Enemas...Mostly a USA Phenomenon?

I grew up in Argentina and enemas were routine in many families, specially for young females!

Seems like there is a certain amount of enema equipment/discussion out of Eastern Europe and the CIS.

I knot least in the 1970s that historically the British and Canadians have gotten at least as many enemas as American kids at least at that time, and before.

Today, as always, enemas are commonplace in Russia which I know from traveling there and seeing bags at home-stays and talking about them with hosts; also, pharmacies there carry a wide selection of enema bags and bulbs.

I know that in Russia commonplace is too taking castor oil on a regular basis, this in the following formula: 1 milliliter castor oil per kilogram of the human weight.

@complete bowel cleansing - 1ml per kg sounds a lot of castor oil!

Here in Europe this dosage is recommended in many websides and may be applicated for children too.

From what historical accounts that can be found --enemas in France both adult and pediatric were medically studied/explored/administered at near passionate levels in the 18th /19th century.

Perhaps I can add to the discussion insofar as the UK and its (then) colonies and commonwealth countries are concerned.

Certainly up to and including WW2 enemas were commonplace, and I remember seeing in an article in the British Medical Encyclopaedia (found in the reference library at my school), that a Higginson syringe would be found in at least 50% of homes. Certainly from late Victorian times onwards, syringes for enema administration were to be found in profusion. After WW2, and up to the early seventies, the enema was still a common feature, although given the British sensitivities, this was never spoken about in polite company, any more than the entire topic of sexual activity. However, having grown up in the immediate post war period, (the so called golden age), I can confirm from personal; knowledge that, in my environment at least, an enema could be found in at least one home in two, if not more. I was something of an observer (you might say a gentle snooper), since at first I thought I was the only person in the world to ever get an enema. I was curious to know that I was not alone.

I did not have to look far, and in most bathrooms with a medicine cupboard, the apparatus could be found.

Around 60% were enema cans, and the balance the Higginson enema syringe. This was particularly true in the colonies, where there might not be immediate access to medical assistance, and households were often prepared to deal with simple medical procedures.

Enema equipment was to be found in most chemist shops, and frequently on display. Certainly, up to and including the early seventies, you could buy an enema syringe at any of the large pharmaceutical chains, such as Boots The Chemists. Perhaps not in every small branch, but certainly at the big outlets in larger cities. Boots, at that stage, still had their own house brand, which was known as the "Regaid" enema syringe.

Also, at this time, many rubber goods for personal use (i.e. condoms) were available at slightly shady outlets - sometimes known as rubber shops. There would be many types of enema syringe available, and on display. Perhaps this was indicative of the fact that there was a thriving klisomophile population. It was certainly not something that would have been discussed publicly at that stage. Us Brits of that and previous generations, were, and probably still are pretty uptight folk. It may well also be something of a class thing - given that British society was then far more class conscious than our more democratic transatlantic cousins. Anything to do with reproduction or bodily functions was strictly off limits in what would be regarded as polite in upper middle class society.

From the middle seventies onwards, enema equipment seemed to disappear from local pharmacies, but could still be found in the larger retail chemists, such as those in London, who stocked all manner of what were known as sick room requisites. However, I have never seen disposables on display or for sale - as one does everywhere in America. Based on the fact that disposables can virtually always be found within easy reach in the American drugstores and supermarkets I have seen, seems to indicate to me that enemas, at least in the land of the free and the home of the brave are as popular as ever!

Again, from personal observation, and certainly in the seventies, enema equipment was as common in countries such as France and Spain.

Another quirk, was the British tendency to bestow impressive names on the various models of enema. The Ingrams "Perfex" enema perhaps being the most frequently encountered in my time, but I have seen reference to doughty syringes with names such as the "Sterilendum", the "Victoria", the "Molusca", the Satinetta", the "Buckingham", the "Regaid" and the like - seems rather strange in todays world.

Interestingly, if you google 'Ingrams Enema", and then click on 'images' you will find somewhere in there a facsimile of an advert by Ingrams, for their products - and the claim that for the modern home, the enema was was an essential household item for the family. I don't know where the advertisement would have appeared, or what date it might be, but it seemed remarkably forthright on the subject.

Hope this casts some light on the topic. I could not claim that this as definitive, but is certainly based on personal observation.

