Castor Oil/Enemas later?

Until a week ago Sunday I have been doing pretty good with my asthma and bronchitis. By Tuesday my Pulmonologist put me in the hospital for a few days to get my meds regulated. He also said that I had some COPD which is also making things worse. Came home on Friday and the meds have all kicked in. The hospital staff told my neighbor to make sure that I didn't get constipated. Well I did and a few hours ago I was given a dose of castor oil which has not yet done it;s thing. I do not like taking it and I know from experience that soon I will be getting a strong, high soapsuds enema. Depending on how things work I may be in for a long evening or worse, a long day tomorrow. Hope things work soon.

Sounds like something you are looking forward to. Good luck with that and be sure to tell us how everything came out. (pun intended)

I think I might ask for the large, strong, long held enema as soon as possible, just to get my mind off of the taste of the Castor oil.

Eric

The post reminds of a barium enemas I had years ago , The night before I had to drink castor oil. It began to act about 4: 00 AM. That morning I had to take 3 tap water enemas. It was not fun. I know how Janet feels.

The castor oil worked some three hours later on Tuesday although not as good as Catherine thought it would work. She gave me a 2 qt soapsuds enema later that evening and told me to get some rest and that she would be back the next day.

Wednesday afternoon Catherine gave me another 2 qt soapsuds enema in the knee chest position using a colon tube followed by t rinse enemas, one on my back and the other again in the knee chest position.

Since my latest attack I have been spending a lot of time in bed or in the living room and not getting much exercise which again does not help my situation. I am fortunate to have A neighbor who checks on me daily.

Janet S

The castor oil worked some three hours later on Tuesday although not as good as Catherine thought it would work. She gave me a 2 qt soapsuds enema later that evening and told me to get some rest and that she would be back the next day.

I'm not really sure you needed both the castor oil and the enemas but it sure sounds like you are well cleaned out. Breathing problems are never fun and if you were hospitalized that indeed shows how serious they are. Good luck going forward with the asthma.

Janet S:

Just curious from your OP. I'm glad you did well in the hospital and went home with your meds working. Why were they particularly concerned about you being constipated? Do any of your meds do that to you or does that happen much? Does constipation make it more difficult for you to breathe? Thanks,

Eric

Why were they concerned about constipation? As I have said in the past, my meds cause severe constipation and even Miralax or laxatives do not help much.

Does constipation make it more difficult to breath? Come on, I breath out of my nose or mouth not out of my ass.

Janet S

Does constipation make it more difficult to breath? Come on, I breath out of my nose or mouth not out of my ass.

Janet S

Ouch!

I am curious as to how your neighbor became your enema nurse. It sure sounds like she is right on top of your BM"s

Constapation does cause breathing problems, it puts presure on the diaphragm witch makes it hard for the lungs to expand.

Anytime I see a reference to Castor Oil, I am always reminded of several unusual facts about “Granny’s cure-all”. In the early days of aviation, it was discovered, the hard way when an engine would seize, that castor oil was the most effective lubricant for use in a rotary engine. The downside of this was the fact that castor oil in the exhaust would blow back right into the pilot’s face, causing severe attacks of diarrhea quite often at the worst possible time. Even though the popular image of the WW1 aviator in riding boots and breeches, leather jacket, helmet, goggles and silk scarf oozed Hollywood glamour; every article of clothing had a specific, practical use with nothing to do with looking cool, that was just a bonus. Flying in open cockpits, all pilots wore goggles, not just to protect the eyes from getting blasted with freezing air, but to keep that castor oil-laden exhaust from getting in their eyes. So the goggles would get streaked with oil, affecting visibility. That’s another reason why the pilots wore long silk scarves: to be able to wipe off their goggles and to wrap a long end over their nose and mouth to try to minimize the intake of castor oil exhaust. Another reason that the silk scarves were so important was helping to protect the neck from abrasion against the course wool uniforms while they flew with their head on a swivel, constantly scanning the sky for trouble. That purpose was still popular among pilots during World War Two as well, long after castor oil–related problems were eliminated.

