My new balloon retention nozzle from Silicone Nozzles (http://www.siliconenozzles.com/Single-Balloon-Enema-Retention-Nozzle-SNGLBLNNZL-1SM.htm) arrived yesterday. I ordered it on 21 November and it was despatched on 28 December, which (with allowance for end-of-year holidays) gives an idea of the lead time for this product at present. According to the SN site, the pace of manufacturing is also limited by a shortage of moulds.
My regular enema setup comprises a bucket, a fuel primer bulb as Higginson pump, and a Rüsch double balloon latex nozzle as pictured here: https://www.medtech3000.de/Klistier/Einlauf/Heilfasten/Doppelballon-Darmrohr-Ruesch-nach-Gaul-Doppelballondarmrohr::8.html?MODsid=9jim2htelic7qedgfusjt07a07. I ordered the SN nozzle as a possible replacement for the Rüsch nozzle — partly due to the limited lifespan of the latex balloons and partly because I had often wished the Rüsch nozzle was longer. In this review I will be comparing the two.
On opening the packet I found, bent double and wrapped in tissue paper, the carefully crafted product that we expect from Silicon Nozzles. I also found that the 24" inflator tube and connector mentioned in SN’s description were missing; however, the metre-long inflator tube from medtech3000, https://www.medtech3000.de/Klistier/Einlauf/Heilfasten/-Geblaeseball-fuer-Ballondarmrohr-Ruesch-und-extra-langem-Schlauch::18.html?MODsid=9jim2htelic7qedgfusjt07a07, turned out to fit the air hole in the SN nozzle, so I was able to test the new toy immediately.
As I and others have noted, the SN nozzle is designed quite differently from the well-known Rüsch and other comparable (silicone) double-balloon nozzles. In these traditional nozzles the inner balloon is designed to seal against the internal anal sphincter, while an outer balloon is spaced so that the two balloons when inflated pull towards each other and seal the anal sphincter at each end. The SN nozzle, on the other hand, simply seals by filling the rectum.
Before either nozzle can seal, however, it must be inserted, and this was where I noticed the first major difference between the two nozzles in use. The insertable length of the Rüsch is something like 10 cm (4 inches), while its tip is just over 10 mm (0.4 inch) in diameter. I find it very quick to insert. The insertable length of the SN nozzle is something like 29 cm (11.5 inches), and the tip is around 25 mm (1 inch) thick. As I began to insert it, the tip quickly butted up against the sigmoido-rectal sphincter(*) , and I had to wait for the musculature to relax before gently pushing the nozzle fully in. So insertion took two or three minutes as against perhaps ten seconds, and the tip ended up well inside the sigmoid.
Ten or twelve squeezes of my primer bulb are enough to inflate the two balloons of the Rüsch nozzle to form an effective seal. Inflating a balloon to fill the rectum obviously takes more air: at least fifteen squeezes. Initially, prompted by an earlier review, I tried twenty squeezes, but this felt unbearably full and I had to let some of the air out. Then I pumped in two litres of a soapy solution, held it for fifteen minutes (longer than I usually do). Some have queried the integrity of the balloon seal against the rectal tissues, but I found it absolutely tight. Then I released the air and the nozzle slipped out very smoothly. During expulsion it was noticeable that the solution had gone higher than usual and it took longer to come out.
So for me the nozzle works well for its primary purpose. A couple of observations:
The opening of the bore for the liquid and the opening of the airway are very close together. SwitchableSusie sees a danger of water entering the airway, but I see no such danger: the airhole, nominally 1/8 inch, is actually very small, and I don’t believe water could enter it unless you deliberately pumped it in. For my usual setup, however, the close spacing of these openings was inconvenient: I connect the enema hose to the Rüsch via a non-return valve, and when I plugged the valve into the SN nozzle the body of the valve interfered with the air tube connector. I was able to work around this by connecting the air tube first, and of course I could use an in-line connector instead of the non-return valve, but the two openings might be spaced further apart without any loss of function.
Another small contretemps occurred while I was injecting the solution: the hose slipped off the aforesaid non-return valve and I had to stop the flow and reconnect it (rather awkwardly with soapy fingers). This has never happened while using the Rüsch, but it is obviously not the fault of the SN nozzle either; I suppose it was due to the greater back-pressure from the higher filling. If it turns out to be more than a one-off I may have to find a way to secure the hose more firmly to the valve. [See second edit below.]
So, to sum up my impressions after a single use: it seems to be a well-made and well-designed product, and I am pretty sure I will find the experience of using it improves with practice.
(*) or junction: authorities differ as to whether there is a sphincter there.
[Edit: I don’t know how to get the links in the above to appear as blue clickable links. I composed the post offline and pasted it into the form.]
[Further edit: The higher back-pressure is due to the narrow (¼") bore being compressed where it rounds the bend into the sigmoid. The Rüsch nozzle is much wider and is not significantly bent as it does not reach beyond the rectum.]