Was Actual Constipation More Common in the "Golden Age?"

In a discussion I had with a man recently he pointed out that in the 1950s and much of the 1960s Processed foods were actually seen as a good thing, and the latest and greatest.

There was far less interest in working out and keeping in shape ESPECIALLY for women, and to a lesser extent men who had been though a lot physically in WWII.

I asked him if he thought the tight girdles that were standard "girl gear" back then were part of that also. His response: "That sure didn't help! How much it contributed is had to say objectively."

Sooo I think we can safely conclude that the conditions were certainly right for vastly more real constipation than exists today.

Those of you old enough to remember, What's your take, were enemas more common at least partly because real constipation was just more common?

I do not know about the "Golden Age" but here is something about my own childhood.

In France, it used to be often the case (and still is but to a much lesser extent) that public restrooms, including those in schools, were of the squat type. I suppose that this is for sanitary and economical reason: one can clean squat toilets with less work than a sit-down type, there are fewer nooks and crannies, and there is no skin contact when using them.

At the same time, such toilets are awkward to use (unless perhaps you have one at home, which nobody has in France). Thus many children avoid them.

Also, some schools tended to have too few toilets and not enough break time.

This probably incited some children to avoid drinking (to avoid urges to pee) and to postpone pooping. Both may result in constipation.

I was myself constipated in elementary school (with squat toilets) but it stopped in teenage years (no squat toilets).

(The perception by parents of the importance of constipation in children differed, it seems. My parents were afraid of "impaction", that is, severe constipation that would earn a hospital trip to be settled, and thus took action. I don't think today's parents are so afraid.)

Looking at old cookbooks they didn't seem to have nearly as many healthy recipes either, many being low-fiber and few fruits and vegetables.

Pecan - even without squat toilets school bathrooms aren't (or weren't) great, even in the '80s and '90s. Prime locations for bullying (no adults), often not very clean as it seems there were always a couple of students who messed things up, and as a student you're usually rushed for time because there's sometimes this crazy idea (at least in the upper grades and at least at the time) that students should be able to use the bathroom AND get to their next class in the 5 minute passing period. Not only does this discourage pooping there, for a while it also led to me not drinking enough so I wouldn't even have to pee.

I hope schools are better now.

I believe so. Our diets were made up of whole milk, potatoes, cheese and other constipating foods. It seemed like every kid in my family was constipated at least once a month.

No offence anyone, please.

I think constipation (real, or imagined) is much more common in enema fetishists than it ever was in the rest of the population. At the rate of blockage on this site, there would be a line up in the shit more/shit less aisle at the pharmacy.

Have fun!

I think it's a matter of perception. Obsession about bowel function years ago was helped by the notion of "autointoxication" from constipation. It's been totally debunked.

I don't know if constipation was more common, but I do believe most mothers were more concerned with "regularity" back then, for whatever reason. I know my own mom kept a close watch on my bathroom habits and quite often asked me when I last went to the bathroom. She believed it was necessary to move your bowels every day and any deviation in that routine was cause for concern. If my bowels hadn't moved for three days, out came the syringe and she gave me an enema to correct the perceived problem. The enemas always ended with a warning to keep myself regular if I wanted to avoid another syringing.

LiquidSky - it has not been debunked. Start with the natural medicine advisors, then move onto articles by the specialists in colon cancer and autism (amongst other things) and you'll see that they're saying the same thing: autointoxication exists and is a deadly danger. People in the latter category don't use the actual word autointoxication, but they are verifying its existence

Grew up in the 70's here, so past the Golden Age but I could still see remnants of it, starting with horrific food recipes. Although I like "old school" cooking - oysters Rockefeller, prime rib, a good backyard barbecue with potato salad - a lot of the pre-packaged "processed" meals in vogue back then were terrible, high salt, constipation grenades, but entirely too convenient to pass up pushing that box of Hamburger Hell-Ride into your grocery basket, right next to those Lucky Charms.

Everything was also starchy, starting with the grandmaster of colon clogging: white bread. Vegetables were always boiled to a nice shade of cadaver grey, and no entree was complete with out a side of some kind of potatoes and mystery brown gravy (which still come in the convenient rip-tab, just-add-water packets on the 'spice' aisle...).

