How to Use a Female Urinal: A Step-by-Step Guide

A female urinal is a device shaped to fit against the body and channel urine away while standing, sitting on a bed’s edge, or lying down. The concept is simple, but first-time users often struggle with positioning and end up with leaks they blame on themselves rather than on technique. Getting comfortable with one usually takes two or three practice runs, and a few specific adjustments make the difference between a frustrating mess and a reliable tool.

What Counts as a Female Urinal

The term “female urinal” covers a surprisingly wide range of products, so knowing which type you have (or need) matters before you try to follow any set of instructions. The main categories break down by shape and intended setting:

Funnel-style devices: Lightweight, often disposable funnels made of cardboard, silicone, or rigid plastic. You hold the wide end against your body and the narrow end points down or into a bottle. These are the most common consumer products for travel, camping, and festivals. Some are single-use and some are reusable.
Contoured bedside urinals: Molded plastic containers with a curved opening designed to sit flush against the body while you are in bed or in a chair. These are the type most often found in hospitals and home-care settings.
External collection devices: Wearable cups or funnels that connect to a drainage bag via tubing, sometimes with gentle suction. These are used in clinical settings for patients who cannot get up and may stay in place for hours.

Patent records show that inventors have been refining these designs for over a century. Early models were simple disposable wedges and bedpan variants that relied on shape alone to prevent spills. Later generations introduced adhesive edges, sealing features, and even low-level suction to improve containment, especially for people who need to urinate while lying flat.

Step-by-Step for a Funnel-Style Device

Funnel-style urinals are the type most readers will encounter first, whether for hiking, road trips, or public restrooms they would rather not sit in. The process is straightforward once you get the seal right.

Before You Start

Practice at home in the shower or over a toilet before you rely on the device in the field. Wear pants or shorts you can pull down easily, or a skirt you can lift. If you are using a disposable cardboard funnel, unfold it fully and check the shape. If you are using a reusable silicone funnel, make sure it is clean and dry so it does not slip.

Positioning and Voiding

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Pull your clothing to one side or down enough to access the area. Place the wide end of the funnel firmly against your body, pressing it up and forward so the rim sits snugly just above the urethra and below the pubic bone. The front edge should tuck in tightly. A common mistake is holding the funnel too loosely or too far back. You want a gentle but firm seal along the entire opening.

Tilt the narrow end of the funnel slightly downward, away from your body, aiming into a toilet, a bottle, or the ground. Begin urinating at a moderate, steady pace. Resist the urge to push hard. Research on female voiding posture shows that natural, relaxed flow produces the best results. In one study, women who sat in a relaxed position achieved smooth, bell-shaped urine flow curves about half the time, whereas hovering or semi-squatting dropped that rate to roughly one in five, largely because the pelvic floor muscles were tenser in those positions.¹ A standing funnel is closer to hovering than to sitting, so staying relaxed is even more important. Let your breath out, soften your belly, and let your body do the work.

Related research on pelvic floor relaxation confirms that positions allowing the abdominal muscles to release produce the most effective muscle relaxation, and that tension in the abdominal wall directly correlates with tension in the pelvic floor.² In practical terms, this means hunching over, tightening your stomach, or holding your breath while urinating through a funnel works against you. Standing tall with a slight bend in the knees and a soft core gives you the most relaxed flow.

Finishing Up

When you are done, keep the funnel in place for a few seconds and tilt your hips slightly forward to let any remaining urine drain. Then pull the funnel away in a smooth motion, narrow end tilted down so nothing runs back toward you. If using a disposable funnel, fold or roll it and place it in a waste bag. If reusable, shake off excess and store it in a dedicated pouch until you can wash it.

Using a Female Urinal in Bed

For someone who is bedridden, recovering from surgery, or managing limited mobility at home, a contoured bedside urinal replaces the traditional bedpan. The experience is far less disruptive to the body, and studies consistently show patients prefer it. In one study of hospitalized women, over 80% rated the female urinal as more comfortable than a bedpan, and more than 90% said they would recommend it to others.³

To use one, lie on your back with your knees slightly bent and your legs relaxed apart. Place the curved opening of the urinal snugly against your body, pressing it gently upward so the rim follows the natural contour of the vulva. Some people find it helps to roll very slightly onto one hip to get the urinal positioned, then settle back onto it. A waterproof pad underneath provides a safety net in case of small spills. Once the urinal feels secure, relax and void at your own pace. When finished, press the urinal against the body for a few more seconds, then carefully lift it away while keeping it level so urine does not slosh out.

External collection devices with tubing take this a step further. In a hospital trial of a funnel-shaped collector designed to cup over the female anatomy, roughly 93% of participants agreed the device was easy to position, and 86% found it comfortable to hold in place.⁴ These devices often work with low suction pressure and incorporate a small vent hole that prevents uncomfortable levels of vacuum while helping urine flow into a collection bag. Every participant in that trial said they would use the device again and recommend it.

Dealing With Leakage

Leakage is the single most common complaint among first-time users, and it is almost always a positioning issue rather than a product defect. In the hospital funnel trial mentioned above, about 43% of participants experienced some leakage during use, yet the vast majority still rated the device favorably and preferred it to alternatives.⁴ That number suggests leakage is common but manageable, not a dealbreaker.

Several adjustments help:

Press forward, not just up: The urethra sits further forward than most people expect. Sliding the front edge of the funnel or urinal opening forward and slightly upward catches the stream closer to its source.
Check for hair or skin folds: Anything that creates a gap in the seal will let urine escape along the rim. Spreading the labia slightly with your free hand before pressing the device into place can make a noticeable difference.
Slow your flow: Urinating forcefully can overwhelm a small funnel’s drainage capacity. A relaxed, moderate stream gives urine time to travel through the channel without backing up at the edges.
Tilt correctly: For standing funnels, the narrow end needs to point at a downward angle steep enough that gravity keeps urine moving. If the funnel is nearly level, urine pools and overflows the sides.

