50's family pics

There seem to not be hardly any pictures of the 50's family bathroom door with the enema bag hanging from the hook. Our door had the enema bag hanging from it and it seem to be drying most of thee times. Would have like to see a pic that mom was giving me my weekly enema than the bag hanging to dry.

My guess would be there aren't pictures of bags hanging on the back of bathroom doors from the 50's because at that time, you had to buy FILM and flash bulbs, have it developed, and they cost a lot more than digital pictures now. People didn't want their private things shown back then either.

Dan

Agree, Dan. Imagine few, if any, pics of enemas or related equipment were taken back then. No doubt however, the images (along with remembering the conversations) us klismo's have recorded in our minds of childhood enema sessions provide another level of additional stimulation.

Redbulb,

About the only pictures of Enema equipment from years ago, were in the mail order catalogs. They all had 'good', 'better', and 'Best', and most had at least one model that held 4qt. Any pictures of home equipment may have been done when Hemoroid, I mean Poloroid came out with instant film. Even those would have been few, because the price of film.

Dan

It is too bad that those everyday things were so rarely captured in images. It would be very nice to have proof how normal they were not that long ago.

Not only pictures from bathrooms in homes, but also of the store windows of drugstores and pharmacies. I have read many descriptions of displays of enema and douche equipment in those places, but I have never seen a picture.

Now that I think of it that way, it might be a worthwhile project to recreate these ordinary and innocent arrangement and take pictures. Recreate the past, so to say.images

Don't know if it's okay to talk about another site. If not, administrators please delete.

There is a group on Yahoo, Enema History Archives, run by Nora. She is running as close to a non-fetish group as possible capturing for future generations the reality of how ubiquitous they were back in the day, and the impact they had on many. Her motivation is to create a historical archive, clean enough in content that Yahoo won't take it down, so that future generations of social history buffs will have a resource/guide to an aspect of social history that is in danger of passing out of sight. There are some photos there of vintage equipment and I'm sure Nora would be glad to have many of the memories here for the archives.

I think they were common back then but so was the understanding that it was a private procedure. No one would have even thought to take a picture of that anymore than they would take a picture of a toilet or underwear hanging on a clothesline. Not a polite thing to do when conformity was the norm.

Back in the days of having your film developed at the local drugstore you had the risk of some self-appointed sensor deciding not to print certain "sensitive" pictures.

Also, before cellphone cameras and Facebook and the like, there was wasn't this need to share everything like people do today. Many homes in the 50's and 60's had enema equipment but why would anyone take a picture of it?

I did see one pic for a hanging bag in the shower in a local listing of the home for sale a few years back , cracked me up a little , and i am sure they were from my generation where every single bathroom had a hanging bag and it was no big deal

I'm also surprised that their are not that many pics floating around. I remember almost any house I was in when I was a kid, there were always an enema bag hanging either on the bathroom door as if it was awaiting the next victim or drying in the shower after it was used. Mainly they were the open top combination syringes either red or amber latex bags.

Remember that in the 50's most all moms used a diaphragm and jelly as birth control. So, most moms douched out 8 hours after sex to get rid of the jelly and semen. The instructions on the tubes of jelly suggested this. Since most fountain syringes came with both vaginal and rectal nozzles they could also be used for enemas. Just don't use the vaginal nozzle for both.

Dr.'s in the 50's told moms to used enemas on their kids or anyone else that was sick with just about anything. Probably because of the old "auto-intoxication" theory that has been disproven.

I called on a young Fam. Pract. Doc who told me he had a few old patients born during the 30's-40's who, if they hadn't had a BM in 2 days, wanted him to "call out" the National Guard with enema bags. My grandparents had that attitude.

I would love to see some real in-home pics from the golden age. I remember reading a post from a woman who stukk had a picture taken in her grandmother's bathroom with her and a couple of her cousins when they were little. hanging on the towel rack was the enema bag and on the sink was a bulb syringe as well.

she went on to say that the picture brought back memories saying that whenever she or her cousins visited grandma she would always give enemas.

Cheryl, years ago it was just assumed that a home had an enema bag. Nobody questioned it and everybody knew that it was a standard piece of bathroom equipment. Some people left them out in the open, but others didn't. My mom always made sure that when ours was dry it got put away in the linen closet. Most women of that era also douched and seeing a feminine syringe was not usual either. It's really odd how times have changed.