Regards,

Delia

I had the misfortune to be hospitalized for acute diverticulitis the last weekend of February. I went to the urgent care with lower left quadrant pain and they sent me right to the county hospital ER for a CAT scan. During my 3-day stay I was on IV antibiotics and was poked and prodded every hour I was there. I am OK now, but don't want to repeat the experience any time soon!

One of the med techs who I saw every day, a mid-forties woman named Katrya, was a former nurse from Ukraine. She is working to get certified as an RN in the US, but her English is not yet sufficient to pass the courses and board exams she needs to get licensed. She mainly took vitals and did non-professional patient care.

She was very 'chatty' and we engaged in conversation about my military service, foreign travels and my 'tummy troubles.' She told me that first thing upon admission to a hospital in Ukraine was, "You get enema." I told her that was common here 40 years ago, but not so anymore. She added, "You no have BM two day, you get enema!" She acknowledged that in America, "nobody gets enema anymore." I almost wanted to tell her to look up Zity and she might change her mind.

So add Ukraine to the list of places where the common enema is still commonplace.

Whereever I travel, I love to learn about the culture, not just see the tourist hotspots. I always visit the local grocery stores, pharmacies etc. With my interest in enemas and med fet, same holds true. I was recently in Spain. While I did not connect with any fetish type enema nurses, I did find on the internet that some of the little community nursing offices listed enemas on their list of routine services, usually priced between 10 and 20 euros. I stopped in a few which I came across, and was greatly disappointed to find the clinic nurses were men, so just asked some basic questions and left.

Finally I happened to be walking down the street and saw a local clinic, popped in and spoke with a middle aged female nurse with very limited English. For this type of thing I find it to be an advantage not to speak much of the local language, I simply said I was terribly constipated and wondered if an enema was possible. She started to counsel on drinking more water etc but I said I could not understand, so she proceeded to get a Fleet out of the cabinet. I was able to convay that a larger SSE would be much better, she seemed surprised and smiled but then produced a Fleet bag set. She did a wonderful job in giving me a warm, soapy 1.5 liter enema in the sims position, using her gloved finger to lube me with a bit of ky. She counseled to hold the water and sat with me for about 10 minutes before I rushed to go. Total cost 20 Euros, just over $20 and a very enjoyable experience overall.

I was recently in Spain. W

Finally I happened to be walking down the street and saw a local clinic, popped in a.

Mind if I ask where in Spain this was? It's a large country and I'd be curious next time I'm there ...

In the wonderful city of Seville, one of my all time favorites. Can't remember name or exact location of clinic. And if you are ever over in Lisbon, there is another very similar nurse clinic just down from the streets with all the bars in the Barrio Alto district, I had a similar experience there earlier in my trip.

Since the enema pre-dates written history and the US does not, that is a very hard statement to make.

My Mom was Canadian, and so were my maternal grandparents. Though she had cousins aunts and uncles in the UK and in New Zealand, as well as Canada.

She got enemas that most people would consider excessive in frequency, size and strength, and it;'s likely many of her cousins did two.

Did i dream it, or was there a family health book written by a Dr Spock, who reccomended enemas for anything, and id heard he was American, and the book was very popular , and this was somewhere around 1930 to 60 ? might be right, might just be a rumour .

Since the enema pre-dates written history and the US does not, that is a very hard statement to make.

.

If you believe that enemas are mostly an American phenomenon, then that will be the result of language and national bias. If you can't read in another language, then you will surely never hear of it happening in places/nations where that language is spoken.

I think what the US may have done is, because of there structure and discipline from war times, promote enemas more. I think mothers and care givers in the US believed that this was the way the medical technology is advancing and they were going to have there kids be as health as could be. Definitely not just a USA things, but maybe used more often by people who believed in them.

I have noted before that Americans seem to have this idea that enemas came from England, yet you will find a great difficulty I think in finding many in England who remember getting enemas regularly. There is on this site a (rather good) story called English Boarding School Remembered, which purrports to be a copy of a letter recounting the experiences of an American girl receiving enemas from the matron of a boarding school in England in the 1920s. I have pondered for years about whether it is indeed authentic or made up. If it is made up it's done very well. Also on here are several stories by 'Tom' recounting enema experiences in England, but the same question applies... and again if they are made up they're pretty well done. On the other hand I can't find any other references to enemas being given at boarding schools in England, though of course in many ways they were sort of secretive places and many an interesting story might have died with their old boys and girls. Definitely enemas were used in hospitals, I have seen them referred to in numerous reminiscences from nurses. They were definitely a routine part of preparation for labour. I did see an account, can't remember where, about a couple in England in the 1940s who gave one another enemas with a Higginson syringe, and there the author said that this was unusual. I have a vague memory also of a reference to what could have been the same device in a book called... I think, The Drums of Morning. So definitely the evidence seems to suggest that household enemas at least were rare.

