Love em or hate em the speculum is part of the gyno check up but what are they?
Technically a speculum is a device for dilating a bodily orifice, and that means not just vaginal, there are specific ones for anal, urethral and even nose and ears!
The most common vaginal ones you find these days are made of plastic, usually clear acrylic or similar and based on the Graves design. That is two "duck bill" style blades with a handle at right angles that squeezes to open. These have become so common they are easily (and cheaply) available on Amazon and other online stores.
Of course there are also many other variations mostly made from surgical stainless steel to allow them to be autoclaved.
But what about if you want to get into some home exam fun? Well as mentioned they can be purchased easily online but if you are the more inventive type and like to make your own there are options.
Another type of speculum is the Fergusson design which is basically just a tube with a flared "funnel" style end. The original Fergusson was metal and polished inside to allow light to be reflected deeper inside. Now days similar clear plastic tubes are used, the addition a wedge cut end makes insertion somewhat easier than the original butt end design.
These are easy to make at home, you can buy short lengths of plastic tubes of various sizes at the hardware store. Simply cut to length and carefully sand smooth the edges, instant speculum!
So there you have a basic intro to the wonderful world of the specula (yes actually thats the singular, speculum is actually plural) and how you can make your own. There are many other things you improvise with for this kind of exam fun, I have used plastic shoe horns and even large spoons in the past.
How about you, got any home made gyno exam tips or ideas to share?
Technically a speculum is a device for dilating a bodily orifice, and that means not just vaginal, there are specific ones for anal, urethral and even nose and ears!
The most common vaginal ones you find these days are made of plastic, usually clear acrylic or similar and based on the Graves design. That is two "duck bill" style blades with a handle at right angles that squeezes to open. These have become so common they are easily (and cheaply) available on Amazon and other online stores.
Of course there are also many other variations mostly made from surgical stainless steel to allow them to be autoclaved.
But what about if you want to get into some home exam fun? Well as mentioned they can be purchased easily online but if you are the more inventive type and like to make your own there are options.
Another type of speculum is the Fergusson design which is basically just a tube with a flared "funnel" style end. The original Fergusson was metal and polished inside to allow light to be reflected deeper inside. Now days similar clear plastic tubes are used, the addition a wedge cut end makes insertion somewhat easier than the original butt end design.
These are easy to make at home, you can buy short lengths of plastic tubes of various sizes at the hardware store. Simply cut to length and carefully sand smooth the edges, instant speculum!
So there you have a basic intro to the wonderful world of the specula (yes actually thats the singular, speculum is actually plural) and how you can make your own. There are many other things you improvise with for this kind of exam fun, I have used plastic shoe horns and even large spoons in the past.
How about you, got any home made gyno exam tips or ideas to share?
