XX ? -- Equipment Use, Cleaning and Maintenance Techniques
This thread is specifically for newbies to learn how to use some of our favorite enema equipment.
How to use and insert a balloon catheter/retention nozzle:
These come in latex and silicone versions and they both have their supporters and detractors. The latex one is softer and the silicone version is firm. Most people have a preference for one or the other.
They also come in different sizes. The latex ones come in balloon sizes 250/250cc, 500/250cc, and the silicone double balloons come in 500/250cc and 750/500cc sizes.
A single balloon nozzle has one balloon, and it will have the balloon resting inside the rectum.
A double balloon catheter or nozzle has two balloons, and the balloon on the end of the tube will rest inside the rectum, while the other balloon will rest OUTSIDE the body and seal against the outside of the anus.
When attempting to use either a single or double balloon retention catheter, it is helpful, sometimes necessary to do a little “rectal rinse” first using a half to one pint of water to make space for the balloon to rest in the rectum. This mini cleanse can be done using a bulb, the enema tube with or without a standard nozzle or anything you prefer. Now, you must be sure ALL the enema solution is expelled BEFORE you try to insert the inner balloon, because if it isn't all expelled, you will leak some remaining brown fluid when doing the insertion, and that will be very messy. I would also recommend doing your entire enema procedure in the bathroom, NOT in bed at all, but you may prefer otherwise.
Once you have cleared the way in the rectum, lubricate the butt cheeks, anus and stick your fingers inside to lubricate the rectal walls. It is also helpful to add lubricant to the balloons themselves.
The firmer silicone nozzle can be inserted by gently but firmly pushing the balloon into the rectum. The softer latex ones often require a twisting motion to get them through the anus and into the rectum. Once the balloon is seated in the rectum, and it helps to insert it a little farther than its final resting place and then pull back out slightly so you feel the anus gripping the tube between the two balloons.
Once the balloons are in position you can inflate the balloons. The inner balloon should be inflated first. Close the chrome valve on the inflation bulb and inflate the balloon. Once it filled, give the tube a little tug to seat the balloon against the inside of the anus. Once that is done, inflate the outer balloon.
A lot about the single and especially double balloons depends on what you like. The latex balloons are more flexible than the silicone ones, so the silicone double balloon catheters of equivalent size can be easier to insert. I usually use 5-7 pumps on the 500cc silicone and 6-8 or 9 pumps on the 750cc silicone double balloon catheter. The 250cc outer balloons get three pumps. That’s all unless you want to risk breakage.
If you use a 750cc balloon and don't pump it up enough, trying to simulate a smaller balloon, the flutes will not be opened and they will then channel the enema water right out of your anus. The balloon must be pumped up so the fluted appearance is gone and the balloon is smooth.
The 500cc balloon, pumped as I described will be smaller and harder than the 750cc balloon when pumped as I described, but there are also differences in shapes. The 500cc balloon is spherical and the 750cc balloon is a blunt football shape. The 750 cc balloon is only slightly wider in diameter than the 500cc balloon when it is inflated, it is mostly longer.
If you over-inflate a silicone double balloon catheter, it is more likely to pop than a latex one, because the silicone one is less flexible than the latex. Latex can be pumped up more than silicone double balloon rectal catheters of the same rated size.
Test them in your hand so you know how many pumps it takes for the double balloon rectal catheter balloon to become a round ball. The 750cc size inflates to become oblong more like a football shape. You want to inflate them enough for the flutes to fully open and become smooth all around. If it is under inflated and the shape is like a "star fruit", the flutes will guide the water right out your anus because you won't have a seal.
The 750 cc double balloon rectal catheter requires a "straight shot" of at least 6 1/2" from thetip of the nozzle to the end of the inner balloon inside your rectum to be cleaned out BEFORE you will be able to insert this. For many people, going that far brings you to the start (or end, depending on how you look at it) of the sigmoid colon. The 500 cc double balloon rectal catheter requires only about 4 1/2" to insert it, and that makes it much easier to insert so the inner and outer balloons will be in the right place. The 500 cc double balloon rectal catheter gets just about as wide as the 750 cc, but the 750 is oblong when inflated, not a round ball shape like the 500cc.
The silicone double balloon rectal catheter is durable, but you must take care of it and keep the valves dry at all times.
My husband and I have several double balloon rectal catheters, and when we use a 750, we use at least 6 pumps, often 8 pumps. The reason you need to almost fully inflate it is because if you don't, the fluted shape will actually direct the water you are trying to retain right out of you and onto the bed, floor, etc. The balloon must be inflated so the inner part is resting against the anal ring and the balloon is fully rounded out. The anus will not seal against the fluted shape of an incompletely filled balloon.
When you are ready to expel, open the chrome valve and the air in the balloon will escape and allow you expel.