MXPA01011370A - Diaper having reduced relative humidity - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a personal care product having a drying agent incorporated into it. The drying agent can reduce or control the relative humidity in the air enclosed by a personal care product significantly. Such a drying agent may be a desiccant or humectant or a combination of both. The drying agent may function using chemical or physical means and may be in fibrous, particulate or other form. The reduction of the relative humidity within a personal care product will reduce skin hydration which is believed to reduce redness and irritation due to contact with fluids.

Description

HONEY OF RELATIVE HUMIDITY REDUCED FIELD OF THE INVENTION "This invention relates to absorbent articles particularly absorbent structures that are useful and personal care products such as disposable diapers, incontinence guards, underpants for learning child care and the like. (L reference to" diapers " in the title is merely illustrative) More particularly, the invention relates to absorbent articles that reduce the hydration of the skin by reducing and / or controlling the relative humidity (RH) in the air within the enclosure of the article through the use of drying agents This removes water vapor from the area between the article and the skin and, as a result of this, helps the skin in its fight against the detrimental effect of body exudates and mechanical abrasion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Products for personal care or absorbent articles include diapers, underpants, incontinence devices and the like. These products are designed to absorb and contain exudate from the body and are usually disposable or single-use items which are discarded after a relatively short period of time, usually a period of hours, and which does not intend to be washed and be used again Such products are placed against or in proximity to the body of the carrier to absorb and contain various exudates discharged from the body. All these products typically include a cover or forr side to the liquid permeable body, a lower outer sheet impervious to liquid, and a absorbent structure placed between the side-to-body liner and the outer cover. The liquid impervious outer cover may have the ability to breathe, for example be permeable to water vapor, but typically it is not.

It has been found that urination can occur as high as 15 milliliters to 20 milliliters per second and at speeds as high as 280 centimeters per second. The volume of urine release per occurrence can vary from about a nominal amount around of 10 milliliters. It is important for the absorbent article to quickly take the liquid to avoid excessive liquid stagnation on the surface facing the body of the body liner in order to prevent runoff. Even if it is absorbed however, any liquid in the article contributes to the overall relative humidity of the skin of the user or carrier skin causing discomfort and potential foot health problems due to excessive skin hydration.

The problem of a high relative humidity near the skin in an absorbent article has been examined in the art through a number of means. U.S. Patent No. 5,137,525 for example, uses mechanical means to increase the flow of air in the article. The outer covers with breathing capability allow the diffusion of water vapor and air in and out of the cover of the absorbent article and have been previously mentioned. Despite these attempts, there is a need for a better additional in reducing the the hydration of the skin inside the absorbent articles. In particular, there is a need for drying agents that can remove water vapor from the air within the article near the skin. The present invention provides a reduced relative humidity and hydration of the skin within an absorbent article enclosure.

Synthesis of the Invention The personal care product that has a drying agent incorporated in it achieves the objects of this invention. The drying agent can reduce or control the relative humidity in the air within a personal care product in a significant manner. Such a drying agent is either a desiccant or a humectant or a combination of both, and can be processed in molten form so that it can be used in modern fiber-forming processes such as co-bonding and meltblowing. The drying agent can alternatively be placed in a bag and inserted below the liner into a personal care product. If it is in a particulate form, a drying agent can be attached to the fibers of a fabric such as the liner or the superabsorbent layer / pulp through the use of a binder adhesive.

The reduction or control of relative humidity within a personal care product presumably reduces the hydration of the skin which is believed to reduce redness and irritation due to contact with fluids.

Definitions "Disposable" includes being discarded after usually a single use and that which is not intended to be washed and reused.

"Hydrophilic" describes fibers or surfaces of the fibers which are wetted by the aqueous liquids and contact with the fibers. The degree of wetting of the materials can, in turn, be described in terms of the contact angles and the surface tensions of the liquids and the materials involved. The Cahn SFA-222 power analysis system or an essentially equivalent system can provide equipment and techniques suitable for measuring and wetting particular fiber materials. When measured with this system, fibers having contact angles of less than 90 ° are designated as "wettable" or hydrificial while fibers having equal contact angles greater than 90 ° are designated "non-wetting" or hydrophobic.

