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A female urination device (FUD [1] ), personal urination device (PUD), female urination aid, or stand-to-pee device (STP) is a device that can be used to more precisely aim the stream of urine while urinating standing upright. Variations range from basic disposable funnels to more elaborate reusable designs. Personal urination devices have increased in popularity since the 1990s. They are used for outdoor occupations & recreation, gender affirmation/safety, and medical reasons.
In addition, fixed installation and relocatable urinals are available for use by females. Some designs require the user to supply their own personal female urination device, while other designs do not have this expectation.
Female urination devices are marketed towards many different groups. For sports and recreation they are sold for camping, traveling, snow sports, caving, rock climbing, diving, hunting/fishing, festivals, long car journeys, and any kind of outdoor pursuit where the toilet facilities are absent or less than desirable. People with physical restrictions such as recovery from hip surgery, broken bones, or those who find it challenging to sit or squat also benefit from these devices.
Since 2005, numerous personal urination devices have appeared on the market. Products come in a variety of designs and materials such as plastic, rubber, silicone and paper; some are reusable and some are disposable. Several devices have been marketed for medical applications, and are sometimes available on prescription.
Occupationally, urinary devices are used by first responders, armed forces, and other outdoor jobs. Some brands are NATO approved, and are supplied to military personnel.[ citation needed ]
Such devices are used by trans men as "stand-to-pee" devices, or STPs, [2] often to combat gender dysphoria. More discreet solutions such as the "Snee-Kee" are specifically marketed for this purpose. Some stand-to-pee devices mimic the appearance of a penis and double as packers.
Cisgender men may also want a urinary funnel if they have medical conditions that make it challenging or impossible for them to stand and pee.
Urinals for a greater variety of bodies have advantages of quick and hygienic use, water conservation, and less need for physical space. Speed of use can be especially important when there is high peak demand, such as in music festivals, theatrical events, sports stadiums, discos, dance clubs, and convention halls.
Special fixed installation designs for female urinals have long been available, supplemented more recently by portable designs. Some designs, including squat toilets, have been considered "unisex", usable by either gender. The fixed designs are typically used by women in a "hovering" posture, standing over them with knees slightly bent.
In addition, small portable urinals including sealable collection containers have been available in female-only and unisex versions. They are often used for travel when immediate disposal is difficult. Initially, medical or hospital devices were pressed into service, but designs specially made for travel eventually appeared. They are used in small aircraft, and for extended stakeouts, such as in a hunting blind or a wildlife observation station.
Conventional urinals which have been designated exclusively for female urination device users have become popular in recent years, including at some major public events where providing adequate toilet facilities is difficult, such as outdoors festivals. To expedite usage, trough urinals may be installed, which the women are expected to use while standing, with small personal female urination devices. Pinkpop 2000 was the first event to accommodate large numbers of female urination devices,[ citation needed ] and the practice has now spread to events in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Finland, Ireland, and the UK. [3]
It is possible for a woman to aim her urine from a standing position without using a device. This was the norm in much earlier times, and standing to urinate was commonplace in certain cultures and situations, [4] but this practice is no longer the norm in Western society. Changes to women's clothing in the twentieth century made the use of urination aids practical for women who wanted to urinate while standing.
Disposable female urination devices were patented as far back as 1922. The "Sanitary Protector" filed for in August 1918 by Edyth Lacy, specifies a "cheap device ...[to be] used but once, being especially suitable as a sanitary device in public toilet rooms." [5] She notes that it is "accordingly unnecessary for the user to sit upon the closet seat; and the urine is led off without danger of soiling the clothes of the user or the closet". It was to be "made of a cheap readily destructible material, such as stiff paper, which can be readily disposed of after its use".
A similar device was patented in 1956: "an efficient urine conductor for use by females eliminating all need for contacting a toilet facility...usable while in a comfortable, erect standing position". [6] Another half a dozen devices with the same basic purpose and form were patented by the end of the century. [7]
The Urinelle, [8] which originates from France, appeared in 1996 and was the first to have mainstream manufacturing.
Urination is the release of urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. Urine is released through the urethra and exits the penis or vulva through the urinary meatus in placental mammals, but is released through the cloaca in other vertebrates. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, or, rarely, emiction, and known colloquially by various names including peeing, weeing, pissing, and euphemistically number one. The process of urination is under voluntary control in healthy humans and other animals, but may occur as a reflex in infants, some elderly individuals, and those with neurological injury. It is normal for adult humans to urinate up to seven times during the day.
