Vlesia.info

Vlesia AG
Newsletter –
Issue 4
April 2004
Dear friends and partners,
products, incontinence management should
hygiene products for the management of
remain affordable.
incontinence have their own particular mar-
This might sound a little pretentious, given
keting problem – as we all know only too well
our (as yet) minor market significance. Nev-
from our day-to-day practice. Because of the
ertheless, we are already able to offer you a
strong association between ageing and incon-
full range of top-quality incontinence products
tinence (more about this inside), together with
at acceptable prices, allowing you in turn to
the relentless ageing of the populations in the
respond to the trend, and you can rest assured
industrialised nations of the West, this market
that we will continue to do everything we can
Thilo Eckermann
is without doubt a growing one. However, it is
to help to make this strategy a marketing suc-
Marketing & Sales
equally certain that it will become increas-
Manager of Vlesia AG
ingly difficult for the national health systems to
pay the management costs. The procurement
Yours sincerely,
of greater and greater co-payments on the part
of the patients affected will be inevitable.
We are trying to address this trend, which
is already making itself clearly felt in some
ways, with our product range and pricing pol-
icy – in keeping with the motto: with Vlesia’s
First meeting of distributors from 17th to 19th May 2004
with an interesting agenda
Our primary marketing strategy, then, is to supply incontinence products that will stand up to future marketing problems. We intend to show you the details of how we will do this at the meeting.
It will start on Tuesday 18th May at 9.15 a.m. on the subject of “Technical improvements on incontinence products”. The current situation as well as the trends in product development will be presented. The medium-term marketing strategies will then be discussed. On Wednesday 19th May, CMC Center for As already announced, the meeting will be held at
Marketing and Communication will explain the Vlesia Marketing Information the idyllically situated Hotel Rebstock, so even the
System (MIS), with which many of our customers are already working. Finally, pleasant social aspects of a meeting will receive
our logistics and transport partner Kentner will deal with the subject of “Aspects their fair share of attention.
of warehousing and delivering incontinence products around the world”. New drug therapy for stress incontinence in sight?
Globally, urinary incontinence predominantly affects women. Most of them suffer from stress incontinence, which in many cases is due to a weak sphincter, caused by a pelvic floor musculature that has become slack or has been damaged You can always
during childbirth. The treatment options available include both conservative and contact us
surgical methods. As far as conservative methods are concerned, there are pelvic by phone on
floor exercises, which achieve good success rates if the exercises are practised +41-71 846 63 63
systematically, while surgery aims to improve the anatomical situation in the or by fax on
urogenital region by means of surgical support procedures. So far, drug therapy +41-71 846 63 64
Ordering department
has been confined to hormone preparations intended to balance the hormone Fortuna Dörig
deficiency often associated with stress incontinence. Promising data from clinical trials that have adopted a neurobiological For the sake of the many women who suffer from
+41-71 846 64 34
treatment approach are now giving every reason to hope that an effective drug urinary incontinence, it would be desirable if the
Product manager
therapy is in sight. There is a new active agent (duloxetine) that influences the new active agent also constituted a medical therapy
Stephan Thürlimann
option for stress incontinence.
sphincter in the urethra by means of neurotransmitter regulation. This could +41-71 846 63 12
allow the persons affected to experience fewer episodes of incontinence and therefore benefit from a better quality of life. [email protected]
Vicious circle: incontinence & age
Incontinence is one of the most common diseases of old age
Although incontinence can occur at any age, it is strongly associated with ageing, for a wide
variety of reasons. First of all, there are the natural changes that come with ageing, and the
functional disturbances that they bring, then all the diseases of old age that have both a physi-
cal and a psychological effect on continence, and certain environmental factors which often do
anything except promote continence. But even though incontinence in old age is due to a mix-
ture of causes, it should not be regarded fundamentally as untreatable.
What makes urinary incontinence so linked to form and creates new problems. In women, the rea- old age? Basically, there are three problem areas, son for incomplete urination is often what is known which often coincide, making the risk of becoming as a hypoactive bladder, in which active urination is reduced. In men, constriction of the urethra by the benign growth of the prostate (benign prostatic hy- Natural age-related changes
pertrophy) is often to blame, leading to the clinical affect continence
syndrome of overflow incontinence, also known as At the heart of these are changes affecting the kidneys and urinary tract. With increasing age, the Furthermore, hormonal changes also play an im- rate at which the renal corpuscles perform their portant role. Many elderly men are troubled by pros- filtration function declines considerably. On average, tate growth, which seems to be caused by an age- the kidney of someone aged 60 is working only half related hormonal change. In women, an increasing as efficiently as in someone aged 30.
oestrogen deficiency after the menopause may – but The 24-hour rhythm of urine production also does not necessarily – create problems that cause changes. Whereas young people produce most of the urogenital tissue to lose elasticity. A general their urine during the day, and relatively little at weakening of the pelvic floor musculature also often night, elderly people often produce just as much goes hand in hand with a weakening of the sphincter urine – or even more - at night as during the day. The system, and this makes stress incontinence – which change in the rhythm of production is particularly is the form that occurs most frequently in women marked in confused or demented people.
A further problem is that the capacity of the uri- nary bladder decreases, and cortical regulation also Many of the diseases of old age
seems to be impaired. This is why elderly people cause incontinence
have to make more frequent trips to the toilet, and The diseases that occur more commonly in the feel a stronger urge to urinate, with a much shorter elderly, such as cardiovascular problems, locomotor system conditions, metabolic disorders or neuro- The ability to urinate completely is often im- logical and demential diseases, contribute to the paired in the elderly, which causes residual urine to development of incontinence in completely different ways. First, there are the diseases that interfere with a person’s physical mobility. Whether a person is continent or incontinent often depends on entirely practical aspects, such as what distance the person affected has to cover in order to reach a toilet, how quickly he or she can move, and how much manual dexterity he or she needs in order to be able to undo buttons or zips quickly enough.