The "layer" when used in the singular may have the dual meaning of a single element or a plurality of elements.

"Liquid" means a non-gaseous substance and / or a material that flows and can assume the interior shape of a container into which it is poured or placed.

"Liquid Communication" means that liquid such as urine is able to move from one place to another place.

"Particles" refers to any geometric form such as but not limited to spherical grains, fiber or cylindrical threads, or the like.

"Spraying" and variations thereof include forced ejection of the liquid, either as a stream such as swirling filaments or atomized particles through orifice, nozzle or the like, by means of a pressure applied using air or another gas, by force of gravity or by centrifugal force. Spraying can be continuous or non-continuous.

"Relative humidity" refers to the ratio of the amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere to the amount that will saturate at the existing temperature. It is also the ratio of the water vapor pressure present to the pressure of saturated water vapor at the same temperature.

"Fibers bonded with yarn" refers to small diameter fiber which are formed by extruding the molten thermoplastic material as filaments from a plurality of usually circular and fine capillaries of spinning organ with the diameter of the filaments extruded then being rapidly reduced as by, for example, is indicated in U.S. Patent No. 4,340,563 to Appel et al., and in U.S. Patent No. 3,692,618 to Dorschne et al. United States of America No. 3,802,817 issued to Matsuki et al., In the patents of the United States of America Nos. 3,338,992 and 3,341,394 issued to Kinney, United States Patent No. 3,502,763 issued to Hartmann, and the United States patent. of America number 3,542,615 granted to Dobo and others. Fibers bonded with yarn are not generally sticky when they are deposited on a collection surface. The fibers bonded with yarn are generally continuous and have average diameters (from a sample of at least 10) larger than 7 microns, more particularly, between about 1 and 30 microns. The fibers can also have shapes such as those described in the United States patents Nos. 5,277,976 granted to Hogle and others, 5,466.41 granted to Hílls and 5,069,970 and 5,057,368 granted to Largman others which describe fibers with unconventional forms "Melt-blown fibers" means fiber formed by extruding a thermoplastic material melted through a plurality of capillary vessels of usually circular and fine matrices such as melted threads or filaments into gas streams (eg air)., usually hot at high speed and converging which attenuate the filaments of melted thermoplastic material to reduce s diameter, which can be at a microfiber diameter. Then, the blown fibers with melting are carried by the gas stream at high speed and are deposited on a collector surface to form a fabric of fibers blown with fusion and disbursed at random. Such a process is described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 3,849,241. The melt blown fibers are microfiber which can be continuous or discontinuous and are generally smaller than 10 microns in average diameter. "Conjugated fiber" refers to fibers which have been formed from at least two sources of extruded polymer extruded separately but which have been spun together to form a fiber. Conjugated fibers are also sometimes mentioned as multi-component fibers or fibers. of two-component The polymers are usually different from one another even though the conjugated fibers can be monocomponent fibers. The polymers are arranged in different areas placed in essentially constant form across the cross section of the conjugated fibers and extend continuously along the length of the conjugate fibers. The configuration of such conjugated fibr can be, for example, a sheath / core arrangement where one polymer is surrounded by another or can be a side-by-side arrangement, a cake arrangement or an arrangement of "islands on the sea". . Conjugated fibers are shown in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,108,820 issued to Kaneko others, 5,336,552 granted to Strack et al. And 5,382,400 to Pike et al. For the two component fibers, the polymers may be present in proportions of 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 or any other desired proportions.

"Biconstituent fibers" refers to fiber which has been formed from at least two polymers extruded from the same extruder as a mixture. The term "mixture is defined below." The biconstituent fibers do not have the various polymer components arranged in different zones placed relatively constant across the cross-sectional area of the fiber and the various polymers not usually continuous throughout. The full length of the fiber, instead of this usually form protofibril fibrils which start and end at random.The biconstituted fibers are sometimes also mentioned as multiconstituent fibers.Fiber of this type generates are discussed in, for example, U.S. Patent No. 5,108,827 issued to Gessner, bicomponent and biconstituent fibers are also discussed in the text "Mixtures and Compounds of Polymers" by John A. Manson Leslie H. Sperling, copyright 1976 by Plenum Press a division of Plenum Publishing Corporation of New York, IBS 0-306-.30B31-2, pages 273 to 277.

