I don't use soap.

In my opinion, an enema without soap, is compareble cooking potatoes without salt !!

I tried soap....if you want cramps...use soap. I use filtered tap water, or if done for the day....24 ounces of wine and 2.5 qts water.

Without soap or some other irritant (e.g. glycerin, bisacodyl, Epsom salts, etc.), I experience no peristaltic activity and my enema gets stuck in my colon. Every. Single. Time.

Most nursing reference books until around 2000 recommended to use a MILD curd soap solution for cleansing enemas up to 2 liters. Such SSE induce only very mild cramps by irritating the intestinal muccosa. They prevent stucking of the enema and a second rinsing enema is not necessary.

At my age, I cannot feel entering the enema solution without soap and the mild SSE provokes unique feelings often followed by a "happy ending".

I do both, depending on timing and mood. Definitely think the soap aids the clean out

Up until about five years ago, I always used just plain water. I tried soap when I was in my early twenties about forty years ago and hated it but then I tried a little bit of soap and it was so good. It was just a little bit but I began adding a little bit more each time and found just the right amount for me. Then I tried some peppermint soap and I have never looked back. Now plain water is for rinsing and coming down for a smooth landing.

My colon is frequently uncomfortable or painful (thanks, IBS), so I approach enemas looking for the most soothing experience possible. I’ve tried soap only once, the peppermint liquid Castile variety, but added it in such a cautious quantity that I didn’t notice much difference and never really felt the need to experiment again.

I can get a good release with a Higginson and plain tap water or a solution of baking soda and water. I choose between the two based on guesses about how full my bowel is, if there’s a backup, and where, and if I’m having spasms. Sometimes I can tell by just listening to my body; other times my belly can feel tense with nonspecific pain and I’ll perform a very targeted abdominal self-exam to figure things out.

Often pain that registers across my entire abdomen or even into my back will resolve into a localized sensation as I press more deeply over my colon. I have trouble spots around the hepatic flexure and the cecum, and if those areas stay in relative spasm long enough, I can have small but very painful areas of constipation there. Mostly the problem is something to do with my right side, and for me that means a warm baking soda solution is my best chance of relaxing those areas and releasing any blockage.

If I’ve just been off my schedule or dealing with hormonal constipation, issues with my left side, then a plain water enema, also quite warm, seems to allow for quicker relief.

Maybe I’m the only person to choose her solutions that way, but if I’m taking an enema for abdominal pain, as I often am, I want reassurance before adding two liters of water into the mix that I’m not having an atypical experience that’s actually appendicitis or diverticulitis. A quick palpation of my abdomen over my bowel is something I always start with in that circumstance.

For a maintenance enema I tend to opt for baking soda in my warm water to help it reach my cecum and be retained there; a quick tap water washout is not enough to prevent my IBS attacks.