By contrast, all the diseases that affect the neurological and cerebral structures have a direct impact on the complicated mechanism of urination. These include, for example, diabetes mellitus, Par-kinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and the various forms of dementia diseases. Also typical of these diseases is a gradual loss of physical mobility, which means that a large number of incontinence-promoting factors coincide here.
The environment often
Types of incontinence
Treatment options
Common types of in-
undermines continence
continence in the old
1) Stress incontinence: Predominantly Pelvic floor training to strengthen the pelvic floor There are so many practical situations that in- age, and their treat-
musculature, with or without electrostimulation ment options
terfere with the retention of continence or effective and biofeedback, caused by hormone replacement nursing care: badly situated toilets, difficulties relat- therapy, different surgical reconstruction and support ing to access, toilets not equipped for the disabled, procedures, intended to restore the urinary bladder clothing that is difficult for the person affected to and urethra to their correct anatomical positions.
open quickly enough, etc. And yet, in many cases, Drugs that attenuate the overactivity of the bladder, these continence-undermining situations could be bladder training to extend the length of time between remedied without great expenditure, in complete contrast to the multi-layered problems that arise in a Surgical removal of the obstruction, in most cases social setting. One of the most important of these is prostate resection, if necessary with urination through the fact that incontinence, despite all efforts at edu- cation, is still a taboo subject. There it is, with all its difficulties for the persons affected, their relatives and the nursing staff, and yet it is often not accepted as an illness or as the consequence of some other medical condition that can be diagnosed, treated, and improved in many ways.
The use of incontinence products – not a failure of nursing care
Today, the supplying of incontinent patients with But the treatment of bedridden incontinent absorbent incontinence products constitutes an people without the use of appropriate incontinence important part of the overall treatment, even if the products is also inconceivable nowadays. Besides persons affected and the nursing staff do not always absorbing excretions – bedridden people are often see it like this. They are a necessary accompaniment also affected by faecal incontinence –, protecting to the therapy in order to give the persons affected the skin is also a priority here, and high-quality the reassurance that, until they are free of symp- incontinence products are able to ensure this. To toms, there will be no embarrassing accidents. In prevent painful skin conditions, the sensitive skin cases where the incontinence has become untreat- of the elderly, which, if they are bedridden, is also able, absorbent products make living with inconti- exposed to continuous pressure, often has to be nence a great deal easier, and at least guarantee the protected for years from the aggressive degradation persons affected “social continence”. In practical terms, this means that they are able to feel secure The many important function of absorbent in- It is not difficult to find
for hours, and can pursue their usual social activities continence products also demonstrate why it is so the right product to
meet the needs of the
without worrying, something that plays a crucial part crucial to use not just any incontinence product, but person affected in the
in helping the elderly to retain their vital functions high-quality ones that can address the individual wide Vlesia range.
vlesi-slip
vlesi-form elast
vlesi-well
vlesi-pants
vlesi-net pants &
vlesi-bedsheets
Incontinence brief
Incontinence pads
Incontinence pads for
Incontinence pants
vlesi-mesh pants
Incontinence sheets
light bladder weakness
Highly elastic net pants
for effective bed protec-
for secure fixing
A classic with a new look
vlesi-bedsheets now with white foil
It is not so long ago that the only aid for ab-  The soft but durable non-woven surface is drawn sorbing excretions was incontinence underpads over the edges of the foil backing, making it made from cellulose, folded more or less skillfully. Now, with the development of what are known as  The underside, made from an impermeable, body-worn incontinence products such as briefs and non-slip foil, protects the bed and bedding and pads, a new era in the hygiene treatment of persons clothing from soiling. Wetness has nowhere to affected by incontinence has begun. However, there go, because the edges of the foil are sealed all is no doing without the classic incontinence bed- sheets. By providing reliable protection for the bed,  For cost-effective use, vlesi-bedsheets are avail- bedding and clothing, as well as guarding against able in a variety of designs and sizes.
or stretchers, it helps to improve hygiene conditions in many areas of medicine and nursing. Incontinence bedsheets make everyday nursing easier and help to reduce the volume of soiled laundry.
But here again, only a quality product can fulfi l these protective functions properly. A product like vlesi-bedsheets: The absorbent core is made from soft, highly absorbent cellulose fl ock, which absorbs wetness quickly and completely.
Special big campaign
for vlesi-bedsheets
From 1st April to 30th June 2004 inclu- .
sive, when you order 3 pallets (all one
sort), you will receive 1 additional pallet
of your choice as an introductory offer For even greater
discretion, vlesi-bedsheets
will be equipped with a white
rather than a colour foil from March
2004 onwards. All groups of numers,
such as code numbers, PZN (only
valid in Germany) or ACL, etc., will
stay the same.
All elements at a click
With the Vlesia MarketingInformationSystem (MIS), you can generate new advertising materials on the latest Vlesia products quickly and easily. All ele-ments, whether complete layouts, high-resolution images or texts in German and English, are available in print quality, and can be easily edited by you or your local agency using tools such as Adobe Indesign for editing the layout or Photoshop for editing the images. You also have the option of adapting the existing advertis-ing materials to suit your company style or of designing new advertising tools Vlesia AG
Blumenfeldstr. 16
On the occasion of the meeting of the distributors, a detailed demonstration 9403 Goldach
on this subject will take place on 19th May. We will be generating new communi- Switzerland
www.vlesia.info
cation tools “live” using the elements on the MIS. [email protected]

Source: http://www.vlesia.info/pdf/newsletter_104_EN.pdf