"Carded and bound" refers to fabrics that make basic fibers which are sent through a combing or combing unit, which separates or breaks and aligns the basic fibers in the direction of the machine to form a non woven tel fibrous oriented generally in the direction of the machine. Such fibers are usually purchased in bales, the limes are placed in an opener / mixer, or defibrator which separates the fibers before the carding unit. Once the tissue is formed, it is then joined by one or more d various known joining methods. One such method is the binding to powder, wherein a powder adhesive is distributed through the tissue and then activated as usually by heating the fabric and the adhesive with hot air. Another suitable joining method is a pattern bond, wherein the heated calendering rolls or the ultrasonic bonding equipment are used to join the fibers together, usually in a localized bonding pattern, even when the fabric can be bonded through. its full surface if desired. Other well-known and suitable joining method, particularly when conjugated basic fibers are used is the union through air "Air-laying" is a known process by which a fibrous non-woven layer can be formed. In the air laying process, bundles of small fibers having typical lengths ranging from about 3 to about 19 millimeters (mm) are separated carried in an air supply and are deposited on a forming grid, usually with the help of a vacuum supply. The randomly deposited fibers are then bonded together using, for example, hot air or sprayed adhesive.

"Drying agent" means a material which will reduce the relative humidity in the air or maintain the relative humidity at a lower value than it would be without the presence of the drying agent.

"Desiccant" means a material that will reduce the relative humidity in the air to a value lower than that which would be without the presence of the desiccant, preferably at a low level, for example of less than 25%.

"Moisturizer" means a material that will maintain relative humidity at a lower value than it would be without the presence of the humectant. This level is preferable to around 85% in order to promote skin health.

"Personal care product" means diapers, underpants, absorbing undergarments, adult incontinence products, and other such items.

Detailed description Traditional absorbent systems for personal care products can be generalized as they have the functions of containment and control of emergence (retention) or SC.

The materials of emergence control, the "S in SC are controlled to quickly accept the incoming discharge and either absorb, retain, channel or otherwise handle the liquid so that it does not drain out of the article. The emergence layer can also be mentioned as an absorption layer, a transfer layer, a transport cap and the like. An emergence material should typically be capable of handling an incoming discharge of between about 60 and 100 cubic centimeters at a discharge rate of about 5 to 20 cubic centimeters per second, for infants, for example. The containment or retention material "C" in SC must absorb the discharge quickly and efficiently. These are in fluid communication with the emergence layer and must be able to pull the liquid from the emergence layer and absorb the liquid if it significantly blocks the penetration of the liquid further into the absorbent. The retention materials are often high-superabsorbent materials, such as blends of polyacrylate-lye superabsorbent. These materials absorb and quickly retain liquid.

In addition to the control materials and d containment of emergence of traditional absorbent systems, a recent work has introduced another cap interposed between the layers S and C and in liquid communication with these. This new layer is a distribution layer, which produces a system with control, distribution and contention d emergence or "SDC".

The distribution materials, the "D" in SDC must be able to move the fluid from the initial depot point to where storage is desired. The distribution must take place at an acceptable rate so that the area of discharge of the target, usually the crotch area, is ready for the next discharge. By "ready for next discharge" it is meant that sufficient liquid has been moved out of the target zone so that the next discharge results in the absorption and runoff of the liquid within the acceptable volumes. The time between downloads can vary from just a few minutes to hours generally depending on the age of the user.

Absorbent products, such as, for example, diapers, generally have a liner which is in the user's control and a bottom sheet which is the outermost layer An absorbent product may also contain other layers as well.