A urinal is a sanitary plumbing fixture similar to a toilet, but for urination only. Urinals are often provided in men's public restrooms in Western countries. They are usually used in a standing position. Urinals can be equipped with manual flushing, automatic flushing, or without flushing, as is the case for waterless urinals. They can be arranged as single sanitary fixtures, or in a trough design without privacy walls.
Toilets in Japan are sometimes designed more elaborately than toilets commonly seen in other developed nations. European toilets occasionally have a separate bidet whilst Japan combines an electronic bidet with the toilet. The current state of the art for Western-style toilets in Japan is the bidet toilet, which as of March 2016 is installed in 81% of Japanese households. In Japan, these bidets are commonly called washlets, a brand name of Toto Ltd., and they may include many advanced features rarely seen outside of Asia. The basic feature set commonly found on washlets consists of anal hygiene, bidet washing, seat warming, and deodorization.
[[File:City of London Cemetery accessible disabled toilet block Newham London 1.jpg|thumb|A public toilet in London, England
A chemical toilet collects human excreta in a holding tank and uses chemicals to minimize odors. They do not require a connection to a water supply and are used in a wide variety of situations. These toilets are usually, but not always, self-contained and movable. A chemical toilet is structured around a relatively small tank, which requires frequent emptying. It is not connected to a hole in the ground, nor to a septic tank, nor is it plumbed into a municipal system leading to a sewage treatment plant. When the tank is emptied, the contents are usually pumped into a sanitary sewer or directly to a treatment plant.
A bedpan or bed pan is a device used as a receptacle for the urine and/or feces of a person who is confined to a bed and therefore not able to use a toilet or chamber pot.
Potty parity is equal or equitable provision of public toilet facilities for females and males within a public space. Parity can be defined by equal floorspace or by number of fixtures within the washrooms, sometimes adjusted for the longer average time taken and more frequent visits to the washroom for females, among other factors.
Unisex public toilets are public toilets that are not separated by sex or gender.
A urine collection device or UCD is a device that allows the collection of urine for analysis or for purposes of simple elimination. UCDs of the latter type are sometimes called piddle packs.
A female urinal is a urinal designed for the female anatomy to allow for ease of use by women and girls. Different models enable urination in standing, semi-squatting, or squatting postures, but usually without direct bodily contact with the toilet. Sitting models also exist, and are designed for body contact with the urinal.
An aircraft lavatory or plane toilet is a small unisex room on an aircraft with a toilet and sink. They are commonplace on passenger flights except some short-haul flights. Aircraft toilets were historically chemical toilets, but many now use a vacuum flush system instead.
A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human waste, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popular in Europe and North America with a toilet seat, with additional considerations for those with disabilities, or for a squatting posture more popular in Asia, known as a squat toilet. In urban areas, flush toilets are usually connected to a sewer system; in isolated areas, to a septic tank. The waste is known as blackwater and the combined effluent, including other sources, is sewage. Dry toilets are connected to a pit, removable container, composting chamber, or other storage and treatment device, including urine diversion with a urine-diverting toilet.
In health care, toileting is the act of assisting a dependent patient with their elimination needs.
Urine flow rate or urinary flow rate is the volumetric flow rate of urine during urination. It is a measure of the quantity of urine excreted in a specified period of time. It is measured with uroflowmetry, a type of flow measurement.
An interactive urinal is a device that allows users to play video games or control interactive displays while urinating. Several designs have been produced to date, usually comprising a urinal fitted with a pressure sensor to measure the strength and position of the urine flow and an LCD screen mounted above the urinal to provide animated graphics.
A pissoir is a French invention, common in Europe, that provides a urinal in public space with a lightweight structure. The availability of pissoirs aims to reduce urination onto buildings, sidewalks, or streets. They can be freestanding and without screening, with partial screening, or fully enclosed.
Pollee is a mobile female urinal, designed by Nuala Collins, Christian Pagh and Sara Nanna and produced by the Danish design bureau UIWE. It is specifically designed to be used at public events such as concerts or music festivals.
The Pee Pocket is a single-use urinary device that allows a person to stand while urinating, in situations where they could not normally do so.
madamePee is a mobile female urinal, without contact and without water supply. It is designed to be used at public events such as concerts or music festivals, but also in more durable situations such as construction sites, public gardens, etc.
A urine deflector is a device for deflecting the stream of urine during urination. These may be part of a chamber pot, latrine or toilet intended for the purpose, or they may be deterrents, installed in the sides or corners of buildings to discourage their casual use as urinals by passers-by. They may be constructed in various ways from a variety of materials but are typically designed to have an angled surface which catches and redirects the stream.