When wearing absorbent articles, such as diapers and incontinence protectors, it is important to prevent, as much as possible, urine from spreading backwards in the article so as to come into contact with the anus and the skin surrounding it. It is even more important to prevent urine from being mixed with faeces in the rear portion of the article and then coming into contact with the sensitive area around the anus.
AU-B-45 217/85 describes a diaper with a collection pouch for collecting urine and keeping the urine separate from the body of the wearer. The diaper comprises an inner layer of hydrophobic, essentially liquid impermeable material. This layer is provided with an oblong opening at the front portion of the crotch area. On either side of the opening, elastic elements are mounted which, during use, keep the inner layer against the body of the user. An absorbent body is bent laterally under the influence of the elastic elements and is spaced from the inner layer. Thus, a channel is formed for collecting urine and faeces, which are thereafter spread over the absorbent body beneath the liquid impermeable inner layer and are kept separate from the skin.
GB-A-2 159 693 discloses a diaper which is provided with collecting pockets at the end edges or at least at one end edge, for example the rear portion. The collecting pocket is formed by layers of liquid permeable material covering a portion of the diaper and being fixed thereto along a waist edge and a portion of the lateral edges. On the layer edge facing the crotch area, i.e. along the opening of the pocket, there is applied an elastic element transversely, which strives to pull the layer together laterally and create a small gap between the layer and an absorbent body. These collecting pockets are intended to prevent leakage of primarily faeces.
Furthermore, EP-A-0 357 298 and EP-A-0 359 410 describe absorbent articles where solid excrements are removed from the skin of the user with the aid of collecting pockets. The inner layer of the article is liquid permeable and has a small opening, through which solid excrement is conducted to an absorbent body. The intention is in this case that the opening should be small and correctly placed. An arrangement of elastic means can be disposed on the inner layer in order to adjust the position of the opening and thus minimize its size.
None of these previously known absorbent articles is, however, constructed to effectively prevent urine, especially in a rapid heavy emission by a wearer lying on his back, from reaching the faeces receiving area of the article and thus coming into contact with the area surrounding the anus of the wearer. This problem is particularly pertinent to incontinence protectors which are to be worn for a relatively long period, for example over a night, by a patient lying in bed.