The lining is sometimes mentioned as a forr on the side of the body or upper sheet and is on the side of the matter of emergence. In the direction of the thickness of the article, the lining material is the layer against the wearer's skin in this way the first layer in contact with the liquid or other exudate of the wearer. The lining also serves to isolate the user's foot from liquids maintained in an absorbent structure and must be docile, soft feeling and non-irritating Various materials can be used to form the body side liner of the present invention, including perforated plastic films, woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, porous foams, and similar crosslinked foams. Non-woven materials have been found to be particularly suitable for use in shaping the forr from body to body. These include co-knitted or blown-bonded fabrics of polyester polyolefin filaments, polyamide (or other fiber-forming polymer), bonded and bonded fabrics of natural polymers (eg, rayon or cotton fibers) and / or polymer fibers. synthetic (for example, polypropylene or polyester). The woven fabric can be treated on the surface with a selected amount of surfactant such as TRITON X-102, or ACHOVEL in an amount of between 0.05 and 0.5% by weight, or otherwise processed to impart the desired level of wettability to the surface. Hydrophilic If a surfactant is used, it may be an internal additive that migrates to the surface or is applied to the fabric by any conventional means, such as by spraying, printing, embedding, brushing and the like.

The emergence layer is more typically interposed between and in intimate liquid communication contact with the side-to-body liner and another layer such as the distribution or retention layer. The emergence layer is generally underlying the lower surface (not exposed from the side-to-body liner) In order to further increase the transfer of the liquid, it may be desirable to hold the upper and / or lower surface of the emergence layer to the liner and to the surface. distribution layer, respectively Conventional conventional clamping techniques can be used including without limitation, adhesive bonding (using water-based, solvent-based and thermally activated adhesives), thermal bonding, ultrasonic bonding, drilling and bonding. bolt aperture, as well as combinations of the above or other suitable fastening methods, if, for example, the emergence layer is adhesively bonded to the liner from side to body the amount of adhesive added should be sufficient to provide the desired levels of bond, without an excessive restriction of the liquid flow from the lining inside the sprouting cap. Various woven and non-woven fabrics and foam can be used to build an emergence layer. For example, the emergence layer may be a layer of woven fabric composed of a melt blown or bonded fabric of polyolefin filaments. Such woven fabric layers may include conjugate fibers of biconstituent and homopolymer of basic or other lengths and mixtures of such fibers with other types of fibers. The emergence layer may also be a carded and bonded fabric or a fabric placed by air composed of natural and / or synthetic fibers. The bonded and woven fabric can, for example, be a carded and bonded fabric, an infrared bonded and carded fabric, or a char fabric bonded through air. Additional examples of emerging materials can be found and in United States of America Patent No. 5,490,846 issued to Ellis and others and in United States Patent No. 5,364,382 to Latimer. The surfacing layers may be composed of an essentially hydrophobic material and the hydrophobic material may optionally be treated with a surfactant or otherwise processed to impart a level of hydrophilic wetting. The emergence layers can have a generally uniform thickness and an area in cross section.

A distribution layer, if present, should be able to move the fluid from the initial point of storage to where storage is desired. The distribution must take place at an acceptable rate so that the area of target discharge, usually the crotch area is ready for the next discharge. The time between downloads can vary from just a few minutes to hours, generally depending on the age of the user. The materials from which the distribution layer can be made include woven fabrics and non-woven fabrics. For example, the distribution layer may be a layer of non-woven fabric composed of a knitted fabric bonded with meltblown spinning with polyolefin filaments, polyester, polyamide (or other fabric-forming polymer). Such nonwoven fabric layers may include conjugate, biconstituent and homopolymer fibers of basic or other length and mixtures of such fibers with other types of fibers. The distribution layer can also be a carded and bonded tel, an air-laid fabric or a wet-laid pulp structure composed of natural and / or synthetic fibers or a combination thereof.

The retention materials are typically cellulosic or superabsorbent materials or mixtures thereof. Such materials are usually designed to quickly absorb and hold liquids, usually if released. The superabsorbents are commercially available from a number of manufacturers including Dow Chemical Company, Midland Michigan and Stockhauser Corporation of Greensboro, North Carolina. The retention materials can be zoned and their compositions can be chosen to move liquids out of the target area to more remote storage locations. Such a design more efficiently uses the complete absorbent article.

