Long sea swims and sanitary protection - Triathlon Week

01-11-2005, 03:21 PM

Hi All

I have a rather delicate question which I hope some of you might be
able to help me with. I asked the same question on rec.sport.swimming
but didn't get a lot of response, so thought I'd try this NG as well.

Warning: this message contains references to women's bodily functions,
avert your gaze now should you find such things offensive (though I
will try to be as euphemistic as possible lest this post get sensored
by some over-zealous content filter).

I am planning to do a long sea swim of 4.5km in a few weeks time.
Knowing my luck it will end up being That Time Of The Month which
presents me with a couple of logistical issues.

Firstly, there is always a lot of waiting around at the start and
finish of such events, and in this case we have to travel to the start
of the swim by a 45 min ferry trip (which we have to report for an
hour before it is due to leave). So my access to toilet and washroom
facilities will be severely restricted for several hours, most of
which will be spent in my swim suit and/or wetsuit. In the first
couple of days of the wretched process I need to change at least every
2-3 hours.

Secondly, this last weekend I did a shorter sea swim of about 20-25
mins in my wetsuit and found that the sanitary protection (internal)
ended up waterlogged from the outside rather than the inside. This
doesn't usually happen when I swim but perhaps inside a wetsuit the
water gets trapped in one place rather than just flowing by and so
finds its way inside. I would estimate that this swim will take me at
least 1 1/2 hours, so this is going to be a much bigger problem.

So I'm looking for advice from others who have done a long sea swim
under similar circumstances. How do you handle the logistics of
bathroom facilities or lack thereof? How do you ensure that what needs
to be absorbed gets absorbed and what doesn't, doesn't?

Any advice gratefully received. If you prefer you can email me on:
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

TIA

Liz D

01-12-2005, 03:25 PM

Liz D wrote:

> So I'm looking for advice from others who have done a long sea swim
> under similar circumstances. How do you handle the logistics of
> bathroom facilities or lack thereof? How do you ensure that what needs
> to be absorbed gets absorbed and what doesn't, doesn't?
> Liz D

I don't have experience with long sea swims, but as a bicyclist have
paid attention to discussions of various solutions (that little string
can cause chafing).

To prevent chafing or water absorption from the outside, cut off the
little string in advance (or if you use ob just don't pull it out).
Squat or bear down to reach the item for removal.

Better yet, there are several products that are based on the principle
of a plastic cup worn internally to catch the flow. I believe at least
for some people they provide enough of a seal that they will not
overflow. The most available is called the Instead Softcup and I saw it
for sale in a large chain drugstore recently (see
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]). The cups (more like a saucer) are intended to
be disposed after use. I have worn them and found them comfortable to
wear, a bit of a nuisance to insert and remove (though now I have
remembered I may go back to them for times of very heavy flow). If by
any chance you are a dinosaur like me and use a diaphram you can use it
for that purpose and have a more custom fit. The Keeper is a reusable
soft cup--see [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] I haven't tried it but
some people swear by it and seem not to have problems even though they
empty and reuse it without careful cleaning.

Pam

01-12-2005, 04:37 PM

Hi Pam

Thanks for the info. I hadn't thought about the string maybe being the
cause of water absorbtion.

I haven't seen ony of the soft cup products on the market here (New
Zealand) but will enquire around as that sounds like a good solution.

I have heard of the Keeper but may not have enough time to source one
and suss out how to use it comfortably before the swim at the end of
Feb - but will maybe look into it more.

Thanks

Regards

Liz D

01-20-2005, 05:22 AM

As a man I am truelly humbled. Good luck with the swims.

BTW: Out of ignorance I ask does that cycle come to an end when you do
a lot of sport?

You may laugh now: my bollocks get in the way when I cycle and
scull/row. I once had to stop a 2000m ergo-rowing test not because I
was tired but rather my bits where all hanging wrong.

Also when i run my little man flops about and then thinks there is fun
about and it can get mighty shameful.....

01-20-2005, 06:18 AM

Lwt Sculler wrote:
> As a man I am truelly humbled. Good luck with the swims.
>
> BTW: Out of ignorance I ask does that cycle come to an end when you do
> a lot of sport?

Hopefully not. It isn't good for you if it does.

> You may laugh now: my bollocks get in the way when I cycle and
> scull/row. I once had to stop a 2000m ergo-rowing test not because I
> was tired but rather my bits where all hanging wrong.
>
> Also when i run my little man flops about and then thinks there is fun
> about and it can get mighty shameful.....

Gee, why doesn't someone think of some sort of strap that jocks could
use in this situation?

Oh, wait...

Gwendal

01-20-2005, 06:26 PM

>
> Gee, why doesn't someone think of some sort of strap that jocks could
> use in this situation?
>
> Oh, wait...
>
> Gwendal
>
>
:)
dd

02-09-2005, 11:00 AM

I would worry about sharks more than the rest of it.

"Liz D" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:55f01bc2.0501111421.421b0539@posting.google.c om...
> Hi All
>
> I have a rather delicate question which I hope some of you might be
> able to help me with. I asked the same question on rec.sport.swimming
> but didn't get a lot of response, so thought I'd try this NG as well.
>
> Warning: this message contains references to women's bodily functions,
> avert your gaze now should you find such things offensive (though I
> will try to be as euphemistic as possible lest this post get sensored
> by some over-zealous content filter).
>
> I am planning to do a long sea swim of 4.5km in a few weeks time.
> Knowing my luck it will end up being That Time Of The Month which
> presents me with a couple of logistical issues.
>
> Firstly, there is always a lot of waiting around at the start and
> finish of such events, and in this case we have to travel to the start
> of the swim by a 45 min ferry trip (which we have to report for an
> hour before it is due to leave). So my access to toilet and washroom
> facilities will be severely restricted for several hours, most of
> which will be spent in my swim suit and/or wetsuit. In the first
> couple of days of the wretched process I need to change at least every
> 2-3 hours.
>
> Secondly, this last weekend I did a shorter sea swim of about 20-25
> mins in my wetsuit and found that the sanitary protection (internal)
> ended up waterlogged from the outside rather than the inside. This
> doesn't usually happen when I swim but perhaps inside a wetsuit the
> water gets trapped in one place rather than just flowing by and so
> finds its way inside. I would estimate that this swim will take me at
> least 1 1/2 hours, so this is going to be a much bigger problem.
>
> So I'm looking for advice from others who have done a long sea swim
> under similar circumstances. How do you handle the logistics of
> bathroom facilities or lack thereof? How do you ensure that what needs
> to be absorbed gets absorbed and what doesn't, doesn't?
>
> Any advice gratefully received. If you prefer you can email me on:
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> TIA
>
> Liz D