Borrowing the equipment

I'm amazed by how many of you "borrowed" your parents' enema equipment when you were children or teenagers and self-administrated. I don't know if I would have had the nerve to do that unless sure to be alone (no disturbance) and to have the possibility to clean and dry the equipment…

Also I must say I'm also shocked by those, and I think it's always males, who borrowed their mother's douching equipment (or attached her douche nozzle on a combination bag). The douche nozzles I've seen, with their small holes, must be very difficult to clean properly. You risked giving your mother a vaginal infection!

So question - who borrowed equipment? Who got caught? What was the parental reaction? Who used mom's vaginal nozzle in their behind?

This is more of a comment as opposed to an answer to your question. I never borrowed or snuck enemas on my own when I was home alone. As I was never given any enemas as a child (my mother gave me countless glycerin suppositories instead), I didn’t know what an enema was until I walked in on my mother giving herself one when I was approximately 8 years old. I had no idea what the swollen yellow pumpkin enema bag hanging from the sliding glass shower door frame with the attached hose leading to my mother’s bottom while she was seated on the toilet was. As she explained what she was doing, I saw a look of unmistakable discomfort/pain on her face. Right then and there I decided that the last thing in the world I wanted to try was an enema. My mother left me with the impression that taking an enema was even worse than getting a suppository. Whenever my mother forced a suppository up my bottom, she made me retain it for at least an hour. Long before my holding time was up, I’d be crying from the burning sensation in my rectum and the cramps, and begging her to let me use the toilet. So I sure as heck had no curiosity about trying something that looked even more unpleasant than a glycerin suppository. Little did I know what I was missing out on!

I've posted a few times regarding the use of mom's enema/douching equipment. Back in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, the concerns regarding contamination were not all that critical. Hospitals and clinics were still using rubber/latex items. Cleaning and sterilization were believed to be adequate.

Simple soap and water, or perhaps alcohol, were pretty common for interchanging the various items around the house. There was only 1 enema/douche bag and a bulb. The oral and rectal thermometer were separate, but everyone used the same.

Mom suspected my sister and I of "playing" with the equipment, and threatened us with the douche nozzle waving it in our face. We each got our share of enemas at home.

I suppose we were all lucky to live to ripe older ages in light of those issues. Nearly 70 years of enemas and we're still kickin'.

I sometimes borrowed my mum's enema syringe and also her vibrator. I was still a teenager at the time. I never got caught because I made sure that nobody was at home.

Somehow @Peti I'm just sure your Mum knew.... 😃

When my siblings and I were growing up, start around age six, mom gave us enemas together laying across our bed. In the beginning, she used a full two-quart closed top bag, giving each of us a third of the bag, doing this for both the soapy and rinse enema. As we got older, she switched to a three-quart pumpkin bag, giving each of us a quart using the same adult rectal nozzle. Going down the line of bare bottoms laying across the bed.

At our grandmothers, once she taught her two younger daughters personal hygiene and how to care for and give children enemas as preteens. She gave them the responsibility for doing our evening bath including enemas. Like mom, when they first started giving us enemas, they used one full bag to give all three of us an enema. As we got older, they stopped giving us enemas from the same full bag. Still using only one bag and nozzle, they filled it as needed for each of us.

Both at home and grandmas, a douche/enema bag always hung in the shower, making it easy for anyone using the bathroom to see. It was also convenient, for anyone taking a shower, to use if needed. Something my siblings and I took advantage of as preteens, once grandma taught us personal hygiene and enemas were our responsibility.

We all used the same enema bag and nozzle growing up. Mom had several different bags and nozzles that everyone shared. The only difference between home and our grandmothers, was the number of different bags and nozzles available. Being a retired Registered Nurse, she had a variety of different types of bags and nozzles. In all the years of sharing an enema bag and nozzle, washing them with soap and water, no one ever had an issue or got sick from the practice.

I didn't find it necessary to borrow any equipment for my early enemas. The red bulb that mom used on me was kept under the sink in the bathroom so it was readily accessible to use when I wanted to give myself an enema. It was the only enema equipment in the house that I was aware of. I know that bulb was also used on my brother, and later he used it on himself too. Maybe mom and dad used it on themselves too, but I am not sure of that. I was aware that mom had a bulb douche syringe in her room, but the thought of using it for an enema never crossed my mind. I learned from the Sears and Wards catalogs that there were separate nozzles for the vagina and the anus, and at the time I did not know that some used the vaginal nozzle for their enemas. The only bag enemas I got were from grandma at age 10, and I remember she used what was commonly called the adult rectal pipe.