The other unorthodox use was by Mussolini’s Black Shirts during their rise to power. Dissidents would be tied to a chair and forced to ingest an entire bottle. Of course being untried and permitted to use the rest room was out of the question. So, in addition to the obvious physical pain and distress, victims also suffered extreme public humiliation. Since these “treatments” were often accompanied with severe beatings, death was not an uncommon outcome. In Federico Fellini's Amarcord (1973) The Fascists' torture Titta's father in a strange way. Like mothers doting over a sick child, they force him to swallow laxative castor oil. Apparently this torture was not the exclusive property of the Italian Fascists: there are also references to its use on British servants in India and by Belgian authorities in the Congo. A final note of castor oil trivia is this: The well-known motor oil brand Castrol was developed and marketed by the Wakefield Oil Company at the dawn of aviation and motor car racing. Castor oil as an additive was so effective the name was created to capitalize on its performance and the name grew to become far more famous than the company making it. So much so, the company name was changed to Castrol Ltd. In 1960. And so endeth the lesson.

Does Castor oil always work? I think something like magnesium citrate might work better. If you are doing an enema later, why bother with the castor oil? Does it give a better cleanout?

@Moppys_jalopy

Castor oil plus enema(s) are usually only used for a bowel prep. It seems excessive for constipation, for a couple of reasons.

When used for a bowel prep, the combination makes a lot of sense. The oil is usually given after a fast for 6 hours or so… often first thing in the morning. This usually results in a strong urge to poo within 6 hours, followed soon by pretty complete emptying of everything in you colon. After the oil has worked, and the pooing has subsided, it's enema time. Traditionally this has been a 2000ml bag of warm soapsuds which will get out any residual oil droplets and wash out any remaining poo, leaving you colon wall clean and easily visible.

But, if you are simply constipated this seems excessive.

Also, if you are badly constipated, it is very likely that the poo is quite hard. In such cases, castor oil is about the last thing to take. The stuff works petty quickly and does nothing to soften poo or make the passage easier. Castor oil just makes you push out the hard poo… you have no choice at all when it kicks in. And it can be a painful passage.

If you want prompt relief from severe constipation, a better choice is a series of small (125 to 250 ml), given with a bulb, about every 15 minutes, retaining all the solution. The purpose is to slowly fill you colon with warm water, long retained, to soften and lubricate the poo… easing passage. If nothing has happened after a couple of hours, a bulb with a swish of Ivory bar soap can help start things moving.

Does Castor oil always work?

May I ask you upon the following points:

- Is your gall bladder and your pancreas intact?

- Are you taking antihistamines?

- Did you swallow at least ½ oz (= 15 ml) castor oil?

The other unorthodox use was by Mussolini’s Black Shirts during their rise to power. Dissidents would be tied to a chair and forced to ingest an entire bottle. Of course being untried and permitted to use the rest room was out of the question. So, in addition to the obvious physical pain and distress, victims also suffered extreme public humiliation.

At Mussolini's times the regular dosage of castor oil has been the bottle with a content of 75 ml:

https://www.quora.com/Was-it-true-that-Benito-Mussolini-ordered-that-his-political-enemies-be-forced-to-consume-large-doses-of-Castor-Oil-I-heard-that-this-was-his-preferred-method-of-punishment-This-would-cause-a-slow-uncomfortable

So far as I know the normal dosage castor oil taken in the USA is 2 oz (= 60 ml). So, the difference concerning the dosage in swallowing castor oil is not so immense.

When my cousins and I were kids and teens and we were given an annual “Spring Cleaning” while staying at my grandparents' during the Easter holidays. After being forced to eat prunes stewed in Senna for dessert at suppertime on Wednesday we were given a big dose of Castor Oil at bedtime and after it had worked on us the next morning we were given a hot soapsuds enema to make sure we were completely emptied out, before being given 3 doses of foul tasting worm syrup washed down with a small glass of Senna tea at what would have been mealtimes during a day of starvation.

Thursday night we were given a dose of Epsom Salts in warm water and then on Friday morning we were given another hot soapsuds enema with a teaspoonful of turpentine added to flush out any worms that were still in us.

at suppertime on Wednesday we were given a big dose of Castor Oil at bedtime and after it had worked on us the next morning we were given a hot soapsuds enema to make sure we were completely emptied out

After having swallowed "a big dose of Castor Oil at suppertime” the bowel movement will begin 1 - 2 hours later, that is before midnight. So I am not able to understand that “it had worked on us the next morning”.

When my cousins and I were kids and teens and we were given an annual “Spring Cleaning” while staying at my grandparents' during the Easter holidays, after being forced to eat prunes stewed in Senna for dessert at suppertime on Wednesday we were given a big dose of Castor Oil at bedtime and after it had worked on us the next morning we were given a hot soapsuds enema to make sure we were completely emptied out before being given 3 doses of foul tasting worm syrup washed down with a small glass of Senna tea at what would have been mealtimes during a day of starvation. Thursday night we were given a dose of Epsom Salts in warm water and then on Friday morning we were given another hot soapsuds enema with a teaspoonful of turpentine added to flush out any worms that were still in us.