This topic reminds me of something I always saw at my neighbors house when I was a kid. From our backyard where we played, you could see a yellow enema/douche bag and hose hanging in the bathroom window in the evenings when the light was on. The window was frosted as most bath windows are but it was clear what it was. I remember playing one evening and noticed someone take the bag out of the window and could hear the exhaust fan and the water running. There were three girls in the household, so I suppose it was evening clean up time!!

When I was a kid like about 10 years old give or take 5 years there was a bag with a black nozzle on the end of a hose that was curved slightly about like a penis, hanging in the bathroom. I knew it was something my mother used to clean herself. There was no attempt to hide it other than hanging it in the bathroom, not in the kitchen or living room. I always thought she used it to clean out her penis trap. Enemas were not a thing at our house as far as I knew. I may have been 3, 4 or 5 when she used a bulb on me once because I was constipated. I never told her about being constipated again. 😮

It seems that any photos that might happen to be taken in the bathroom were seldom well planned back in the day of syringes on the toilet tank, hanging from the shower curtain or from a towel rack. If such items were included in the photos, it was most likely that it was an accident as the view finders were often off center, or often showing a smaller field of view than what the lens actually captured on the film. For a long time there was a image of a small child on a potty chair listed on eBay. In the left corner was clearly a swollen fountain syringe bag hanging from a vintage iron chair back. The child was looking up at the camera but the look in the eyes told a different story. I suspect the look in the eyes was more out of fear for what was soon to happen when the child was found to be constipated and the syringe would be used on the child. Most likely a view finder misalignment as the child was well centered and the syringe just barely visible and for the most part, most would have not been able to figure out the element on the fringe of the image. Took me a while to sort out what I was looking at.

As a child of the fifties, Almost every bathroom contained at least an enema bulb if not a bag. My family bathroom had the bulb in the medicine chest. Every time I opened it to get the toothpaste it was there staring me in the face. It made a great squirt gun. It was just so common I don't think any one gave it a second thought.

I'm really more of a child of the 60's than the 50's so this story is of the 60's. I was invited to a party to a classmates who lived in an old house that was actually built before the civil war. The house was lovely but unlike most of my classmates the rec room was on the top floor not the basement so we were going up the stairs not down. Alexandria and I were looking for the girl who hosted the party and had walked down the stairs to the second floor. As we came down the stairs a door opened and Harriet's sister came out and we thanked her for the party and asked where her sister was. As we were standing there cahtting, I noticed that on the wall opposite a bathtub was an open top family syringe hanging on the wall. Now this was not uncommon in those days plus this was not a guest bathroom as the floor above with the rec room had two bathrooms. However, beside the syringe was a small rack like toothbrush holder with several nozzles. It's still the strangest thing that I have ever seen in a home regarding enema or douche devices.

Ddell2,

Interesting observation. Perhaps, as there are several people in the house that use the bag for either enemas or douching (which was a common practice in those days, each family member had their own nozzles. If I had to put mine up that way, I wouldn't have a rack, but an entire wall! LOL

Ddell2: Did you by chance see whether they were enema nozzles, douche nozzles, or both?

@ master a @ Pecan Nut. Thank you for your questions. There were 4 people that lived in the house, Harriet, her older sister by 2 years , her mother and dad. One of which was a traditional vaginal nozzle, 2 were straight or anal pipes and one was a nozzle which I have never seen (Let me point out that my father owned a chain of discount drug stores and I used to help with inventory and worked occasionally his stores during the summers and holidays.) It was a straight nozzle about the length of a vaginal nozzle but slightly thicker and fluted.

OH MY!!!!!,

If I had a nickle for every bathroom that as a kid I saw an "ENEMA/DOUCHE BAG" hanging from the shower rod, a hook on the wall or on the back of the door.... well ... I'd have a lot of nickles!! I have posted before.. and "Nobody Minded!!" When visiting at Tommy Jones or Jimmy Smiths house and we'd play in the back yard then go inside to "Use The Bathroom" sure enough there was the "BAG!!"

Back then it was "ACCEPTED!!!!" in Everyday Society!!!

Today it is "GONE!!" but not Forgotten .. especially by those of us that lived it...

