All the boyz are doing it, now it's our turn!!!

[AlaskaDiver]

I do have to say though...

We need to change the name.

to iPee or something...

Cause I don't want to be accused of taking farm animals diving.

and

"got yer Sheep on today?"

just sounds so wrong...

I'm from Washington, not Montana!

This was the best post so far....ROFL!!

As a cold water diver and a diver who is interested in cave diving for longer durations, I have been reading and sitting in the background as posters replied to the thread. I am glad that you have taken the time to put out some useful, hands on (yes, I couldn't resist that) experience and your feedback on the she-p. Thanks! At first I too was put off by the thought of glue on my goods prior to a dive-- but it is after all medical grade adhesive which should remove easily. I don't want to be forced to 'hold it in' while doing the dives. I want to focus on the diving. Yesterday, after doing two dives with an hour surface interval between them, I was dancing. I know that if there is not a bathroom available I will drink less water. This is bad for any diver.

I'm with a few of the others on this post; I'm over the initial squeamishness and am very interested in trying it.

 

[DiverLaura]

Alrighty boys and girls... picked up my Halcyon Low profile pee valve today... Spent a bit of time on the phone with a friend to learn the ins and outs before hacking a hole in the suit. The instruction/install manual is outstanding, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask a pro

So without further adieu, it's time to decide... "do I dress to the right or to the left"?
as a girl i've never thought about this before. But... I think my pee valve has decided for me, as the way it was packaged, it seems that it will fit perfectly, on the left side, with the hose pointed superior, and 30 degrees lateral, and will then loop in manner that allows for the 'least chance of kinking" (get your minds OUT of the gutter) The idea is for it to sweep in a gentle arc up, over and down.

Oh yeah, and DON'T TOUCH THE SPLIT NUT (the valve is under that which makes it a balanced valve) If you tighten it too much YOU WILL PEE ON YOURSELF! leave it alone, don't **** with it, and for goodness sake, DON'T TIGHTEN IT!!! (or seal it with aquaseal "cause it's leaking")

 

[Karen Cleveland]

Not sure if it matters...mine ended up on the right. Hose through double drysuit zipper, through leg of swimsuit and looped back down. Too funny, but the darn thing works. Had to go this route due to spending a month in Mexico doing some really long dives. Plus chomping at the bit to cut deco short in CA do to the P-factor, which is a bad idea.

Great product but need ot get over the icky adhesive. Will try the spray adhesive over the next few weekends...thanks Icegirl for that insight.

Karen

 

[DiverLaura]

for those of you who are handy, but have never done an install before...

My Pee Valve Installation

documents a bit of the adventure

and the pictures of the device now in their own gallery..

Pictures of the She-P

 

[DiverLaura]

I don't know. I just can see lots of problems with this system. The adhesive has to be quite strong, and thus can cause alot of problem.

The adhesives we are using are not "that strong", they are the same as are used for long term stoma care and post mastectomy/post radiation treatment breast prothesis. Yes, they are sticky, but no, they are not like dermabonding the thing to our groins. All are designed to be used on less that perfect, and possibly compromised skin.

Some of the dutch girls have actually found they can use it with no adhesive, just a couple pieces of tape (the shape and seal are actually good enough for that to be an option for the brave)

Being that skin is your field of expertise, do you have other thoughts/options or are you just letting us know our idea is problematic with no solution in mind?

We are in the trial/prototype stage of all this, so help from professionals is always appreciated. All you stoma nurses, dermatologists, prosthetics experts, now is your time to shine! Pipe up! Don't hold back!

 

[fisherdvm]

Well, from my perspective, a condom cath is stuck on skin with little hair, or at least, hair that can be trimmed to utilize adhesive well. Rarely do you get folliculitis, acne, or other problems from condoms, except for latex allergy. Also, men rarely get yeast infection, or gardnerella vaginitis - which occur in woman.

However, I can imagine that hair is a major issue in using this one. Combine the problem with incomplete emptying, minor seapage under the device, ingrown hair, etc.... I can see potential long and short term issues. Some woman are colonize with strep, and some man/woman are colonized with staph in this area. All you need is a little incentive, and bacterial folliculitis could be an issue. If you dive long enough, and frequently enough, maceration of the skin is likely going to occur, increasing the risk of irritation, infection, etc.

Body habitus is another issue. Condom cath are quite accomodating to a tubular structure. This she-p device will have to accomodate not only the pubic anatomy, but also different thigh anatomy. Any lateral compression will loosen the device, irregardless how strong the adhesive is.

From a mechanical point of view, the condom cath adhesive holds well, because the force is in the same plane as the adhesive, or tangential to the skin. In the case of this pubic device, the force is perpendicular to the skin, making the edges come apart easily. That's why I thought that a stronger adhesive will be required.

In my honest opinion, for the health and sanitation of the diver, a high absorbancy diaper is likely healthier, drier, and safer.

 

[fisherdvm]

Sorry, a relook of the device say that the force is not perpendicular to the skin, but still at about a 20 to 30 degree angle from the skin. Which will make it more likely to peel than a condom cath. That "blow off" post by the condom user previously might be more likely to occur here. One could do a controlled study to see how much pressure will it take to "blow off" a condom cath vs. this one, and I can bet that the condom cath will take alot more pressure to unzip.

I would also say, if you are going to have it commercially made, make sure that the company use high quality medical grade latex, to decrease the chance of sensitization. In the late 80's the market was flooded with cheap imported latex gloves that caused a huge number of health professionals to develop latex allergy.

Another option the inventor might look into is making high quality waterproof underwear that is custom fitted to a number of sizes, that can accomodate a high quality superabsorbant pad (ie. huggies overnigh diapers - easily accessible). You could market this to both the male and female drysuit diver market.

Heck, I can see how a hyperstretch thin neoprene short with a built in pocket for a highly absorbant tampon would serve this purpose very well for both man and woman. And you can make it sexy enough to wear to a diving party!

 

[Ayisha]

Thanks for taking the time to give us this info, Doc!

 

[TSandM]

I don't know; I'm not that worried about scalding or infectious complications. We're not talking wearing this thing for days. Folliculitis is a possible issue (and always is with shaving). But it's an issue with diapers as well, as is scalding. And diapers have a finite capacity, and wet diapers are very unpleasant to wear and walk in.

I think it's quite reasonable to give this a try and see what the history on it is over time. If UTIs, yeast infections, and skin irritation are major problems, I suspect we'll hear about them.

 

[Belmont]

how about pPod

i have one coming to me! and i vote we nickname it 'iPeed'.

Now, let's start a naming contest, price: one device.

If I win I'll give it to TS&M, maybe she needs that little extra incentive to jump in.

I'm going for: HerP, in the singular form only.