Wideband Catheter - Holy Crap!

[resnick]

OK, a warning up front: This posting is going to contain pretty frank descriptions of an anatomical nature. If you don't want to look at discussions of such things, go read something else now.

Suffice it to say, the following is a bit embarrassing, but I need the answers to my questions more than I need my pride.

My dry suit is off having its new Halcyon Streamline Discharge Valve (P-valve; pee-valve) installed, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to figure out what to do about external male catheters to connect to this thing. Everyone on this board recommended the Rochester Wideband catheter, so I called up Rochester for some samples. They sent me one Medium size and one Intermediate size to try on, along with a sizing chart just in case I needed something different.

Using the size chart is...weird. As far as I could tell from the size chart, I'm pretty much an Intermediate, though depending on where (and what time of day) I measure, I might be close to Large (the next size up). The thing is, I'm circumcised and parts closer to the body are larger than parts in the middle. But, I figured, a bit smaller wouldn't kill me, so I tried on the Intermediate. It seemed to fit reasonably, and I could "perform necessary functions" with it on, so I figured it would be OK. That's when the less than fun part began.

First of all, may I take this moment to re-iterate the admonitions that others have made about trimming back hairs that might interfere. I did not take those warnings nearly seriously enough. When in a "relaxed" state, I am rather "short", and all of those hairs that you would normally think are nowhere near where this thing might go are VERY MUCH in the way. (Remember, as you unroll this thing, the edge is covered with glue which very much wants to stick to those hairs.) A little fast action late in the game with a round-tipped cuticle scissors made things much better than they might otherwise have been. I'll be MUCH more vigilant next time.

But the rest of the removal process was...(how do I put this?)...well, I don't think I've pulled on my anatomy for that long a period of time with so little pleasure in my entire life. :11:

I figured doing this in the shower under hot water would be the best approach. Unrolling back to the point of the circumcision was not entirely horrific except for the matter of the hairs that I did not do a good job of trimming. However, once past that point, I thought for the life of me that I was going to lose skin. I used soap, hot water, and assorted tugging. It was EXTREMELY slow going, and none too comfortable. It took me the better part of thirty minutes to peel this thing free of myself! It seemed to stick especially well to those parts that were once covered by foreskin which are no longer, and...uhhh..."getting over the hump" (for lack of a better description) at the end of the process seemed to be the worst part.

Once freed of my rubber prison, there was then the matter of the left-over glue. I washed as best I could with lots of soap (and trust me, I was still NOT having any fun with this process), yet there was (and is) still quite a bit of glue residue left.

So here are my questions:

1. Would going to the larger size help any in this situation? One thought I had was that since it fit "snugly", that might have made the thing more adhesive than it should be.

2. Was the fact that I put it on and then pretty much immediately took it off part of the problem? If I wear the thing the whole day, is the glue a little more forgiving (both in the peeling aspects and the residue aspects)?

3. Is there another brand or model that might have slightly better removal characteristics for my particular anatomy without compromising the seal?

Any info would be helpful. And heck, if I can talk about my parts, you can talk about yours.

[JeffG]

1. Would going to the larger size help any in this situation? One thought I had was that since it fit "snugly", that might have made the thing more adhesive than it should be.

I wouldn't change size. It is the one way I wouldn't want to flood my suit by.

2. Was the fact that I put it on and then pretty much immediately took it off part of the problem? If I wear the thing the whole day, is the glue a little more forgiving (both in the peeling aspects and the residue aspects)?

No. Even after a 2 hr dive I still managed to bring tears to my eyes when removing it.

You are better off creating a "moat" around Mr Willy and when putting it on...grab the head of the snake and streeeeeetch it while unrolling the device.

That way you should minimize the occurrence.

3. Is there another brand or model that might have slightly better removal characteristics for my particular anatomy without compromising the seal?

Any info would be helpful. And heck, if I can talk about my parts, you can talk about yours.

Ask for other samples and try them. You have nothing to lose.

[jrc]

The wide bands are the best. And it this case I think that's what you want to use. LHB Industries Online Store this is the cheapest place I found them

[SCUBAJENNIFER]

You have nothing to lose.

Except more hair...

Thanks for the laugh guys!!

[hunter991]

The ones called "pop on" are decent to use and much less unpleasant. They don't go all the way down, so you avoid most of the problems you mentioned. Jeff Gs advise for instalation seems dead on.

Brent

[resnick]

The ones called "pop on" are decent to use and much less unpleasant. They don't go all the way down, so you avoid most of the problems you mentioned.

Cool! I hadn't noticed those. I seem like a good candidate. "...short or retracted..." Gotta love medical terminology.

You are better off creating a "moat" around Mr Willy and when putting it on...grab the head of the snake and streeeeeetch it while unrolling the device.

That way you should minimize the occurrence.

Jeff Gs advise for instalation seems dead on.

I did exactly this, which I think was what got me into trouble in the first place. But I think that may be due to the extended length of the Widebands. Brent's recommendation of the shorter variety should hopefully be quite helpful in this regard.

Ask for other samples and try them. You have nothing to lose.

Except more hair...

Ow! :eek_2:

You know, I would complain about such harassment from someone not "similarly situated", but then I thought better of it given the relative hoops one has to jump through with the alternative arrangement (or so say all of the "feminine" television commercials I get to see) and the thought of what it would be like to stick something very adhesive to a different set of parts. :11:

[mtbrider]

I don't have the hair issue but I have had the glue come off the catheter while trying to remove it. Both of the times this occurred is when I put the wideband on fresh out of the shower. For some reason it sticks TOO well when doing that. It's like it's too clean. I now put the catheter on after I get to the dive site and I haven't had that problem again, nor has it ever leaked.

[Ben_ca]

I'm pretty sure most of you have seen this... but it seems like the right time to revisit the issue:

Mastery or Misadventure... Secrets of the Condom Catheter

And this one is for Jen.... Enjoy laughing at the optical inch...

Philips Bodygroom

PS remember with the catheter trimming the hedges is an important pre dive duty

[TwoBitTxn]

Almity, I am completely convinced those aren't thanks for the useful posts... those are thanks for giving me the laugh of the week...

I did the same as mtbrider having gone through my first experience with these recently. I didn't have any glue remain. I wondered if it wasn't because it peeled the top layer of hide with it. I also had mine on for the better part of the day.

I discovered a couple other things. Cuticle scissors are a great idea. No matter how careful you are with normal small scissors, you will nick yourself. It hurts.

I didn't unroll mine completely. This is an invitation for it to grab as many hairs as it can possibly reach at any given point in time. Bad idea.

Good luck to ya.

TwoBit

[almitywife]

Almity, I am completely convinced those aren't thanks for the useful posts... those are thanks for giving me the laugh of the week...

actually, they ARE thanks for OP question and response....... lets talk about this stuff - get it out there so its no longer discussed in secret, behind cars in dark alleys! kinda like the chick forum stuff - its real life so lets not make it a mystery!

cheers