A drysuit question for the ladies...

[Hipshot]

An occaisional dive buddy but lifelong female friend of mine just started diving dry about a month or so ago and will soon be taking an advanced Nitrox and intro to deco class so that she can start making the transition towards technical diving and going out with some of the guys on our deeper/longer dives. After noticing my pee valve she commented that it would sure be nice to have one on the longer dives that she will be working towards in the future and then proceeded to ask me what women drysuit divers do when it came to relieving one's self while underwater. After thinking about it for a while I told her that other than wearing a diaper I didn't know what a female divers options would be. The diaper is a deal breaker for her so if any of you know of another method for females we would appreciate the input. She found a medical supply place online that sells an external female catheter but there was no description or picture of it, so she just went ahead and ordered it to see what it was all about. Well, after it came in we looked it over(we are very comfortable friends and did our best to act like adults) and have both come to the conclusion that it wouldn't work very well above water let alone inside a drysuit hooked to a pee valve. We just couldn't figure out a way to get it sealed up good enough and stuck in place well enough without using some type of adheasive/sealant that would be WAY too painful to remove. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[chickdiver]

There really aren't any viable alternatives to the diaper. I have heard of dumping kitty litter in the feet of your suit- but how disgusting is that? Tell her if she wants to do long dives she needs to suck it up and get over it.

 

[octgal]

I too have wondered about this problem as well! Like to hear if anyone has heard of anything. Wearing a diaper sheesh, sounds fun lol. Well i will do what i must, as its not going to stop me, certianly better then the kitty litter idea YUCK

 

[Dive-aholic]

A diaper would be way better than kitty litter!

I work in the medical field. There is no alternative that I know of. Females get internal catheters. Males can get either internal or external, depending on how accurate the measurements need to be (even condom caths can leak).

 

[Tamas]

We just couldn't figure out a way to get it sealed up good enough and stuck in place well enough without using some type of adheasive/sealant that would be WAY too painful to remove. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[octgal]

OMG LOL!!!! too funny

 

[mania]

Well
I had the same problem. Thought that I would not be able to use diaper. But as there is no other choice so I decided to do a small test. I put diaper on at home and waited till I really needed to pee. Then i went to bathroom and tried...
It worked well - I mean when you really need to pee you will use diaper. And for longer dives there is no other choice.
But you have to change used diaper between the dives - don't keep it for another dive.

Mania

 

[Hipshot]

The shaving cream and razors is funny Tamas . However, hair is not the problem as she is "Brazilian Style" as they say and slick as a babie's butt. The problem with the external catheter on the female anatomy is simply the shape and design of their naughty bits themselves. I could probably make it work for her with enough super glue and marine grade silicone sealant, but I don't think it would be too pleasent to try and remove. The external kit she ordered came with some sticky stuff to hold it in place, and if the external piece had been made from an exact mold of her lady parts it may have worked better, and it might work on someone out there, but it didn't for her. Women are all pretty unique you know, not a one shape fits all. Oh well, at least we will have a funny story to tell about me, her, a hand mirror, beach towel and recliner...LOL. We are even closer friends now! It looks like it is going to have to be the diaper set up for her or she can just hold it. Thanks for the input gals!

 

[octgal]

They have this same issue with female fighter pilots as well! Men use the condom caths, and woman....:-( Same problem. Why does everything need to be difficult for us! GRRR
So i take it diaper is the final word here??? Geezz where do you buy adult ones? Drug store? I could just imagine how fun walking in and buying THAT would be. Probably should find a 24 hour one and sneak in, during the wee hours lol
and talking about kitty litter, how do you keep it all in the bottom? Am i understanding that correctly? How would this even help? Aren't you just wetting yourself anyway? Who wants to help me out of my dry suit after that dive

 

[bedmund]

...Geezz where do you buy adult ones? Drug store? I could just imagine how fun walking in and buying THAT would be. Probably should find a 24 hour one and sneak in, during the wee hours...

While my wife was pregnant with both boys she had a little trouble "holding it" when out running errands. So she turned to "Depends" and it was not big deal at all picking some up. Many women are challenged with this while pregnant. Drug stores and Costco are good sources. And she found that the urges weren't as frequent when she had the "bail-out" on.