P.S if the originator of any of the stories I've mentioned sees this and the stories are genuine true accounts, I apologize if I seem to cast any assertions. That is not my intention. I've been trying to find out about this sort of thing myself. Just for fun I have typed the word 'enema' into a few archive search boxes such as Hansard and The Times. Hansard reveals that the word enema was uttered in parliament 3 times I think between 1900 and 1970. The earliest of these references reveals that a suffragette imprisoned in Scotland in... I think 1908 was receiving three enemas a day. For what purpose it was not stated. The other references discussed some kind of survival kit being put together for those with chronic illness in the early 50s. One of the items was a Higginson's enema syringe. Incidentally that is a device of British invention, I have a little article about the inventor somewhere.

Daniel,

As a fan of Monty Python in the 1970's I watched the British series every week. There were frequent references to colonic irrigation and occasional images of bulb syringes, irrigators, and nozzles. I assumed this portrayed a slice of British life, although they way it was portrayed was with outlandish humor.

It certainly gave the impression that enemas were pretty commonplace in the UK.

Also on here are several stories by 'Tom' recounting enema experiences in England, but the same question applies... and again if they are made up they're pretty well done. O.

If the stories by 'Tom' are the ones I think they are, they were fictional and appeared on Speculumpages Back in the day. Tom even had his own special page on Specpages he sent in so many well written stories.

We corresponded with him often enough. He seemed to have a writing compulsion. He loved to write mainly sweet and loving stories about enemas and youthful exploration of enemas along with typical spanking/punishment element in the stories. If you gave him a synopsis or story idea, in a short while he'd send back a story anywhere from 40 to 150 pages. And all nicely constructed with beginning, middle and suitable ending. He was also good at writing a parody of British children's books. He did a story on 'Five Get an Enema' and another on Captain Biggles. Both hilarious but short-lived as either publishers or authors demanded removal from Speculumpages ... ha ha.

And even if the stories were fiction, so much extensive writing on the subject presupposes some good knowledge on the subject to make his stories believable.

I think we lost contact with Tom even before Specpages was closed down. He was British, very polite and well written in his mails and probably already getting on in years.

Hansard reveals that the word enema was uttered in parliament 3 times I think between 1900 and 1970. The earliest of these references reveals that a suffragette imprisoned in Scotland in... I think 1908 was receiving three enemas a day. For what purpose it was not stated. .

Imprisoned suffragettes often went on hunger strikes. I suppose there were two methods to forceably introduce nutrients into the body around 1900: force feeding through mouth, throat and esophagus, a rather horrid method with tubing. Or else via the rectum. Liquid food can apparently be absorbed this way, probably things like milk or broth or whatever.

I suppose it would be thought awfully humiliating, but perhaps force feeding by enema was less burdensome than via the mouth.

@Jekyll_doctor I can't honestly comment on something like Monty Python since I've never watched it. I don't know if the Pytons are really typical of British humour. That sounds daft as I watch a lot of British commedy but I'm not great at... trends if you know what I mean. Because I can't see either I can't have a squint at the context of the images. Of course there's a difference between something being joked about and there being commonplace in everyday life.

Even something like colonic irrigation, once so popular in Hollywood I'm told, I think here it was always regarded as a bit outlandish... though my Mum told me the other day, because it was referred to in another comedy called One Foot in the Grave, that she had once had this procedure done.

All I can say is that references to enemas and accounts of them in every day life in England are very hard to find. In a comedy set in the fifties called The Bradshaws, bowel problems are frequently referred to, but the solution is always pontefract cakes or something else to "put a road through ya".

As you may see above, Delia does recall enema experiences in the UK, and seeing the equipment in others' homes, I think in the fifties. So perhaps it depended on the household or neighbourhood. Perhaps it's also just something we keep silent about... being rather a reticent people.