Practice under low-stakes conditions makes a real difference. Most people who struggle at first report that by the third or fourth attempt, they have found the right angle and pressure for their own anatomy.

Why Hospitals Are Moving Toward Female Urinals

Beyond personal convenience, there is a strong clinical case for external urinary devices. Traditional indwelling catheters, the flexible tubes inserted into the bladder, carry a well-known risk of urinary tract infection. When hospitals introduced external female urinary catheters as an alternative, infection rates dropped substantially. One study found that catheter-associated urinary tract infections fell from about 3.1 per 1,000 catheter days to roughly 1.4 per 1,000 catheter days after the switch.⁵ That is more than a 50% reduction in a common hospital-acquired infection.

Another study found that implementing external female urinary catheters led to a significant decrease in indwelling catheter use, particularly in intensive care units.⁶ For patients and families, this means fewer days with an invasive tube in the bladder and a lower chance of the complications that come with it.

Disposable urinal solutions in hospitals have also been linked to less pain, greater dignity, and easier hygiene for patients, with 80% of healthcare professionals in one review recommending their use.³ If you or a family member is facing a hospital stay, it is worth asking the nursing staff whether an external urinal option is available, because many hospitals now stock them but may not offer one automatically.

Skin Health and Hygiene

One concern people have about external urinary devices, especially for extended use in a hospital or home-care setting, is whether having a collection device against the skin leads to irritation or breakdown. The evidence is reassuring. A quality-improvement study on external female urinary catheters in hospitalized patients found that only about 5% experienced new or worsening skin breakdown, and the devices were actually associated with reduced skin exposure to urine compared to traditional methods.⁷ In other words, external collection can protect the skin from the kind of prolonged urine contact that causes incontinence-associated dermatitis.

For everyday users of reusable funnel-style devices, hygiene is simpler. Rinse the device with water after each use if you can. Once a day, wash it with mild soap and warm water, then let it air dry completely before storing it. Avoid harsh chemicals or alcohol-based cleaners on silicone funnels, as these can degrade the material and cause skin irritation over time. If you are using a disposable device, just throw it away after use and carry a fresh one.

Keeping the device dry between uses matters more than people realize. Moisture trapped in a sealed bag creates an environment where bacteria thrive. A small mesh pouch or a container with ventilation holes works better than a sealed zip-lock bag for storing a reusable funnel in a backpack or purse.

Outdoor and Travel Use

Female urination devices have become popular gear for hikers, climbers, and long-distance backpackers. The appeal is obvious: being able to urinate standing up means you do not need to find cover, remove a heavy pack, or drop layers in cold weather. But the trail context introduces its own considerations, especially around infection risk.

A study of female long-distance backpackers found that the relationship between urinary device use and urinary tract infections remains unclear. Researchers noted that more study is needed to determine whether using these devices increases UTI risk or whether small changes in technique could prevent symptoms entirely.⁸ The honest take is that the science has not caught up to the popularity of these devices in outdoor settings. What is known is that general urogenital hygiene on trail, including staying hydrated, urinating frequently rather than holding it, and keeping the device clean, follows the same principles that reduce UTI risk in any setting.

For travel beyond the backcountry, funnel devices are useful in situations like road trips where restroom options are limited, festivals with portable toilets you would rather not sit on, or destinations with squat-style toilets that feel unfamiliar. A disposable cardboard funnel folds flat enough to fit in a jacket pocket. Reusable silicone funnels are bulkier but eliminate waste, which matters on long trips or in Leave No Trace areas.

When a Female Urinal Might Not Work Well

Female urinals are not a universal solution. Some situations make them impractical or less effective. People with significant urinary incontinence who cannot control when urine releases may find that a funnel device does not catch unexpected leaks, since you need to position the device before you begin voiding. For those individuals, wearable absorbent products or external catheters with continuous drainage are often better choices.

Certain body types and anatomical variations also affect the seal. Someone with a higher body weight may need to use their free hand more actively to create a seal between the device and the body, and some commercial funnels are simply too small for every body. Reading reviews from people with a similar build can help narrow down which product fits. A few brands now offer wider-mouth or flexible-rim versions specifically designed to accommodate more variation.

Mobility limitations in the hands or arms can make it difficult to hold and position a funnel accurately. In clinical settings, external collection devices that can be secured with adhesive or light strapping provide a hands-free alternative, but those are not widely available for consumer purchase. A caregiver can help with positioning a bedside urinal, and the learning curve for the caregiver tends to be shorter than for the patient, since they can see what they are doing.

Choosing Between Disposable and Reusable

The choice comes down to how often you plan to use the device and where. Disposable funnels, typically made of coated cardboard or thin recyclable plastic, are cheap and light. You can carry several without noticing the weight, and there is nothing to clean. The downside is waste. On a multi-week hike, that adds up, and many wilderness areas require you to pack out all trash.

Reusable silicone funnels cost more upfront but last for years with proper care. They tend to have a softer, more flexible rim that conforms to the body more easily, which can reduce leakage compared to rigid disposable funnels. On the other hand, you need access to water for rinsing and a way to dry and store the device hygienically between uses. In cold weather, silicone can feel stiff when first taken out of a pack, so some people warm it in their hands for a moment before positioning.

For hospital or home-care use, the choice is usually made by the healthcare provider. Disposable options reduce cross-contamination risk, while reusable contoured urinals are sturdier and more comfortable for repeated daily use over weeks or months of recovery. If you are setting up a home-care arrangement, asking the patient’s occupational therapist or nurse about which specific product they recommend for that person’s situation will give you a more useful answer than browsing online reviews written by healthy hikers.