Like many, I borrowed my parents' equipment.

As an independent adult, I bought my equipment at a pharmacy. It was the traditional French jug: 2 liters (it was no longer enameled steel), but it had a tap nozzle with two traditional cannulas. I prefer the vaginal cannula to the rectal cannula.

@RedBulb99 said,

I learned from the Sears and Wards catalogs that there were separate nozzles for the vagina and the anus, and at the time I did not know that some used the vaginal nozzle for their enemas.

As preteens then teenagers, after grandma taught us personal hygiene and enemas were our responsibility. My sister liked using a long-curved douche nozzle whenever she gave herself or asked me or my brother to give her an enema. Once she started douching regularly during her period each month. She commonly used the same curved douche nozzle for both enemas and douching, washing the nozzle in between an enema and a douche with rubbing alcohol then soap and water.

Tho multiple anal or vaginal nozzles were available, we commonly used the same attached douche nozzle for giving each other enemas. And our sister used the same douche nozzle for both enemas or douching. Mom, however was the exception, she hated getting an enema, so she only used it to douche.

We gave one another enemas on a routine basis from Junior High through the end of High School and never thought twice about using the same nozzle on each other. We never had any issues using the same nozzle on multiple individuals. Nor did mom or our sister ever have vaginal issues using the same douche nozzle for both enemas and douching. I can remember my sister reminding me, to be sure and wash the douche nozzle after I'd give her an enema, because she wanted me to help her douche afterwards in the shower.

Fast forward a number of years, once I got married. Like my sister, my wife used the same douche nozzle for both enemas and douching. Washing the nozzle with alcohol then soap and water in between. And like my sister, she never had any vaginal issues using the same nozzle for enemas or douching.

Guilty of all, except was not caught.

I was very careful to clean the douche nozzel after it came out of ne. I let it soak in warm sosppy water. Then rubbed it with alcohol, dripping some alcohol through the tube end so it got down to the little holes. I washed the whole bag, dried it, and put it back into place.

The douche nozzel was my favorite. It was special because I knew what h ere it had been before, I started playing with it.

We had only one fountain syringe in our home. What suspect was Sojourn latex douche bag. Mom used it for my enemas, albeit it with the child’s rectal tip. When I started sneaking enemas as a preteen I quickly learned that one, the douche nozzle felt nicer, snd two, it stayed in hands free during my enema.

I cleaned and dried the enema bag after every use, using the hair dryer to blow air through the bag and attached hose. As for the douche tip, after running several bags of hot water through it I cleaned the holes using a toothpick and toilet paper. No harm came from it - we were hearty folks when Ike was president 😇

Yep, guilty of that. While I would never lobby for nozzle sharing, there is today, somewhat of a preoccupation with sanitation and safety. We swam in the creek, or a backwater swimming hole. Drank from the garden hose, rode our bicycles without a helmet, and climbed trees and playground equipment that had no "safe surface" to fall on. We touched hot stoves and stuck metal things in the wall outlets. Any of this smart??? Oh hell no!! But we survived, and we learned. It appears from at least the first few responders in this thread that most of the time the cleanup was effective enough to avoid disaster. Perhaps thats because we were being "sneaky" took extraordinary care to conceal the unauthorized usage. Or maybe it was just luck. Regardless, add me to the count where one kit served the needs of everyone in the family.

Yep, guilty of that. While I would never lobby for nozzle sharing, there is today, somewhat of a preoccupation with sanitation and safety. We swam in the creek, or a backwater swimming hole. Drank from the garden hose, rode our bicycles without a helmet, and climbed trees and playground equipment that had no "safe surface" to fall on. We touched hot stoves and stuck metal things in the wall outlets. Any of this smart??? Oh hell no!! But we survived, and we learned.

A lot of kids didn't. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

Even those of us who survived, lost about ten points off of our IQs due to huffing fumes from cars burning leaded gasoline.

A lot of kids didn't. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

Even those of us who survived, lost about ten points off of our IQs due to huffing fumes from cars burning leaded gasoline.

Valid points, our discussions are among only the survivors, and there at least studies that suggest that car exhaust may have contributed to loosing a couple IQ points to airborne lead from gas. I didn't see rock solid scientific stats that prove that point, but even if it was a rock solid point would we go back 70 years and ban cars? Who can say that 70 years from now we will not be discussing the damage done to the human race by exhausted lithium batteries leaching their contents into the water supply?