The lower sheet is sometimes mentioned as the outer cover and is the layer farthest from the user. The outer cover is typically formed of a thin thermoplastic film such as a polyethylene film, which is essentially impermeable to liquid. The outer cover works to prevent the body exudates contained in the absorbent structure to avoid wetting or soiling of the user's clothes, bedding or other materials in contact with the diaper. The outer shell may be, for example, a polyethylene film having an initial thickness of from about 0.5 mils d (0.012 millimeters) to about 5.0 mils d inches (0.12 millimeters). The outer shell of the polymer film can be etched and / or matte finished to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Other alternate constructions for the outer cover include woven or non-woven fibrous fabrics that have been constructed to have imparted the desired level of liquid impermeability, or laminates formed of a woven or non-woven fabric and thermoplastic film. It can optionally be composed of a gas-permeable or steam-permeable microporous breathable material, which is permeable to vapors or gas, but essentially impermeable to liquid. The backs can also serve the function of a matching member. for mechanical fasteners, in the case, for example, where a nonwoven fabric is the outer surface Despite the advantages of modern emergence, distribution and retention materials, it has been found that a small amount of liquid can still remain in contact with the skin for some time after urinating on a personal care product. Even with the absence of moisture from the skin, however, a higher relative humidity level persists in the product for some time after urinating. This exposure to relatively high humidity levels and / or the liquid in a personal care product is also believed to be It has detrimental to the skin. Inventors have found that incorporating a drying agent into a personal care article such as a diaper can significantly reduce skin hydration by reducing the relative humidity in the air within a personal care product. It is believed that this will have the effect of reducing the redness and irritation of the skin. This is especially true when a new diaper is placed on the wearer. If the foot is excessively hydrated when the new diaper is placed on the carrier, the relative humidity in the cloth enclosure would increase rapidly in a conventional diaper, not allowing the skin to dry and return to normal. The diaper of the present invention dries the skin to a more normal state of hydration.

There are two types or subclasses of drying agents suitable for the practice of this invention; moisturizing desiccants.

Desiccants will remove water from the air until they are fully used while the humectants work by trying to maintain a relative humidity at a predetermined level.

In the case of desiccants, it is preferred that commercial care products such as diapers be individually packaged so that they can be protected from ambient water vapor. Otherwise, the desiccant in the diaper can be completely worn at the time it is placed on a baby. The desiccant exposed to the environment can be used, for example, for storage in humid environments or for prolonged periods of storage even in relatively dry environments.

The reduction in hydration of the skin may occur after discharge or may occur, for example when "a new diaper is placed on the wearer." After a new diaper is placed on the baby and before the first urination action , a desiccant will remove the water from the air inside the product.After urinating, the desiccant will continue to remove water vapor from inside the product, however, two sources of water vapor, skin and diaper itself will be present. In this case, the removal of the water vapor, the reduction of the relative humidity, will continue until the desiccant has been used completely.It may be desirable, in order to avoid contact between the liquid water or the urine and desiccant, placing the desiccant in a bag. Vapor permeable but liquid impervious such as a bag made of melt blown fiber.In this way, the desiccant will remove the moisture that is in the form of vapor and pass through the bowl. sa Desiccants that use chemical absorption to function include P205, Mg (C104) 2, BaO, KOH, CaO, Al203, NaOH CaBr2, CaCl2, Ba (Cl04) 2, ZnCl2 and ZnBr2, although due to safety concerns the desiccant more Preferred is Al203 These chemicals can be placed inside a personal care product in such a way that they are exposed to the air inside the product during use. Desiccants that use physical adsorption, such as silica gel, can also be used. It would be preferable to use a material or a component and present in the typical personal care product that could be made from a desiccant or formed into a desiccant. The pulp and / or the superabsorbent in the retaining layer of a product, for example, may be super-dried so that they are available to function as desiccant but which nevertheless represent little change to current methods and equipment. The super dry, in this context means a material that has a moisture content of 75% less than it would have before being super dried. It is believed that the reduction in air humidity by a desiccant should be less than 85% relative humidity.

In order to prove the effectiveness of the invention they carried out a number of experiments and these are discussed below.

Experiment 1 A superabsorbent material containing a standard cloth was super dried in a flowing nitrogen environment at 92 ° C for 2 days. The diaper was subsequently placed on a weight and weighed in an environment of about 20% relative humidity at room temperature. Weight gain data are given below.

