Hospital Enemas Today

Once upon a time you got an enema in the hospital at the drop of a hat. Today, not so much. Could any of you medical types out there let us know what has to happen (other than barium) for you to get an enema in the hospitals? I was in the hospital about 10 years ago and the pain meds were bunging me up. No enemas but they stuffed suppositories up my ass more than frequently.

I had the same problem, I had a problem with deceleration trauma, crashed an airplane, shouldn't be alive, but I am.

Back in 2000, while still in the hospital, I had my share of pain meds, didn't know they were giving me a laxative or stool softener with my food, never told me. I still had a problem taking a crap, was hoping for an enema, no luck.

I got home, had a hospital bed and was laid up for a while, still taking pain meds. After a while I started having backaches. Didn't know why, spoke with an MD friend of mine, he said I might be constipated. My brain wasn't thinking straight, I should have figured it out. I rigged up an enema bag from the trapeze on the bed and got a fill up. I almost lost it trying to get to the bathroom, missed the toilet a bit, but wow, what a relief.

Nope, no hospital enema

the hoseman

Back in 2000, while still in the hospital, I had my share of pain meds, didn't know they were giving me a laxative or stool softener with my food, never told me. I still had a problem taking a crap, was hoping for an enema, no luck.

Same deal. I was finally released to a hospital bed in my home. Pain meds kept coming only now I was prescribed stool softeners which did nothing, I was miserable. Finally, it was decided I was ambulatory enough that everyone could leave me alone in the house so they left for a while. This gave me the opportunity to go upstairs and give myself a nice big warm enema. I could not believe how long it took to take that enema and how long that expulsion lasted and how great I felt afterward.

I had Cancer surgery in 2019, and got extremely constipated. In talking with my (very understanding) nurse she said she would try to get an enema ordered. Well, next shift I got my enema. A fleets mineral oil, but no regular fleets or a large volume enema to follow up!! I expelled the oil which was only slightly dark with no relief at all. When my nurse came back on duty the next day, I told her what had happened and that I was still miserable. She was gone a while, and came back with a plastic enema bucket and another nurse. She asked if the other nurse could give me the enema with her coaching...seems that nurse #2 had never given a large volume enema, just Fleets, and she wanted to learn. (good for her!) I said yes, I don't care if the Pope himself gives it to me, I need relief! After the laughter, she filled the bucket with water and I told her "easy on the soap, a little bit goes a long way with me. I am sensitive to it." That started a conversation about my enema use, which continued later in the story. Nurse #1 was holding the bucket up and standing close to the foot of the bed. Nurse #2 was inserting the hose, and working the shut off, per nurse #1's directions. I was laying mostly on my left side, but not completely in the Sims position due to my incision on the left side of my abdomen. My right knee is raised and my right foot flat on the bed. This raised the bottom of my hospital gown. When the enema started, nurse #1 raised the bucket up to start the flow, and even though I felt bad I immediately began to get hard. I looked at nurse #1 and realized she was looking right up my gown and staring at my hard on. She looked up at me, grinned and looked away. Nurse #2 did not see nurse #1 looking, since she was concentrating on the mechanics of the enema. Several more times I caught her looking at my hard on, and I made sure the gown was up high enough that she could easily see it. Nurse #2 gave me the enema very gently and I took the entire 1.5 L bucket. I held it a while and was put on a portable commode. I proceeded to fill it full. I was praised for being such a good enema patient.

Later, nurse #1 and I talked privately during my many walks down the hallway. She said that even though I was constipated, it looked like I enjoyed my enema. I innocently asked; "What makes you say that"? She looked around to make sure we were out of earshot of anyone and said: "Well I could see your hard on from across the room"! I told her that yes, getting an enema from two beautiful nurses would make anyone hard! She started quizzing me about my enema use, how I got started, how often, solutions, volumes, etc. I asked about how she got started with enemas? She told me that when she was a teenager she got so constipated (did not go for almost a week) that she ended up in the ER. I asked her how did they cure her constipation? She said enemas! lots and lots of enemas! She volunteered that she still takes them at home now. Her schedule as a nurse keeps her stressed and irregular. I could tell by her mood and the way that she talked, that she liked the enemas. Jokingly I said "WOW, wish we could help each other with our enemas some time! She said with a smile: "I would really like that, but my husband probably would not like it"! "Well, I said he can take his own enemas"! She laughed and we both agreed if we were single we would probably have to follow up on this, but since we are both married it will be just the thing of dreams. I told her the thought of her lying there with a nozzle in her rectum with the warm water filling her turns me on. She said; "Don't let anyone see your hard on under your gown in the hallway! (where we were still walking)." I did say that tonight after lights out, I would probably be thinking of her as I played with myself. She said she was going home tonight, take an enema and think the same thing about me. I thought I was going to cum right there in the hallway. She escorted me back to bed and left me with a "goodnight" and a sexy wink!

I saw her again the next day, and we could not talk privately but she did ask me; "How did you sleep?" "Great I replied, with a wink! And I asked her "How about you?". She said; "I slept like a baby"! With a return wink. We did not get a chance to have any more enema discussions, but every night after lights out (and many times since) I would envision her taking an enema and masturbating as the water flowed into her beautiful bottom!