My point was simply that some risk taking either from ignorance of the danger, simple curiosity, or just plain fun is part of being human. My thought is that if everyone was always protected from everything we would still be living in caves till on our first really bad day we get munched by a dinosaur.

So, now with sufficient time and experience I say with reasonable confidence that:

1. it would be better if we never shared enema kits.

2. this sex thing that people do seems to have a huge amount of hazards.

On #1 I've stopped sharing years ago.

On #2 I'll have to get back to you.

@WaterLog2 sorry, it's just that that whole "We were raised on hose water and neglect and are better off for it" thing kinda pushes buttons for me. I don't want to post an off-topic rant about it.

As far as sex there was a dramatic shift in risk profile that happened in the late '70s and wasn't discovered until the early '80s. Changed the game a whole hell of a lot.

Nonetheless, "People are still having sex" as the early '90s dancefloor banger had it. (Great, and now I've earwormed myself. Feh.)

.

All through my teens I was sneaking into my parent's bathroom when I was home alone or maybe a sibling was home but busy with other things. I'd lock the door and help myself to my mom's enema equipment. I discovered the bag with tubing and figured out how it worked. With no formal training, I made tons of mistakes like hanging the bag from the shower head which was way too high, causing the water to flow much too fast and using straight hot water at 120 degrees F (48.9 C) instead of the maximum of 105 F (40.6 C) but none of that stopped me. I got such a thrill out of having that warm water flow inside me. Well, that, and I also loved the feeling of sticking objects, such as enema and douche nozzles in a variety of shapes and sizes, into my eagerly awaiting bottom.

Yes, I used the douche nozzle for my enemas. It was bigger and because of the flared shape, it was easier to keep it in. I always washed everything carefully afterwards. I had no idea the larger nozzle was for douching because I knew less about douching than I did about enemas and my enema knowledge was next to nothing. I only learned as an adult what the larger douching nozzle was actually supposed to be used for. My mistake.

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@Vasbyt Well. I recall you said you had a hard paddling for playing with a boy's anus when 6 (or 7, I don't recall), and I found it too harsh. In contrast, while I don't condone spanking or paddling children, it somehow seems it would have been well deserved for using the bag in such a way when you were a teenager, including risking giving an illness to your mother.

@WaterLog2 sorry, it's just that that whole "We were raised on hose water and neglect and are better off for it" thing kinda pushes buttons for me. I don't want to post an off-topic rant about it.

I was absolutely not raised on neglect. I was raised by the most awesome, attentive parents I could ever imagine. That said, I made my share of mistakes, mostly because at the ripe old age of eight, we humans are not blessed with the knowledge and reasoning ability of an adult. Hopefully its obvious that the folks responding to this topic did not purposefully set out to endanger their Mother's life. I'm pretty sure that at the time my understanding was that nozzle was for adult use, though I won't claim my memory is that good! We are all human, and we learn as we go.

Absolutely, an 8 year old has no grasp of those consequences, and it's unreasonable to expect them to. At that age I think they just about have an understanding of what household poisons are and to avoid trying to consume them. And I would still keep that stuff locked up. They may also have an understanding of "Don't take/use/borrow other peoples' stuff without their permission" but if it's unlabeled and stored in a shared bathroom the child could probably make a fair argument that it was fair game, because they likely don't have an understanding that this is an intimate item like a toothbrush that you don't share with others.

My two sisters and I, and mom too, all got enemas from the same combination bag. That said, we were all told that the other bag, an open top syringe, was exclusively for mom's use. It was only later that I learned that it was for her to use douching.

I’m not sure we knew what mom did with the bag when we were young…

My first enemas from my mother were from equipment available at home.

The attitude towards it was standard, it had to be clean before use. Nothing special was done with the equipment.

For a very long time, there was only such equipment in the house. I bought mine only in adulthood, when the old one needed to be changed.

My parents didn't teach me a special attitude towards such things, everything should be washed with soap and that's all the knowledge.

Now I sometimes disinfect equipment, hydrogen peroxide, and boiling water.

Mom took frequent enemas for a “spastic colon” as it was called in those days. She had a red fountain syringe from the Rexall drugstore that she used to give me enemas when I was home sick during my junior year in high school. She used the same black rectal nozzle that she used on herself.

