Nappy Rash?

[Whynot]

I developed a pretty bad rash again last week, after four days straight in the Steelheart. The last time it happened was in early December, after a week in the Steelheart. The rash was pretty much confined to the head of the penis, with some dark red blistering. It didn't hurt or anything, I only discovered it after taking off the Steelheart for a shower. Didn't look very nice, though, and took four or five days to heal completely.

A kink aware doctor I talked to on the phone suggested it was probably something like a nappy rash, caused by some urine remaining in the tube and the warm and wet environment. I've got fairly sensitive skin and easily get skin irritations in hot summer weather. That may be a contributory factor. I don't think it's an allergic reaction to the stainless steel of the Steelheart, I never had any problems with stainless steel before. I also don't think it's an allergic reaction to the Silicaderm F I put on the head of the penis to get into the tube as the rash only occurs occasionally and only after some time in the tube.

The question now is what I can do about this short of getting out of the Steelheart every morning and evening for a thorough wash. I've been following Thumper's cleaning routine, but that doesn't seem to work for me, possibly because the tube is a bit short. I'm more of a shower than a grower, and my penis fills the tube completely even when totally flaccid, so Thumper's cleaning routine may not be enough to flush all the urine out.

Any ideas what I can do? Or would it make sense to switch to a more open design, like the Crossfire?

[Atone]

I would stop using the Silicaderm F just to make sure.

I use Thumpers basic cleaning routine as well with a lot of success. I am commonly in my Steelheart for multiple weeks at a time, the longest being over 50 days (don't remember exactly but there is a recent post about it somewhere). I am also a grower and fill the tube fairly completely.

In the morning I use the wash bottle with a little anti-bacterial body wash. Coincidentally, I got the exact same brand as Thumper, I'm guessing it was the most "manly" bottle they had (by manly I mean had the least amount of "not soap" in it or on the bottle). Don't use too much of the soap. You want to get clean but you don't want any excess soap remaining either. The more you use the harder it will be to get it all out. I have a much larger squeeze bottle than he has and use the smallest drop that will squeeze out of the bottle. I have started using his method of actually removing the head from the shower wand to rinse out. I don't do this every time because it is a bit of a pain but every couple of days. It is amazing how much water flows through and out the hole at the end of the tube. You can direct the water in from the sides as well to get a good flushing.

In the evening I just use a small squeeze bottle with water. I took the intake tube off of one and use it sitting on the toilet. Without the intake tube I can invert the bottle and have good access. If my wife caught me doing it in the sink I would have a bigger problem on my hands.

A more open design would most likely help with this issue. The crossfire is only open at the head so that may be enough while still preventing as much access as possible.

Good luck.

[Whynot]

First all all thanks to Atone for his advice. I stopped using Silicaderm F on the penis and found I can actually do without it quite easily. I even don't use it on the A-ring anymore, at least not most of the time. I only use it some nights when the nocturnal erections are really bad and keep waking me up.

The problem with rashes didn't really go away though. I did a couple of experiments over the past few weeks, and it appears these rashes occur after some three to four days straight in the tube. To me it seems like they're caused by the warm and humid climate and possibly also a build-up of urine in the tube. I often fill the tube of my Steelheart completely even when I'm not aroused, and the tip of my penis then blocks the hole of the Steelheart, making flushing the tube thoroughly difficult. I'm not circumcised, that's probably a contributory factor because the loose foreskin also gets in the way when I'm trying to flush out the Steelheart in the mornings and evenings.

I wasn't sure there is a real solution to this, so I took the plunge and ordered a second device from Dietmar, a Crossfire. I went for the Crossfire because it's easier to keep clean in the Crossfire and, perhaps even more importantly, the design allows the skin of the penis to stay dry. I can also easily check what's going on "down there"; the first couple of times I only noted something was wrong in the Steelheart when the rash had got so bad it started to hurt.

I also went for a slightly longer device. My Steelheart has got a 90mm tube, the Crossfire a 95mm tube. That may have been a bit too much because there's now a gap most of the time. But my penis seems to have kind of a life of its own, its length varies by as much as 10mm even when it's not aroused. Interesting. At the moment I'Ve got a bad cold, so the penis seems to have decided it's best to keep put of the way and almost disappeared in the new tube ... There's almost 15mm room between the tip of the penis and the end of the tube. I'll see what happens when I feel better again.

I'll also have to wait and see how I get on with the larger tube because I find the arguments in favour of a short tube pretty conving, and if it hadn't been for the rashes I would have stuck to the Steelheart. At least there won't be any more pinching of the foreskin in the hole anymore, that's a definite advantage ... The biggest disadvantage of the Crossfire I noticed so far is that you really want to sit down to pee, but maybe I can develop some kind to technique to avoid that.

A final word: The quality of the Steelheart was already excellent, but the quality of the Crossfire is even better. That's just about the best piece of workmanship I've yet seen, there's absolutely nothing I don't like. Great stuff.

[Locked4Xtine]

you might want to ask Dietmar to make the pee-hole on the device an oval shape to match the CB6000

the brief time I had with my steelworxx, i wish I had asked for that, cos my cocks pee hole would never line up with the device's

If your pee goes straight out the tube, it wont stay on your helmet and give you nappy cock rash