From my research and experience, medically administered enemas were quite small, usually one pint or less. In the 1945 edition of Tabor's medical dictionary there are at least twenty-three kinds of enemas described, and most were small quantity. for example, a mayo enema used only eight ounces of water, a purgative enema of soapsuds, glycerin, magnesium sulfate, and turpentine used a pint of water, and a soapsuds enema was from two to four pints for an adult. Rinse enemas were not mentioned.
In 1951, at age 5, I was hospitalized for several weeks. I was given an enema every other day from a small irrigator can. Being a can, I could not tell if it was full or not. Only two or three time did a nurse determine the enema was not successful, and the enema repeated.
After release from the hospital, I was bedridden for several months. Mother continued the every other day enema, only from a Jack and Jill nursery rhyme bag, and added a plain water rinse enema. At age nine, I started to get my enemas from a full two quart bag.
Why were home enemas bigger than the medically administered enemas? Has anyone tried a small quantity enema?