In my neighborhood an ambulance made a monthly appearance to haul away the latest coronary, always in their 60s. Some of that was also the smoking (ubiquitous among adults, but don't you kids dare try it!) but I suspect a fair share can be attributed to the cholesterol and colon mung built right in to every box of that Hell Ride...

Squidicunt, autointoxication has been debunked in mainstream, science based medicine for 75 years. Naturopathic journals are not science based and are often laughable. I studied gastroenterology for a year before deciding on emergency instead. Believe me, no reputable GI doctor believes that constipation increases colon cancer. The idea that it causes autism is ridiculous.

Actually a study from the American College of Gastroenterology does show a 1.78 increase in colon carcinoma but it's felt to be from prolonged contact with bile salts not bacteria.

This study demonstrates an association, not causation, between chronic constipation and both colorectal cancer and benign neoplasms" said co-investigator Nicholas Talley, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Newcastle. "The postulated causal link between constipation and increased colorectal cancer risk is that longer transit times increase the duration of contact between the colonic mucosa and concentrated carcinogens in the lumen, such as bile acids or other carcinogens."

So: An enema the day keeps the doctor away.

As a medical student and physician I have seen a number of enema related cases. I saw two patients who had used too hot water and had burns to the rectum. They both died. I saw a sea captain who had perforated the rectum while giving himself an enema. He died. Finally, as an intern, I saw a woman who perforated her colon while giving herself an enema because she had chronically used corticosteroids for asthma. So no, an enema a day does not necessarily keep the doctor away.

Liquidsky

You are right but I think upon normal tap water enemas on persons with an intact colon.

Agasmic, I had the opportunity to be present for a lecture by Dr. Michael Debakey. He noted all the usual risk factors implicated in coronaries. A cardiovascular surgeon in the audience asked him of all the risk factors he had quoted, which one was the most important (Obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, etc.). Debakey said, "Oh, THE most important? Who your grandparents were."

Liquidsky

You are right but I think upon normal tap water enemas on persons with an intact colon.

All his examples except the woman on steroids had an intact colon.

They injured themselves taking their enemas.

Actually a study from the American College of Gastroenterology does show a 1.78 increase in colon carcinoma but it's felt to be from prolonged contact with bile salts not bacteria.

This study demonstrates an association, not causation, between chronic constipation and both colorectal cancer and benign neoplasms" said co-investigator Nicholas Talley, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Newcastle. "The postulated causal link between constipation and increased colorectal cancer risk is that longer transit times increase the duration of contact between the colonic mucosa and concentrated carcinogens in the lumen, such as bile acids or other carcinogens."

Typical. Now I get to add this to my mental list of "pink flags" (little things that increase my risk but aren't the biggies like FAP), along with

"Oh, THE most important? Who your grandparents were."

Lovely. And to make things worse I tend to up the fat intake when I get backed up and appetite goes down so I don't loose to much weight, which would seem to lead to increased bile.

Liquidsky

You are right but I think upon normal tap water enemas on persons with an intact colon.

Compromised colon is one part, you also need to be careful with compromised renal system, and in all cases you need to be careful and not stupid. Liquidsky is bringing up things he saw - too hot solution, probable physical damage from pushing an enema tip in wrong, etc. There are also many cases from using solutions that damaged the colon - alcohol (see Agasmic's post on Smirnoff), antibacterial soap, hydrogen peroxide, etc. These can happen to anyone. Be careful.

So this will be always the question to relieve an actual constipation:

What will be the best for you:

- to take an enema,

- to insert a laxative suppository,

- to swallow an effective laxative?

So this will be always the question to relieve an actual constipation:

What will be the best for you:

- to take an enema,

- to insert a laxative suppository,

- to swallow an effective laxative?

Best is always to prevent whenever possible via diet, having enough fluids, and going to the bathroom when you need to.

Beyond that it's based on your body, your situation, and what you prefer. Personally I find enemas effective and predictable, with a suppository probably second. Oral laxatives often have extended periods of discomfort and/or unpredictable action, but I do use Mirilax for maintenance.