Time (minutes) Weight (grams per square meter) 0 55.77 5 55.88 15 55.97 55 56.15 95 56.50 1200 57.22 Experiment 2 'The arm bands were placed on the volunteers arm for 1 hour. These bands of braz had 3 grams of salt water per gram of fluids which hydrated the skin. After 1 hour, the wet arm bands were replaced with a standard arm band on one arm and a dried arm band on the other. Hydration of the skin was measured using the transepidermal water loss test known to those skilled in the art described in the United States Patent Application No. 09/139, 824, and showed that the arm with a standard arm band had a value of 0.27 grams per square meter / square meter / hour after 1 hour and the arm with the dried Jorazo band had a value of 0.05 after 1 hour The test was repeated using a different volunteer and the standard and dried arm bands gave the results of 3.2 and 1.62 respectively. This showed that dried braz bands produced less hydrated skin than the standard braz band.

Experiment 3 The arm was saturated in the same manner as in experiment 2. After the hour, the wet arm bands were replaced with a standard arm band in one arm and one arm band dried over the other arm. Relative humidity was measured under the arm band. The results are shown below with the first relative humidity column representing the arm with the dried arm band.

Time (minutes) Relative Humidity Relative Humidity (%) (%) 0 92.9 96 1 8.4 93.2 2 4.5 93.1 3 3.3 93.1 5 3.1 92.3 60 9.1 90.7 40 7.7 92.5 These experiments showed that the desiccant can significantly reduce the hydration of the skin presumably improve the health of the skin.

The humectants work by treating the relative humidity at a predetermined level as indicated above. Once the predetermined level has been reached, the humectant will stop absorbing or desorbing the water. If the moisture level falls below the predetermined level, the humectant will release the water vapor in order to maintain the desired humidity level, in contrast to the operation of a desiccant which will absorb water even at relatively low humidity conditions. The humectant, therefore, not only reduces the relative humidity level in a diaper; it can control maintaining the relative humidity at a desired value.

Typical humectants include glycerin, sorbitol, glycols, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, fluctuating, glucose, maltose, corn syrup, urea and various chlorides.

If the moisturizer in a personal care product is chosen so that it is maintained at a relative humidity level of less than about 85%, it would release moisture before use in the typical household since the humidity in a typical household it is usually less than 85%. Once placed on a usury, the moisture inside the product for personal care would most likely be over 85%, causing the dry moisturizer to adsorb the moisture to keep the humidity under control. It is believed by the inventors that a relative humidity of about 85% is very beneficial to the health of the skin so that a personal care product with a humectant designed to maintain such humidity would be a positive measure. In case a future investigation reveals that a different relative humidity is ideal for the health of the skin, the right humectant could be chosen in order to deliver that moisture level.

It is also possible to combine the two types of drying agents, desiccants and humectants, in a product for personal care. This provides the advantages of both agents and would result in a product, for example a diaper that would quickly absorb water vapor when initially placed on an infant through the action of desiccant and then maintain a certain level of relative humidity throughout. the action of a moisturizer.

The layer to which the drying agent will be incorporated is preferably the lining layer. This layer is the closest to the skin of a user where the regulation of the relative humidity is more critical. An ideal candidate would also be elastic so that he could adjust to the user's movement without a bulge or union. If the drying agent was melt processable, the liner could be spun from the agent and used directly against the skin. If not, an agent dryer could be placed in a bag of, for example, blown fiber with melting, and the bag could be placed under the liner. A meltblown bag would keep the agent dry by preventing it from coming in contact with the liquid water, by allowing the water vapor to enter and be absorbed by the drying agent.

Certain drying agents may be suitable for modern fiber-forming processes so that they can be simply and directly incorporated into a product, since many individual pieces of many personal care products are produced by various fiber-forming techniques such as blown with fusion and the coiled bonding. The drying agents can also be added as particles to the polymers to form fibers using a polymer that is permeable to water vapor so that it can pass through the polymer and reach the particles. These can be alternatively added to a fibrous tissue using the joining and carding methods and placement by airFor example, it could also be possible to incorporate a drying agent into the containment component present in most of the personal care products, as part of the superabsorbent and / or d the pulp or mixed with these as another material. If it is in a particulate form, the drying agent can be attached to the fibers of the fabric as the liner or to a superabsorbent / pulp layer through the use of a binder adhesive.