Wow that is some cleanout. Today that would probably be considered abusive. I am wondering as well if you took castor oil at bedtime, how you managed to hold it all night without some really messy accidents. I also wonder if you really had worms or if this was just their idea of covering all the bases.

@gboy

I love the olde time mom's tick of stewing prunes with Senna to increase their poo power. I was given about a half dozen of those on a few occasions and they really work.

Later on my mom found a way to get the same effect, without the trouble of preparation. She would add a full dose of Castoria to a half glass (about 4 Oz) of warm prune juice. The prune juice masked the taste of the Castoria. It was usually given at bedtime and it always made me poo before breakfast was over.

Many years later I commented to her that prune juice wasn't as laxative as hers had been. She laughed and told me about the added Castoria.

I am wondering as well if you took castor oil at bedtime, how you managed to hold it all night without some really messy accidents.

Exactly this one will be very interesting for me too. May I ask you to answer the following questions:

1. Of which quality will be the sleep while castor oil will do its job in the intestine?

2. Will the peristalsis in the intestine due to the ricinoleic acid be reduced during the sleep?

3. In which manner will occur the bowel movement in the morning after having woken up?

4. Exist there other people having taken their dose castor oil before going to bed?

Wow that is some cleanout. Today that would probably be considered abusive. I am wondering as well if you took castor oil at bedtime, how you managed to hold it all night without some really messy accidents. I also wonder if you really had worms or if this was just their idea of covering all the bases.

We didn't hold it all night. Before morning we would be rushing to the bathroom to pass a lot of runny diarrhea. Often we had pinworms which would appear as small threads in what came out of us after the Epsom Salts or the final enema.

Exactly this one will be very interesting for me too. May I ask you to answer the following questions:

1. Of which quality will be the sleep while castor oil will do its job in the intestine?

2. Will the peristalsis in the intestine due to the ricinoleic acid be reduced during the sleep?

3. In which manner will occur the bowel movement in the morning after having woken up?

4. Exist there other people having taken their dose castor oil before going to bed?

We didn't hold it all night. Between the action of the prunes stewed in senna at suppertime and the Castor Oil at bedtime we would be rushing to the bathroom before morning passing urgent runny diarrhea. The soapsuds enema in the morning cleared out anything that was still left in us before we were given the first dose of worm syrup.

@gboy

Dosing with both Senna infused prunes and Castor oil seems pointless.

Senna and prunes both take at least 6 hours to start to have a laxative effect… usually more like 8 to 12 hours. Castor oil works much faster often within a couple of hours. So, the Castor oil will have you pooing long before the Senna has any laxative effect.

Also, I've read it's a bad idea to give Castor oil at bedtime. Firstly, the oil can be upchucked and aspirated into your lungs. Also, it is almost certain to have a strong laxative effect during the night. If you sleep soundly you can easily wake up in a puddle of soupy poo.

Also, I've read it's a bad idea to give Castor oil at bedtime. Firstly, the oil can be upchucked and aspirated into your lungs.

You are right - remember: Castor oil is no drink that you may swallow quickly but a special sort of a food that should be mixed a certain time with the saliva in your mouth before swallowing this one, this in order to prevent certain problems while the digestion.

In the case that you will take 1/2 oz (= 15 ml) castor oil in your mouth and mix this there with your saliva for 15 to 30 minutes before swallowing this one you will not have any problems with the taste of castor oil for the receptors concerning the taste of castor oil are not in the front of the mouth but at the back. Further castor oil will become runny and will not disturb the mucosa of the stomach. Finally it is excludet, that the oil can be upchucked and aspirated into your lungs.

As I write this, a full dose of castor oil just passed through my mouth. 2oz. I think I'm fuked. The pancreatic juices are activating the castor oil in my gut and it's like drinking 2 oz of liquid soap. spasms will start soon I know, but I have to do it!

As I write this, a full dose of castor oil just passed through my mouth. 2oz. I think I'm fuked.

Remember that castor oil for itself is no laxative. The gall will split this one in ricinoleic acid and glycerine - the ricinoleic acid will activate the passive histamines in the small intestine and so the peristalsis will begin. I suppose that the content of your gall bladder will be sufficient to split 2-3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) castor oil in this manner, all the rest of the castor oil will make dirty the toilet. So it is not useful to swallow a larger dosage castor oil.

The mix of castor oil first, and after 3 o 4 hours laster a soap suds enema was the best way of midwife to statr labor.