Constipation was a problem in our household, and looking back it was mostly diet related. Always a freezer full of beef from the last critter sent to the local butcher to slaughter and package. All of these great grass fed beef cuts would be fried to very well done in the big cast iron skillet. A lot of home-canned items from the summer gardens, but not a lot of salads and "roughage" as we'd call it today. My mom encouraged me to eat prunes in an attempt to be a little more regular, but growing up in the 50's, prunes were not something I could enjoy. Seems there was always a reason for someone to report to the bathroom where there was a large terry cloth towel on the floor, the fountain syringe was hung from the shower curtain rod, and a container of Vaseline open and waiting.

Squidicunt, autointoxication has been debunked in mainstream, science based medicine for 75 years.

I know from a person dying at the third day of an ileus.

Constipation was surely a common malady in my family during the "Golden Age". Stewed prunes and prune juice were usually the closest thing to a laxative we had around. It wasn't until the mid 70's that Metamucil was a common item on the grocery list for my grandparents. I never got the more common laxatives until I was older and on my own. Even then, old habits didn't die off for me.

I'm sure that one's nutritional habits were contributory. The new fangled drugs and supplements gradually helped most deal with issues of regularity and digestive distress in today's more enlightened society.

That being said, an enema bag was always hanging around to address such issues. A quart or two of warm water, a pinch of salt, or a swish of the bar of soap, were likely far more economical that spending hard earned money for those items frequently advertised as our TV picture went to color from black and white.

Now and then, suppositories became more common for my younger siblings. Laxatives and probiotics were still not on the grocery list.

While a good old fashioned enema became less of a tool over the decades, some of us die hards still indulge. I may be a bit "behind the times", but those simple solutions to an age old problem, is still quick, effective, and rather predictable. I don't miss much work or other events due to that "nuisance ailment".

Besides, is there a better way to enjoy some shits and giggles?

Complete bowel cleansing, dying of an ileus has got nothing to do with "autointoxication" as understood by the "detox party"

Surveys have shown for a long time, that more and more people believe they are constipated, especially females. You can also tell from the vast number of laxative advertisements in the lively coloured tabloids preferably made for female readers.

Probably the individually felt "constipation" ist not exactly what doctors would consider a severe case of constipation. But why consult and pay the doctor when easy self medication is at hand and you feel better afterwards?

I'm not sure when the golden age started and ended but for me growing up in the seventies my sister and I were always constipated so were our neighbors next door????

I'm not sure when the golden age started and ended

Golden Ages - of any kind - are usually in a not so distant past, when the person doing the remembering was young or else when they heard their parents or grandparents reminiscing about how much better things were 'back then'. You know, it's a direct correlation in the opposite direction of the ever so predictable: 'things are going to hell in a handbasket'.

As a little kid I always wondered where you would find a handbasket large enough to fit in for the trip to Hell.

Dan

1. Statistics comparing "now" vs "then" are possibly flawed due to better reporting.

2. I think the main (nasty) factor was a much looser sense of boundaries in the 50's. Much of what parents did then in the name of "health" or "attitude" would land them in the slammer today. When I was raising kids in the 70's I never would have ever considered enemas for my kids without getting to a pediatrician first (and I never did). And the plain fact is most bowels will eventually work sooner or later. I think the real issue was some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder that drove many people to constantly pry into the lives of others and try to manipulate them. I think the sense of conformity was so pathological that possibly parents compared their kids' symptoms: "Bobby went yesterday and you didn't so you get an enema because you've got to keep up with Bobby."

Both my parents were college student-athletes, I was raised on a diet that would challenge the Dallas Cowboys training camp table. When I got to college, the nutritionist laid out a training diet with, at least, 8 glasses of water a day, my roommate commented: "Good God! I will float away." It was no change to me. I grew up with 4 to 5 portions of fruit a day, a high-fiber diet with lots of liquids. I wouldn't think of not eating a big breakfast with some cereal and fruit. Consequently, I have been seldom constipated in my life. My college roommate was the exact opposite. She was always taking suppositories because she didn't follow the diet especially the liquid. After one year, she quit the team but we continued to live together through our junior years. The point that I am making is that the diet is extremely important keeping the body regular so perhaps constipation is less common these days than it was with early generations.

Since we were enemaed regularly growing up, neither my sister nor I got constipated. Little did we know the weekly enemas along with regular doses of laxatives would lead to lives of constipation. Whether constipation was more common, I know that enemas certainly were. Kids complained among close friends about getting an enema.