The woman ’ s perspective by Dr Sam Clark
LEARNINGCURVE
It ’ s the morning of your days diving . You grab your breakfast , along with a brew . Do you then think , that has to be the last drink until the diving is done and you ’ re back on dry land ? That worry of needing a wee , having to strip off your drysuit and undersuit to your knees ; then the dreaded balancing on the back of the RIB , hanging over the edge hoping that the swell and rocking boat don ’ t conspire to throw you overboard .
The thought of a nappy is just too much , knowing it ’ s uncomfortable when wet and just won ’ t hold enough for you to stay adequately hydrated throughout the day . What alternatives do we have ? In my experience , the She-P has revolutionised those bathroom issues .
The She-P is a soft silicone reservoir with flexible wings that allow it to adhere to the skin , and an output tube . All this leads to a good seal , allowing for comfortable and easy urination . There are two versions , the She-P Classic – available in various colours – and the She-P 3.0 , which is even softer than the classic , has a longer front , a
The latest She-P has been designed to be more comfortable scalloped shape back , and anatomically designed sides .
The She-P is easily installed in just a couple of minutes at the beginning of the day , and a small amount of preparation the day before . The preparation is simply shaving in order to allow a good seal . You can choose to just shave the area where the wings adhere , or you can just shave the whole area . I 100 per cent recommend shaving – pulling hairs when removing the She-P is not fun !
In the morning , spray the She-P with medical glue ; after 30 seconds the glue is tacky and the She-P is ready to be put in place . Press and hold , getting that good seal and one minute later you are good
to go ! Some people like to wear two pairs of thongs ( one each side of the output tube ) for extra security to hold it in place , but I just wear a pair of cycling shorts . It ’ s definitely worth practising placement until you ’ re confident you ’ re in the right position to have no leaks and flow freely .
Now your She-P is on and ready to go , it needs to connect to the pee valve , which usually sits on the inner thigh . The output tube connects to some hosing which routes upwards and then loops down ( avoiding any kinks in the hose ), connecting to the pee valve tubing via a quick disconnect . This allows for convenient donning and doffing of your drysuit .
After a great days diving , you ’ ll be needing to do a little post-dive care . Remove the She-P by pulling off steadily . Hygiene is essential to avoid infections , flush the She-P with lots of fresh water . A wash with warm soapy water , followed by another flush with fresh water and allow it to dry . There are adhesive removal wipes to help remove any leftover glue , if you so wish . �
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