Urologist Jessica Lubahn helps patients with their bladder problems every day. But it wasn’t until members of her family began struggling with incontinence that she realized just how much of an impact it can have on people’s lives.
“They told me this is the only thing in their life that's ever made them truly depressed, and it wasn't the amount of leakage that caused the problem, they're just afraid they smell and they don't want to be stigmatized,” Lubahn said.
Then in 2014 when she had her first child, Lubahn immediately began to worry about her newfound bladder issues. Instead of celebrating and focusing on the new life she had created, she said she was left crying and embarrassed by her lack of bladder control.
That is when she got the idea for ONDRwear — absorbent and waterproof underwear for people struggling with their pee. It can work as either a stand in or as additional protection for people who take medicine for incontinence.
“For women, they come to me all the time and some of them want meds, surgery, all these intrusive treatments, pills or all these things that have side effects. And sometimes it's not that bad, but they'd rather take a pill for side effects than have to tolerate the embarrassment,” Lubahn said.
At first Lubahn was hesitant to build a new product when things like underwear with built-in pads for periods already existed. Nonetheless she ordered dozens of different products and found that because they were made for period blood, which is thicker than urine, they weren’t ideal for what she was looking for.
ONDRwear works differently, she said, in that it not only absorbs liquid, but the outside material is waterproof so that nothing gets out. It is built to have a higher hemline to ensure more coverage and with four layers. These layers allow the underwear to be breathable and stretchy, absorb up to 9 teaspoons and stay leak-proof, all in one product.
Lubahn’s underwear, she said, not only is an alternative to incontinence treatment, but it actively helps fight the stigma in men and women associated with bladder problems.
“I think it'd be very empowering if the conversation around incontinence in men and women were similar to what we can have now with periods. Now people can talk about it,” Lubahn said.
Though ONDRwear launched in February 2020, the pandemic slowed down product shipping and delayed growth. Since the end of 2021 though, Lubahn said she is seeing quarter-over-quarter growth of 10% to 20%.
Looking forward, Lubahn hopes to expand ONDRwear’s styles, use materials that are more sustainable and expand the colors and patterns her underwear comes in. The goal is to have a style for everyone to wear without feeling gross or frumpy, she said.
“People will just wear it if they're going to go to a birthday party, or something where they're like ‘Just one more layer of protection,’” Lubahn said. “(Their issues) maybe are not necessarily bad enough where they would see someone like me about it, but they still want protection.”