Did I ever say that I LOVE Nurses?!

Today in a medical setting, enemas are the apex treatment and require a doctors order. Every hospital has a Bowel Protocol which is administered by the nursing staff and starts with stool softeners, then mild laxative, next a dulcolax suppository, then last with a doctors order a fleet enema, or a soapsuds in a difficult case. The thing to remember is that your nurse may never have administered any large volume enema. That being said, if ordered they will find someone to give it to you.

In order to get one, you have to start lobbying for it at the first sign of constipation. With the absence of enemas on admission or pre-surgery, it is no uncommon for a patient to arrive constipated. I usually refuse all of the Bowel Protocol therapies and start requesting a soapsuds enema right away. You can make the request to the hospitalist who is monitoring your stay, they will usually always order a fleets, what I tell them is that I don't like fleets and would prefer a SSE, it usually works.

I work as a critical care nurse and the last thing i want to see ordered is an enema (and yes, it has to be ordered by a doctor). Not because i object to giving enemas, have given plenty of them, but because of the amount of time it takes.

Nurses are pulled 5 different directions continuously for their 13 hour shift. In a hospital setting, many of those who would require an enema are also totally dependent. It's not as simple as just giving an enema, it's moving a patient who is often sedentary, and/or painful, onto their side, finding other busy people to help hold them in place because they cannot hold their self in place, then clean up afterwards. Time spent not available to care for other patients. Most have heard there is a nursing shortage (rolls eyes).

Not that the needs and demands of others end because we are otherwise occupied. Even though studies have repeatedly proven the human brain cannot "multi task," it's a continuous expectation when it comes to nurses. While giving an enema (or any other care) nurses are frequently interrupted with the needs of others. One thing that happens through out my shift is me giving patient care and someone walks up to the patients door and says "you have a call on 1936," and walks away. Sound ridiculous? It is, but it's a continuous reality of healthcare. Normal polite behavior doesn't exist, we constantly interrupt each other because the environment is acute and emergent.

lol, sorry. When i was going to nursing school, one of the things oft discussed was, don't expect your loved ones to get what you do, what you go through in any given day. It's continuous madness and mayhem.

That said... i'm a nerdy and somewhat OCD nurse. i monitor what goes in and what comes out as part of my care. When i examine my patient, after introductions, the first questions are to determine if they are alert and oriented. The second question is "when was your last bowel movement." On my unit, i have a whole regimen of bowel care at my disposal before an enema would even be necessary. i start with warm prune juice, which works for about 7 out of 10 of my patients. Then there's softeners, senna, polyethylene glycol, suppositories... and lactulose.

i usually get results well before needing to administer an enema.

i did have a patient who had a rare disease where their colon simply was not moving. i gave them a routine enema twice a shift.

Good luck on getting a enema in the hospital these days, and if you do, you'll probably get a Fleet and they'll bill the Ins. co $60 for it. LOL

I was in and out of the hospital when I was little (50s). . Every time I had surgery they wake me up very early to give me an enema (sometimes 2). They weren't fleets either. Enemas were given in the boys restroom where there was a special stall with a padded table & toilet. There was probably one in the girls restroom. The rooms were wards so there was no restroom, you had to go down the hall to the big one. It would be a long way to run holding an enema anyway.

I remember the stall walls & doors were low so adults could look over to check up on you.

A white pitcher was usually used to hold the liquid. I dont know what was used, but it was hard to hold and made you poop really fast. The tubing was amber colored and the nozzle was black with a big bulb/ball on the end. I remember getting a finger covered with Vaseline up my butt to get me ready. It would seem like they left it in a long time, twirling it around. The nozzle looked & felt big and kind of hurt going in and coming out & they always had a hard time putting it in. When they took it out, they just yanked it out. I yelled a lot telling them to take it out. Once it was in, I could still feel it and made me feel like I had to poop. The nuns were always the ones giving the enemas. Eventually, the liquid would fill me up and really make me have to poop. I remember cramping so bad once that I jerked and pulled the can off the shelf.l & have to start over. It seemed like there was always a kid in there getting an enema with all the whining and yelling going on. Sometimes, you could hear it down the hall. Before I got my first one, I would be in there, wondering what all the yelling was about.

