A swim diaper or swim nappy is a

diaper A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American and Canadian English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or cont ...

that is made for those who have

fecal incontinence Fecal incontinence (FI), or in some forms encopresis, is a lack of control over defecation, leading to involuntary loss of bowel contents, both liquid stool elements and mucus, or solid feces. When this loss includes flatus (gas), it is referre ...

(usually

babies An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

or toddlers), which is worn underneath a

bathing suit A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, wom ...

, or as a bathing suit. Swim diapers can be reusable and

disposable A disposable (also called disposable product) is a product designed for a single use after which it is recycled or is disposed as solid waste. The term is also sometimes used for products that may last several months (e.g. disposable air filte ...

. They are not intended to be absorbent, but only to contain solid waste (

feces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a rela ...

); the lack of absorbency prevents the swim diaper from swelling with water.

Types

Often reusable swim diapers are lined with a fiber which encourages the solid waste to cling to the fiber without an absorbency layer. A snug fit in the legs and waist are key to function. Brands such as Splash About and The Honest Co. use tightly knit

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natura ...

neoprene Neoprene (also polychloroprene) is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene.Werner Obrecht, Jean-Pierre Lambert, Michael Happ, Christiane Oppenheimer-Stix, John Dunn and Ralf Krüger "Rubber, 4. Emulsion R ...

as their material. One disadvantage of a reusable swim diaper is that they must be washed to be reused. On the other hand, a disposable swim diaper is only partially

biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegrada ...

and repeated purchases may cost more than reuse. A popular brand of disposable swim diapers is Little Swimmers, marketed under the

Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand ...

Huggies Huggies is an American company that sells disposable diapers and baby wipes that is marketed by Kimberly-Clark. Huggies were first test marketed in 1968, then introduced to the public in 1978 to replace the Kimbies brand. Products Huggies ...

brand.

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

produces the rival brand

Pampers Pampers is a brand of baby and toddler products marketed by Procter & Gamble. History In 1961, P&G researcher Victor Mills disliked changing the cloth diapers of his newborn grandchild. He assigned fellow researchers in P&G's Exploratory Divi ...

Splashers. Both are sold in three sizes: small (16–26 lb or 7–12 kg), medium (24–34 lb or 11–15 kg) and large (over 32 lb or 14 kg+). Due to their design for swimwear, they are not as absorbent and not intended for regular diapering. Splash About offer the 'Happy Nappy' reusable

swim nappy which can be washed and reworn.

Swim diapers at public pools

Some public pools require swim diapers for use by young children and the incontinent out of hygiene concerns. For the same reason, other pools do not allow swim diapers at all. Sick people who are incontinent, including babies and children, who do not wear swim diapers may transmit E. coli from their fecal matter. When not used properly, or when using inferior products, health experts caution that swim diapers may not protect pool water against communicable diseases, such as

norovirus Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may also occur. Symptoms usually devel ...

References

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