My grandparents and my mother used them. My grandparents came from Italy, my Mom was first generation American born. They used and sometimes talked about the need for a good enema. My mom use to say, when I was not feeling well let me give you a enema. I would say something like Mom I have a cold, I don't need that. Mom would say “The beauty of it is - If it helps you fine, but it can't hurt you, and everyone needs a good cleaning out once in a while”. Now get undressed and I will get it ready.

@agracier Fascinating stuff about Tom! A lot of stories seem to have been lost with the demise of specpages. I have searched in vain for an archive. Oh God I was a huge fan of the Famous Five when I was little, still like them. I would love to have read that parody. Twinkle is another interesting writer of fiction set in England, and he too has some knowledge of the country and culture... though both Tom and Twinkle have made some blunders with historical accuracy... still, they weren't writing history so I won't hold that against them.

@agracier Fascinating stuff about Tom! A lot of stories seem to have been lost with the demise of specpages. I have searched in vain for an archive. O.

https://web.archive.org/web/20051125112839/http://www.speculumpages.com/page001.htm

Here is a list of Wayback Machine snapshots.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050901000000*/www.speculumpages.com

I suppose the years with the most snapshots and the latest dates are best to go looking for the best backups ...

The stories on page 7 should all be by Tom

https://web.archive.org/web/20051212085935/http://www.speculumpages.com/Page7/index7.html

My grandmother was from Russia and she emigrated in about 1906. She gave all her kids an enema once a week whether they needed it or not and tried to get my mom to do the same thing. Luckily I didn't get them that often. I know the Russians are big on enemas and have clinics that specialize it. As a people the Russians might be the most anal for sure!

My parents were both of German heritage and this goes back a few generations. I believe my father enjoyed enemas as after church every Sunday he would retire to the bathroom for a couple of hours. All in the house were aware as we had only one bathroom so we were warned to use it before he went in. My mother was the enema provider to me.

I have traveled extensively mostly international from 2003 onward. I find that in mainly W. Europe the small drug stores carry suppositories and fleet-like enemas. I never found a bag or bulb. In Japan you can find many of the small glycerin bulb disposable enemas. You can buy a single or box of 10 or 12. They have a large supply with many brands so they must sell. They are very effective. I usually brought a box home.

In China, you can find fleet-like enemas in drug stores but you may need to ask. I googled the translation and asked for them in Chinese to a lady pharmacist. Her jaw dropped and she came back with two of the enemas. The bulb of the enema was a hexagon, very attractive. The enema itself was just another fleet.

For these reasons I travel with a 1500CC disposable bag. One time I was travelling on business in the 90's so pre-9/11. I had a bulb syringe in my carry-on which went through x-ray. The lady running the screen asked if I had a light bulb in my luggage. I replied no, it was a personal syringe. She just gave me a smile and said OK.

Jim

@agracier Thank you very much for the link. I have tried to find it on wayback before, and while I could find the site itself, I don't think I was often, if ever, able to get the stories to display for some reason. It's a funny old bird wayback. Nevertheless I shall have another go. Thanks again.

@Agracier Success! I have managed to access some Tom stories. Loads here by the looks. I think I may have been thinking of another site called bearslairforum that I couldn't access the stories on. The sad thing of course is that, as far as I know, you can't search within the archived pages. I would love to rediscover a story called Robert's Masturbation Treatment, which involved a lot of enemas among other things, which was on bearslair, perhaps I shall find it in the specpages archive if I look hard enough. Anyways apologies to all others for this getting a teensy bit off-topic, and a huge thank you to you again Agracier.

Interesting...

I live in the UK and I admit that I’ve not spent a great deal of time in the US, so I can’t speak much to comparison. I did study in New York for a year, however, and my grandmother on my mum’s side was American. I suppose it’s possible that’s why my mother gave enemas, but I rather doubt it. They didn’t seem common practise there when I was in New York, though of course my grandmother would have grown up in the 1940s, when I suppose judging by some commenters here they may have been more common. My childhood nanny was French and seemed quite comfortable with both enemas and suppositories.

Speaking as a Brit just shy of thirty, I would say they are uncommon in my generation, though certainly not absent. On the boarding school issue I can comment some. I attended a very old and traditional English boarding school in the early 2000s from the age of twelve to seventeen, and though I did receive one enema from the school matron during my time there, it was definitely not a common remedy and I only knew of one other girl who received one during our time there. My husband also attended boarding school, and never received one whilst there.