Diaper

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A baby wearing a disposable diaper.

A diaper, as it is known in North America, or nappy in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries, is an absorbent garment worn between an individual's legs to contain excretions. It is worn by individuals, most often infants, who have no or little control over their bladder and bowel movements. A diaper is used to contain the mess and remain dry and comfortable after the wearer has wet or soiled themselves. After this diapers must be changed, usually by another individual such as a parent.

Diapers can be made of both cloth and disposable materials. Cloth diapers consist of layers of fabric folded together that can be washed and reused, while disposable diapers contain absorbent chemicals and are disposed of after use. Disposable diapers are currently the most commonly used type of diaper.

Though diapers are primarily worn by children who have yet to be potty trained or suffer from bedwetting, adults who suffer from incontinence must wear the garment as well.

Usage

Diapers are often worn from a child's birth until the time that that child has been potty trained. Replacing a soiled diaper with a fresh one is known as changing a diaper. Diaper changes must be performed to prevent contracting skin irritation of the buttocks, genitalia, and waist, known as diaper rash. Most children outgrow diapers around the age of two to four, though some children are kept in diapers up to the age of five. While most children are potty trained in the day time by two to four years of age, some children continue to wear diapers at night until eight years or older. These children suffer from enuresis, commonly known as bedwetting. Because of this many disposable diaper manufacturers have increased the size of their products to accommodate older children. The increase in older children wearing diapers has also motivated diaper company's to produce absorbent disposable underwear designed to be worn at night by children, such as Huggies GoodNites.