About ten years ago, I was in the hospital for a few days. At some point during my stay, one of the nurses came in to do her routine check of my vitals etc. While she was in there doing her thing, she asked me when the last that I had went to the bathroom was 😨 I was completely caught off guard, especially since I had a visitor in there with me! I was not prepared to answer her and think that I told her that I didn't remember. So she tells me that if I need one that she could give me an enema 😮🤯 I completely froze and had no idea what to say. There was no way that I could just leave and exit the conversation, so I just had to pretend like she wasn't even in the room and I just totally ignored her...with my guest sitting in a chair right next to me. Yeah, that was pretty awkward since she was standing right next to me. After about a solid minute of silence, she finally left. I was completely mortified 😩

I have no idea what kind of enema that she would have given me and there was no way that I was finding that out 😂

About ten years ago, I was in the hospital for a few days. At some point during my stay, one of the nurses came in to do her routine check of my vitals etc. While she was in there doing her thing, she asked me when the last that I had went to the bathroom was 😨 I was completely caught off guard, especially since I had a visitor in there with me! I was not prepared to answer her and think that I told her that I didn't remember. So she tells me that if I need one that she could give me an enema 😮🤯 I completely froze and had no idea what to say. There was no way that I could just leave and exit the conversation, so I just had to pretend like she wasn't even in the room and I just totally ignored her...with my guest sitting in a chair right next to me. Yeah, that was pretty awkward since she was standing right next to me. After about a solid minute of silence, she finally left. I was completely mortified 😩

I have no idea what kind of enema that she would have given me and there was no way that I was finding that out 😂

@Allie80 That was a good one!!! Would've loved to see the look on your face. I literally LMAO!!!!!!!!🤣

Yeah @mike45 I was literally like just kill me now! 🪦

Haha I have another hospital enema story, not me but I was right there. When I was in high school, one of my Catholic school girl friends got pregnant and asked me to be her birthing coach. I said yes, but in the back of my mind I knew that somebody pregnant could get an enema before they have the baby and was a little worried about that. So she is in the hospital to have the baby and I am of course worried about the enema thing because as her birthing coach, I have to be there for the entire thing. So at some point, the nurse asks my friend if she is going to need an enema. My friend then asks her mom if she has to do that and the three of them proceed to have a conversation about it. I am right there with them, hoping for a quick death. My friend's dad was also there and noticed how uncomfortable that this conversation about an enema was making me. He asks if it was getting a little hot in there for me and then proceeds to point and laugh at me 😩

That was the only time in my life anyone has ever noticed how uncomfortable the word enema makes me and pointed it out 🤯

That was the only time in my life anyone has ever noticed how uncomfortable the word enema makes me and pointed it out 🤯

@Allie80 1st off, I'd of LOVED to see how many shades of red your face tuned in the hospital. LMAO 🤣 Second of all, I'm surprised the word enema makes you uncomfortable for someone who enjoys enemas. Most people who enjoy them like me and thousands other, the words a turn on. 😜😉🌹

I have posted this comment elsewhere on this site, but many of us here remember a time when if you were admitted to the hospital you got an enema about as quick as they now days ask for your insurance card. 😃

@mike45 said,

I'm surprised the word enema makes you uncomfortable for someone who enjoys enemas. Most people who enjoy them like me and thousands other, the words a turn on. 😜😉🌹

Starting around age seven or eight when mom told my siblings and I to get ready for a couple of enemas, I got hard as a rock. As a preteen then teenage, just thinking about getting an enema made me get hard. It was something that was beyond my control. It had a mind of its own… lol.

Now that is a funny story @Allie80 at least at this stage in your life. Not so much back then. Interesting how daddy mentioned how hot it was for you. Good perception or maybe hot for you.

@Allie80 Talking about enema makes you uncomfortable, possibly due to some "reflex", like saying something you "shouldn't" lol

@faultless50remember a time when if you were admitted to the hospital you got an enema about as quick as they now days ask for your insurance card.

Thanks, what you wrote gave me a laugh. Oh, to be given enemas like back in the day...

Fortunately, I haven't been hospitalized many times in my life so I have only received two hospital enemas. The first was when I was 14 and sustained a serious head injury that very well could have done me in if there wasn't a foursome behind me that I witnessed me fall. I was even luckier that day as one of the golfers behind me was a doctor and knew how to treat me until the ambulance arrived. I was so far out of it that I don't remember much about it other than a used a balloon nozzle. The second was prior to me giving birth to my daughter and I don't remember much about that one either. As I am sure you can imagine, I had other things on my mind.

Mercifully, aged 67, I have pretty much avoided encounters with hospitals. The one occasion when I was called in for a flexi-sig I was given a Fleets enema. The enema unit was nice, with couch and ensuite toilet and bidet. The nursing assistant who administered, popped back a couple of times to see how things were progressing.

I have worked in hospitals for over 14 years and I have never seen any equipment for administering something like a good old-fashioned water enema anywhere inside a hospital. I have seen plenty of fleets, micro-lax, and disposable clear plastic colon tubes that can attach to 150ml syringes that can be loaded with saline water for irrigation.

Only once in the 14 years, have I witnessed a patient receiving some kind of a water (saline) enema, but that was administered via an IV pump. If you know anything about IV pumps then you will know that they pump liquid very slowly via a very very thin tube and a nurse is not required to stay behind you to hold the equipment in place in your but. Nurses a very busy people.

Perhaps the only place you may still be able to receive an enema with more volume than a fleet will be in the x-ray department when they give you a barium enema. However, I have never worked long enough in the imaging department to have seen one performed.

like some others have said, good luck with getting a generous SSE or any large water enema in a hospital these days.

Today, not so much.

From my hospital experience some years back; hospital enemas were non-existent.... 🥺😢😭