Adults who prefer wearing diapers

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

What do you think of a young adult male patient who appears to be wearing diapers by preference? You have no idea about it until he uses his call light to let you know he had an "accident " in his diaper and needs help changing it. He has an erection during this process. Two hours later he does the same, only he has both urinated and and defecated. Another erection...

He has a passive, infantile personality, if you can believe that! :sour:

OK, so assuming he has no mobility issues and appears to have no medical reason to wear a diaper, just wondering if you ask him why he's wearing said diaper?

Maybe he gets cold down there and the only way to warm up is body fluids? :p

1 Votes

I found out about this by some rabbit trail on the interwebs years ago.

Wish I could take that back.

What would I do in the ED? Unhook whatever needed to be unhooked to facilitate his ambulation to the bathroom. Make sure it is stocked with wipes. "Here's the emergency cord. I'll stop in and check in with you when you get back to your room."

If his medical condition is such that this isn't appropriate, I would assist him with commode or with position changes while he wipes and cleans himself. He can put his own diaper back on if he wants to.

Document professionally and factually. This is where little tidbits like, "Ambulated to bathroom with brisk gait" come in handy.

3 Votes

Yeah I'm an Er Nurse also. This fall under the category of "ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW!!!". He gets sent home to stink or not to stink his choice

1 Votes

I had trouble even reading this. I'd find a big, burly man to send to his room every time he called. Sorry guys!

2 Votes
Specializes in ER.

The guy was not a frequent flyer and had another medical problem requiring him to be admitted. He came in with his mother, with whom he lives, and who did all the talking while she was there.

I had noticed a urinal had been used. It was only after she left that he ambushed me with a request to assist in changing the wet diaper he had arrived wearing, much to my surprise. I quickly helped, but was certainly surprised, he was early 30s. He claimed it was because of back problems, which was no where else in his medical history. He said he had no trouble walking. The erection made me suspicious, but it was too busy for me to dwell on this, and I was hoping to get him upstairs shortly. I charted regarding what happened.

A delay in getting a room and there was a second request for this personal care. This time I brought a tech to assist, and the same scenario, but add in a BM. I charted again and warned accepting RN.

1 Votes

That's OK Sour!! I'd go & he'd hate it. He would get a new diaper and some wipes. Is he's AOX3 and physically capable he can & should clean up his own mess

1 Votes
Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
Sour Lemon said:
I had trouble even reading this. I'd find a big, burly man to send to his room every time he called. Sorry guys!

Mr. Ruby Jane is also a nurse and he would have no problem at all with this request from a coworker.

No trouble walking you say??

1 Votes
Emergent said:
The erection made me suspicious.

Yes... The old suspicious erection. Nothing more suspicious than that!

I can hardly type that out I'm laughing so hard!

1 Votes
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

It's a fetish. Don't participate beyond showing him where the bathroom is, giving him the supplies and asking him to clean himself up.

Show no emotion/reaction. It's his thing, not yours.

Report this to caregivers who will be involved in his care---e.g. if he's admitted ----so they are not shocked or unwittingly participating in his fetish.

I had a lady once when I was a GYN surgical nurse who deliberately would begin to masturbate when we entered. I told her she was welcome to do what worked for her, but to let staff know to place a "privacy requested" sign on her door.

I showed her no emotion/gave it no attention. Soon she was not doing that anymore. I can't tell people not to indulge their fetishes, but I refuse to be a willing participant in them also.

2 Votes

Yes- this is a thing- for some people its a comfort measure, to other people its a fetish. There are varying degrees of age regression that can go with this too. As others have said- if the person is capable of taking care of themselves then this is a self care activity. If it is sexual then the patient is crossing a line when it comes to consent by forcing people to participate.

1 Votes
Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.
Emergent said:
The guy was not a frequent flyer and had another medical problem requiring him to be admitted. He came in with his mother, with whom he lives, and who did all the talking while she was there.

I had noticed a urinal had been used. It was only after she left that he ambushed me with a request to assist in changing the wet diaper he had arrived wearing, much to my surprise. I quickly helped, but was certainly surprised, he was early 30s. He claimed it was because of back problems, which was no where else in his medical history. He said he had no trouble walking. The erection made me suspicious, but it was too busy for me to dwell on this, and I was hoping to get him upstairs shortly. I charted regarding what happened.

A delay in getting a room and there was a second request for this personal care. This time I brought a tech to assist, and the same scenario, but add in a BM. I charted again and warned accepting RN.

"My little precious baby" syndrome (kind of Munhauzen by proxy) possibly combined with mild developmental delay.

I was specifically warned about this condition during my long journey as nano-premee mom. It happens with mothers who gave birth to weak, frequently premature, babies, and they kind of feel attached to their babyhood and unable to let the child to grow up. In extreme cases, they treat adults as babies, isolate them, nurse, swaddle, use diapers, etc. In combination with mild developmental delays/other developmental pathology, results can be truly spectacular.

Fetishists are more frequently independent and live their own lives. And they arose because of diapers, not because of random females changing them.

SW consult (although in reality it can do only so much unless circumstances are really bad). And prayer toward the poor soul RN who is going to take this patient with THIS mother.

1 Votes
Specializes in NICU.

Nurse Bruno: "Are you sure you can't go to the bathroom on your own?"

Patient: "No, I need to have one of the female nurses change my diaper each time."

Nurse Bruno: "How about I just insert this 22f catheter in you so you don't need to bother your nurse?"

Patient: "On second thought, I can walk to the bathroom myself."

4 Votes
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