for a niche market that we will cover in other places on this site but I find my female friends think the designs are cute.
What Can I Use Instead of Pads For My Period?
Life gets busy for all of us from time to time. One thing leads to the next and it can be easy for some important things to slip our minds.
Especially if you’re a new mother with an infant to take care of. So if you ever find yourself in a situation where your period has started but you don’t have any pads handy, you may be surprised to find out that you can use an actual baby diaper as a potential substitute.
As a general rule, all diapers are designed to absorb fluid. So pretty much any baby diaper could be used as a potential pad you insert into your underwear. If you’re in a pinch and all you have handy is a baby diaper it will do the trick.
I find that this is how quite a few women have discovered that they actually like this approach better than regular pads. They say it’s far more comfortable than the regular pads they used to wear while also being more absorbent.
You never know, you may find that you feel the same way once you give it a try.
How Often Should You Change?
If you’re choosing to use some type of diaper for your period you may be wondering how often you should change it for a fresh one?
The answer to this question will vary heavily from person to person and may require some experimenting on your part to figure out what works best for you. It of course will also depend heavily on the products that you choose to use.
On average, the answers that I sourced from my audience ranged anywhere from every 4 hours to just 2 or 3 times a day. A good place to start is anywhere from every 4 to 8 hours then adjust from there as needed.
I would expect the baby diapers would absorb less than the pull up kinds of products above. Beyond that, the tape up diapers definitely will absorb more and last longer than the pull up kind of diapers.
Another great option is to use a regular pad inside something like the Always Discreet underwear. This way you can swap the pad out during the day while still having the extra protection you need in case you bleed through the pad before you can change it.
By taking this approach you can avoid having to change out of the disposable underwear in the middle of your day while just changing out the pads as needed. Heck, you could even use the baby diapers like this too.
All you have to do is figure out which approach you think you might want to take and give it a shot. You never know, it may end up being the best thing for you.
For those that need help figuring out how often they should change their diaper when using them for incontinence issues check out this page next!