Therefore, it is explained that placing a drying agent in a personal care product can reduce or maintain a relative humidity of the air inside the product and reduce the hydration of the skin. This hydration of the reduced foot is believed to result in reduced redness and foot irritation.

Although only a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the example embodiments without departing materially from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Therefore, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. In the claims, the media clauses plus function are intended to cover the structures described herein as carrying out the recited function and not only the structural equivalents without also the equivalent structures. Therefore, even when a screw and a nail may not be structural equivalents in the sense that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure the wooden parts together, while a screw employs a helical surface, in the environment of the fastening Wood parts, a screw and a nail can be equivalent structures.

Claims (22)

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N S

1. A personal care product comprising a drying agent.

2. The personal care product as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the drying agent is a desiccant.

3. The personal care product as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the drying agent is a humectant.

4. The personal care product as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the drying agent is a combination of a desiccant and a humectant.

5. The personal care product as claimed in clause 2, characterized in that the desiccant dich uses a chemical absorption and is selected from the group consisting of P205, Mg (C104) 2, BaO, KOH, CaO, Al203, NaOH, CaBr2 CaCl2, Ba (Cl04) 2, ZnCl2 and ZnBr2.

6. The personal care product as claimed in clause 2, characterized in that the desiccant dich uses physical adsorption and is selected from the group consisting of silica gel, super-dried pulp and superabsorbent super-dried.

7. The personal care product as claimed in clause 2, characterized in that said humectant is selected from the group consisting of and includes glycerin, sorbitol, glycols, fluctuating, glucose, maltose, corn syrup, urea, and various chlorides.

8. The personal care product as claimed in clause 2, characterized in that the desiccant dich is contained in a vapor permeable bag impervious to the liquid.

9. The personal care product as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that it is selected from the group consisting of diapers, underpants, absorbent undergarments and products for adult incontinence.

10. The product, as claimed in clause 9, characterized in that said product for personal care is a product for adult incontinence.

11. The product, as claimed in clause 9, characterized in that said product for personal care is a diaper.

12. The product, as claimed in clause 9, characterized in that said personal care product is individually packaged to protect said cloth from the steam of the ambient water.

13. The product, as claimed in clause 9, characterized in that said product for personal care is a training underpants.

14. A system for reducing the hydration of the skin for personal care products that includes a desiccant that will reduce the relative humidity in the air in personal care to less than 85%.

15. The hydration reduction system of the skin, as claimed in clause 14, characterized in that said desiccant is located within the fibers.

16. The hydration reduction system of the skin, as claimed in clause 14, characterized in that said desiccant is located within a containment component.

17. The system for reducing skin hydration, as claimed in clause 14, characterized in that said desiccant is bonded to the fibers of a fabric with an adhesive or binder.

18. A system for reducing the hydration of the skin for personal care products comprising a humectant that will maintain a relative humidity within said products at a level of less than about 85%.

19. The system for reducing skin hydration, as claimed in clause 18, characterized in that said humectant is located within the fibers.

20. The hydration reduction system of the skin, as claimed in clause 18, characterized in that said humectant is located within a containment component.

21. The system for reducing skin hydration, as claimed in clause 18, characterized in that said humectant is attached to the fibers of a fabric with an adhesive or binder.

22. A system for reducing skin hydration for personal care products that includes a desiccant and a humectant that will reduce the relative humidity and air in a personal care to a level of less than about 85%, and maintain that humidity relative to that level. R E S M E N A personal care product is provided that has a drying agent incorporated in it. The drying agent can reduce or control the relative humidity of the air enclosed by a person's care product significantly. Such a drying agent can be a desiccant, a humectant or a combination of both. The dried agent can function using chemical or physical means and can be in fibrous, particle or other form. The reduction of relative humidity within a personal care product reduces the hydration of the skin which is believed to reduce redness, irritation due to contact with fluids.