Dilating without gloves

[Gone]

X

[Jenna Marie]

I don't use gloves and never did (it wasn't suggested to me and I wouldn't have thought of it), but I don't get lube on my other hand...  The one that holds the dilator in place gets messy, but water-based lube comes off very easily when I wash my hands afterward, along with the dilators.

[JennX]

I take the lube from the tube and apply it to the dilator with a Q-Tip (cotton swab). No gloves. Never used them. I only place lube on the upper 2/3 of the dilator. The bottom 1/3 is clean/dry which I hold.

[mintra]

I agree with Jennx. I use large size cotton swab to apply the lube to the dilator. It's easier than regular size Q-tips. Available at health supply store. Here's an example :

http://www.harmonycr.com/Puritan-806-WCXL-Cotton-Swab-p/806-wcxl.htm

[Agent_J]

I've had no problem with it. I drop lube onto the tip of the dilator from the tube and then insert it, using one hand to keep the appropriate pressure on it. I haven't found it remotely messy, and my other hand has stayed clean.

[calico]

I too dont use gloves, I apply the tube directly to the dilator, and go from there. If I happen to get a lil messy then I have tissue and wet-wipes. +getting a lil messy doesn't bug me the way I figure is getting a lil messy comes with the territory.

[milktea]

tissue paper?

[calico]

tissue paper?

yea like the stuff you blow your nose with? white sometimes scented, usually very soft and absorbent .

[Megan Rose]

I always wash my hands thoroughly before getting ready, and then use an alcohol hand sanitizer right before starting.  That's just something I picked up from working in a hospital - not that anyone suggested it.

As I'm dilating, I keep a few paper towels on my stomach.  I'll apply lube with one hand, spread it out with the other hand, and use a paper towel to get the sticky stuff off my fingers.  The towels are still clean enough afterwards to wipe off the dilators or my bottom, and keeping the chux clean saves expenses.

[bunyip]

The little bit of lub which gets on my hand is easily wiped off, so it does not worry me.

With the hand not being used to hold the dilator in place, I use the time to read a book.

[milktea]

sorry for straying offtopic but pls enlighten me...how do so many people manage to read a book/watch a movie etc when dilating??? i mean i can understand if you are just holding it in place after inserting to full length...but doing something else when inserting?

[mintra]

sorry for straying offtopic but pls enlighten me...how do so many people manage to read a book/watch a movie etc when dilating??? i mean i can understand if you are just holding it in place after inserting to full length...but doing something else when inserting?

For me, there's nothing else I can do besides watching TV or reading while you're confined to lying position. Not trying to rub salt to you injury, but I recalled during month 2, I put a soft rubber dildo and leave it in during the day and secure it with tight underwear and I can walk around the house doing other activities. I can even sit and use sewing machine for a short period also. I remember reading your other posts and I'm sorry to hear you still experience pain and discomfort. Many years ago, one of my friends had so much pain that she didn't want to dilate and that made her neo vagina close up and she had to fly back to Thailand to have it fixed. We went to the same surgeon at Yanhee. I'm at 1 year post op now and I'm only doing a few times a week. Some ladies, I read, only do it once a week or one in a few weeks. Have you talked to you surgeon about your issue?

[Jenna Marie]

For me, it's definitely that I don't have to do the "dynamic dilation" - so yeah, I can't do anything else while I'm inserting it, but afterward I can settle in for 20-30 minutes of doing nothing but holding it in place with one hand.

[Vicky]

When I was in my initial healing time and using a vaginal antibiotic gel for my dilating, I did use nitrile gloves for two weeks, and carried it over for another week when I developed a yeast infection, but when my pain issues tapered off, I was told it was OK to just use a good anti bacterial hand soap before beginning dilation.  I was also told to wash the dilator at the same time with the same stuff.

I have a plastic "shoe box" size plastic container on the bed with me at "D" time.  Supplies are my lube goo, which here in the US, Wal Mart's generic brand comes in a pump bottle, a hotel grade wash cloth which I have bought a package of 25, which clean up the lube very nicely on hands and the dilator itself when I am finished. A clean one used at the start of each "D".  My green boyfriend is in the box too.

Pump on a single line of the lube, on the top and bottom of the boy, from the tip up to the deepest mark on it, and just even the coat out with one finger, then I lay back and let it happen.  At that point I can wipe the small amount of lube off the single digit, and do whatever I need to do for the 15 minutes that my regimen needs.  Most of the time, its just music I listen to. 

When time is up, the washcloth sops up the outfall from my V, and then wipes the dilator down.  It all goes into the plastic box, and I go for either a shower or a sitzbath.  The washcloth goes into a special laundry depository (a plastic waste bin with a lid) for the next wash time.

Up until April 20th I was dilating three times a day, and until July 21, I am down to twice a day, and after that once a day.  Listening to the rest of you, I feel that I am not doing enough maintenance, but I am the same depth (deepest mark at my labia minora) I was on my "training" dilation on Sugery +5 and with gentleness, and almost teasing the dilator in, which counts on my total time, I get it in smoothly with no pain at all.  I am still not sure what anyone means by "dynamic dilation", but I do get a kick out of pulling it in and out, and rotating it frequently during dilation.  For me, its the rotation of the angled tip that does give me a little stretching sensation, but when done near the prostate area -------dirty thoughts abound. 

[milktea]

Some ladies, I read, only do it once a week or one in a few weeks. Have you talked to you surgeon about your issue?

tks hon... suporn's famous quote is "more pain more dilate"...it is pretty amusing when he does it with a wierd hand gesture. so yes i was told that dilation pain is 'normal' and it is just a matter of persevering no matter what happens. most other suporn girls i talked to reflect that dilation hurts (to varying extents) for the first year...so my guess is that there are a minority like you who are lucky not to experience pain...

[mintra]

tks hon... suporn's famous quote is "more pain more dilate"...it is pretty amusing when he does it with a wierd hand gesture. so yes i was told that dilation pain is 'normal' and it is just a matter of persevering no matter what happens. most other suporn girls i talked to reflect that dilation hurts (to varying extents) for the first year...so my guess is that there are a minority like you who are lucky not to experience pain...

Ooh! I didn't realize you went with Suporn. I heard his technique requires harder work on patient to do dilation. My Thai friend who had him long time ago came to visit me when I had my op at Yanhee and she showed me her vagina. It looks REALLY good. So I think you're in good hand.