With that "KINKY "Klick" of that KLIP!!,"

highwater

I wish I had a camera when I was a kid , because I had an aunt that was an over the top collector of enemas and nozzles of every type you could image. She must have had well over 100 maybe more enema bags and all from the golden age. She had a large closet in the bathroom and the way it was organized for all her enemas was a sight to be seen and I remember the very first time I saw what was in that closet made me so so so so weak in the knees it was not funny. This was back in say 1966 when I saw this unreal collection. I used to spend time there in the summers and she herself would do an enema a day not that she had issues , she just flat out loved them . I used to fake being sick hoping and praying for an enema afternoon with her but it never happened . I should have had the courage to just say , Auntie I don't feel well I think i really need an enema or 2 , but I never did , and regret it. The collection though , OMG it made me soaking wet every time I had the chance to open that closet door. I couldn't sneak an enema from there cause the bathroom was in her bedroom and she would have know someone used an enema. They were her pride and joy for sure. I wish I had taken a picture of that.

WOW!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could have met her and had a conversation. My aunt was into enemas but only had two bags and I got the business end from them on a regular basis. Do I MISS those days.

In response to King's discussion: "...small child on a potty chair listed on eBay. In the left corner was clearly a swollen fountain syringe bag hanging from a vintage iron chair back. The child was looking up at the camera but the look in the eyes told a different story. I suspect the look in the eyes was more out of fear for what was soon to happen when the child was found to be constipated and the syringe would be used on the child." What you are seeing was a common potty training practice in the 1950s and earlier.

First it was expected that the child would have a BM at least daily. And the the best time for that was just after breakfast. At this time many children were secured on the potty chair with a tray or seat belt and sometimes both. They would be given about fifteen minutes to perform. If they failed, they got a suppository or enema. Often the suppositories or the enema equipment was left in the child's view, to encourage them.

We had a high chair that had a seat opening and a pot under that. These high/potty chairs seemed to be common at that time. My mother told me that it was handy that the child be given the chance, while she would be cleaning up the breakfast dishes. If we hadn't done our business by the time she was done, it was off to the bathroom. But at a number of other houses I knew, children were sat in the bathroom and looked at the equipment.

The whole potty training process was very strict. Wet training pants got you a spanking and poopy ones a stronger one.

In response to ddell2's discussion the larger straight nozzle was a rectal irrigator. They were a deluxe item that a lot of people wouldn't have had. The expensive set on JBL bag came with one. I assume the many holes let a lot of water through.

@chamed Thank you for the response. I wasn't close enough to tell if there where holes or not. I did see a pic of a nozzle here that resembled it but I haven't had time to look for it but if I will find it, I will post it here.

Recently there was a photo on eBay of a rather shapely lady of about 25 years old. She had a towel in front of her but her very pointy breasts were clearly the focus of the camera lens as she stood by the shower door. The image was taken from a hallway door with another door just to the left. Hanging on that door in a slightly out of focus situation was some sort of rack and the bent douche nozzle connected to a rubber hose. When printed in a vertical format, the syringe would have been eliminated. The square format camera happened to capture the intimate cleansing douche of the young lady. Probably taken in the late 1960 era or early 1970 era before color became far more popular. Easy to imagine the beautiful lady on her back in the tub with the black nozzle being used for its designed purpose.

While as many discussion thread contributors have said not that many pictures of 1950's era bathrooms of the day appear in print . I was a child of the 1950's - early 1960's and as also been said douche / enema equipment did abound in the privacy of in the home ' bath ' . On my many visits to relatives and friends homes , ' bags , hoses with a few nozzles still attached ' were not ' hidden in plain sight ' but rather unashamedly in view for any and all who frequented the facility to observe . I recall visiting at the home of my favorite aunt . She owned and obviously used an all white fountain syringe . I once observed the apparatus disassembled with the hose and an adult rectal tip draped over the shower curtain rod . Not unusual in that home …. ours included . What caught my attention that day was the rectangular carboard syringe storage box left on top of the clothes hamper with a pair of nice nylon panties partially drape over the top of the box . Upon closer inspection , yes ….. I ' peeled ' as curiosity got the better of me that morning , of the hose - clamp and rectal pipe I observed just a ' slight trace ' of brownish fecal material left on the adult rectal pipe . Yes ………… the ' 1950's ' bathrooms while perhaps not ' photographed ' as such did lend itself to some interesting observations and shall we say ' adventures ' for my formative ' klismo ' curiosity .

Hi,

I think at the time these things were normal. Enemas were among the helpful home remedies, whether constipation, intestinal or digestive problems, fever, etc.

I am a child of the 50s. In our bathroom stood several enema pears, as well as an enamel irrigator hung on the wall.

When I was with friends during this time and I used the bathroom, those things were there too. You did not waste your thoughts ... Except when you got an enema at home again. I often felt that was horrible; in contrast to today...