Fecal Impaction tool

thingiverse

READ THE NOTES! Used for manual disimpaction of fecal blockage easily reachable at the rectum, typically caused by the tailbone interfering with an unusually large and dry bowel movement. The jet of warm water can cut through or erode the impaction without harming tissue. The round tip is designed to help avoid perforating the bowel. The flat tip is more aggressive but by the same token more dangerous, read the warnings below. This tool can also be used for an enema to help force water up and around the blockage to lubricate it and to help push it free. Shower water should be as warm as possible without scalding, be safe about it. Cut the impaction out in small pieces, particularly around the tailbone. and force water around it for lubrication. Retain water for an enema to force water all the way around and past the impaction for more lubrication. This tool screws into a standard shower hose. Don't over tighten it. I have not been successful printing this on its side because it would need supports in the threads and that makes the threads hard to work. It also roughs up the sides more. If you are successful with a horizontal print please leave comments. This prints very well vertically if a raft is used and if painters tape is applied to the build surface and glue stick applied on top of the painters tape. The glue can be made tackier by smearing it thinner with your finger or roughing it up and letting it dry. If you don't do these steps then your vertical build will not be successful, it will detach from the bed as the print gets taller. I have had 100% success using painters tape in combination with glue. Tape all by itself is not successful. Brims are messy to trim off the threads, the raft just snaps off cleanly. Print this with THICK side walls for strength and for water integrity. Don't print at 100% fill or the sides will come out looking like rough sandpaper. 50% fill and 1.2mm walls came out smooth and strong. Might print the next one with 1.6mm walls. There is a rounded model and a flattened version. There is one of each with no hole in the tip and with a hole in the tip. This is because most 3D printers can't print a good smooth hole of that small size. You either need to drill a 1/16" hole through the tip or you need to try to print one with a hole. Drilling is better. You only need to drill a short distance to get through the tip. Get all the debris out if you drill or it could block the water. This may come off the printer with some rough edges. These will tear you up if you don't smooth them. I may try to torch mine, where a propane torch is used to heat just the outer layer and then roll it smooth on a flat surface. If you heat the entire object then it will deform and be destroyed. I wonder what an iron would do with some wax paper protection, that could be ideal for smoothing something with straight sides. If you print using ABS then there are common household chemicals to smooth the sides, but I only have PLA on hand. It is generally not considered hygienic to re-use 3D printed objects that are insertable unless they are coated appropriately. Glossy paint has been suggested but I'm a big fan of plast dip. Don't get any on the threads. Plasti dip also goes a long ways toward smoothing out the print The flat tip version will dig into an impaction better and allow torque (twisting) to help break pieces off. The flat tip version is significantly more aggressive than the rounded version. Aggressive is good when you need an impaction broken apart, it's bad when you slip and perforate your bowel. I've printed both. Next time I get impacted I'm reaching for the rounded version, and if that doesn't work then I'll switch to the flatter version. Be careful, people, don't hurt yourselves. I have included blender files and stl files of the rounded head and the flat head, both with and without the final hole through the tip. TL;DR Secure it as firmly as possible with painters tape and thinly applied tacky glue, print it vertically with thick walls, drill a 1/16th inch hole through the tip, and smooth it out and/or coat it before using. Get the shower water up to temperature (as warm as possible without scalding), screw it into your shower hose, lube if needed. Cut the impaction out in small pieces by working around the edges, particularly the tailbone, and also use the tool for lubricating enemas. === advice, life experience, warnings, and boring legal stuff === There are thousands of things on thingiverse with disclamers, this is mine. Take some personal responsibility. Yes you can hurt yourself, specifically you can perforate your bowel if you press hard or slip, more so with the more aggressive flattened version. There aren't a lot of nerves in there and it can be easier than you think to do damage. You can also cut and scratch yourself if you don't smooth this out REALLY well and remove all burrs from the hole you drill. On the plus side you can also avoid going to ER or urgent care to have some stranger perform a "manual fecal disimpaction" on you and then bill you a few grand for the experience. I've dealt with three impaction events so far, and this is the tool that I'm going to have ready when the next one strikes. I've never gone to ER or urgent care. Yes it's possibly safer for me to go to ER, and perhaps someday I will need to, but as I learn to take immediate action and deal with this like the medical emergency it is, the results of each impaction have become less severe. The last one didn't even result in a sick day from work, just an early "lunch". It is more convenient, much faster, more dignified, and more affordable for me to understand the risks vs the benefits and take my own medical care into my own hands. If you do the same then you assume the same responsibilities for your own actions. Providing a tool that you might find useful does not mean I am responsible for anything you do or don't do with it. If your impaction is higher in the bowels, or if you can't safely clear it yourself, then your only option is to go to the emergency room or urgent care. If you are currently suffering from an easily reachable impaction and thinking of printing this, it's at least a 2 hour build and you are probably in an amazing amount of pain. I've never had one of these available before and I made it through three events without help. Enemas and manual disimpaction with your well trimmed fingers might get you through, or that might just give you something to do while the print is running (assuming the precarious vertical print is successful, and that you don't need to run out and buy a shower hose). Don't even think about using any household objects to help, they all have edges on them that are going to damage you without you being able to feel the damage occurring.