Mom rinsed the bag and soaked the enema and douche nozzles in something, I imagine it was hydrogen peroxide. I never used her syringe on myself because I didn’t begin to like enemas until I was in my early 20s when I had home care from a visiting nurse after I was in the hospital.

Regarding the use of borrowed equipment, back in the "Golden Age" of enemas, contamination was easily dealt with. Those severe diseases weren't at the forefront of of our concerns. I say easily dealt with, but that was within the level of knowledge of the times. With the many enemas, douches, and anal play, I was never aware of any severe reactions/illness that would be attributable to the procedure and/or equipment over my 70+ years of existence.

Mom often lent the enema bag to relatives and close neighbors when preparing for those exams and hospitalizations. We kids all got enemas from the same bag, and even with the bulbs and bags of grandma and aunt. I even got enemas from a friend's mom whose enema bag openly hung at their house. While I would never advocate this day and age, the sharing of equipment outside of close family. Times have changed and knowledge improved.

I have also found it interesting that enema use has been extremely frowned on, and even called dangerous, by many folks in the younger generations. While I'm sure some outlandish solutions and volumes increase risks, safe and sane enema use seems to be a very practical treatment for a variety of conditions. I'm sure the time commitment in the hospital/clinic venues discouraged their use, but in the home, they are still a viable and simple procedure to address a variety of digestive issues. Unfortunately, an enema bag isn't often available as needed, outside of our home.

Grandma and mom might have been labelled abusers or serial killers, were they still around wielding that red enema bag and subjecting us kids. Perhaps someone died due to an enema gone wrong, but I don't believe that enemas are killing or hurting people at the level some proclaim.

BTW...I don't believe I'm a psycho in need of psychiatric intervention, due to my love of this simple procedure and pleasure!

Both mom and dad were regular enema users. Bag hung in closet in bathroom. If I was alone would sneak a quickie. Dad passed away when I was 14, Started getting more brave. Like doing whenever I was home alone for a few minutes. Started using the small infant bulb on myself, as that was never used. Never got caught. Have often wondered if Mom knew. My adult self wished I would have approached the subject with her. probably had 15-25 enemas from mom growing up as a guess. when sick or when needed. last one probably 11 or 12 years old.

I was fascinated by enemas from an early age. I snuck enemas when ever possible. First from a small bulb syringe, later from the family enema bag. My mom took enemas often (gave them to me often too) so the bag hung in the shower more often that in the closet. Every chance I had I would put it to good use.

Still can't believe sneeking enemas as a teen never got caught. I put the bag away wet.

@hoseman1 She most likely did know, but was so happy that you were enjoying your enemas (as she did) that she didn't want to intrude and spoil your pleasures with them. You were a lucky guy with such a sweet mom.

@hoseman1 said,

Still can't believe sneeking enemas as a teen never got caught. I put the bag away wet.

Both mom and grandma were aware that we, like her younger sisters, liked enemas. As preteens, grandma taught her two younger girls personal hygiene and how to care for and give children enemas. A practice that was common in the forties and fifties. The old kids in a family routinely took care of the younger ones. So, between mom, grandma, and our young aunts, we got our share of enemas. Being there was only six years difference in our age and that of our aunts, they were more like siblings than aunts. Being that close in age, the girls were more open with us than mom or grandma, when it came to questions of a sexual nature. In some respects, the girls were just as curious as we were. Something they were both quite aware of including us. For example: There were times when the girls made excuses to give us and themselves enemas, something a blind man could see through, and grandma let them get away with it. Not that we really cared, because we enjoyed enemas as much as the girls did. In fact, we were actually involved with the girls ourselves, about half the time.

Both at home and grandmas, a douche/enema bag always hung in the bathroom shower, making it convenient for anyone taking a shower to use when needed. Before grandma taught us personal hygiene as preteens and enemas became our responsibility. I started playing around with the bag hanging in the shower, starting around age eight, whenever I took a shower by myself. I came close to getting caught by mom or grandma a few of times. However, the girls (my young aunts) did catch me a couple of times, using the opportunity to scold me about playing with myself but turned around and helped me with my shower an enema.

So, did mom and grandma know what we were up too, sure they did, they just didn't say anything about it. Enemas have a sexual component, something that we weren't aware of at our age, but the girls were. In the forties and fifties sex was a taboo subject, not to be talked about, but enemas were a different story. Hence, kids being taught to give themselves enemas as they entered puberty to avoid questions of a sexual nature.