Reasons for childhood enemas

In the late 40's thru early 70's my Mom gave me daily hot Ivory soapsuds enemas whenever I was sick enough to be kept home from school following the doctor's advice to keep my bowels emptied out during the illness. For constipation she usually started by giving me a laxative at bedtime which she expected would work overnight, giving me Fletcher's Castoria until I was 8, then switching to Feen-a-mint chewing gum laxative after I complained about being given a "little kids" laxative. When she started giving me the adult dose of 2 pieces of Feen-a-mint when I turned 13 it gave me really bad cramps before it made me go, so on the advice of my aunt who'd had the same problem with my older cousin she switched to 2 pieces of Ex-Lax which seemed to work just as well without causing as much cramping. Sometimes the laxative didn't work first thing in the morning in which case she'd give me a glycerin suppository to help things along but if I still hadn't had a good big poop in about 20 minutes she'd get out the enema bag and give me a big hot Ivory soapsuds enema.

Curious if your enemas were always from the bag?

@reddevil I think I recall about 70-plus years ago, a red bulb being used on me. The enemas must have been fairly benign because I don’t remember any specifics about them. Just the small red bulb.

That all changed when Mom started using an enema bag on me when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I was scared to death of the enema bag. It was always hanging up (ready for use) on a nail beside the commode. Plus,Mom had all of the control.

I deliberately came across the so-called "Golden Age" at Zity for the first time, and seems to be mainly the decades of the 30s, 40s, 50s and the 60s. I cannot call the years from about 1957/58 to about 1966 a "golden age". Overall I had a good childhood, apart from a few times when I was forced to spend a lot of time in the bathroom.

Although I had two brothers, I was the middle one, at least 3/4 of the curd soap enemas rushed through my asshole. Mom once told me I had a prolapsed rectum when I was a toddler. And according to the advice of the doctor, you should pay attention to a soft bowel movement.

A one-piece red rubber bulb was in service until about 1959. Then I sent them to the eternal hunting grounds; a nail scissors played fate...

Unfortunately, I didn't reckon with my mother's friend, a nurse who lived a few houses down. That same evening our bathroom received reinforcements; a larger rubber bulb with a black fixed nozzle and an enamel irrigator with a rubber tube and a longer black nozzle at the end.

The mug held about a liter. For the death of the rubber ball, my intestines were allowed to enjoy a filling of soapy enema, followed by two rinses.

The irrigator eventually fell to the ground. The enamel was damaged and it could only be used as a flower vase.

From around 1961, the nurse brought a large red rubber bag with a long hose, a longer colon tube at the end and exchangeable black nozzles. Apparently I had the nicest ass, so the nurse gave me the first enema to show my mother how to insert a rubber tube into the colon; followed by another enema from my mom.

From now on, I never knew before what my ass could quench its thirst from; the two-piece rubber bulb or the large rubber bag.

When I was about 13, Mom thought I was so off track that she gave me a big punishment enema with lots of soap from a rubber bag. I got a hard cock when inserting the colon tube, as well as with the two clear water enemas.

Those were the last enemas of my childhood from mom...

Regarding my earlier post below, I was very constipated as a child. The treatment was always a dose of Castoria, suppositories or a soapy enema. Castoria and suppositories just made my stomach ache with little or no results.

The enema always won. It could be relied upon. 🪅

I received a series of store bought fleets enemas from my mom in prep for a hospital visit for lower GI and a few other tests. It was the early 70s and I was admitted to the hospital for a few days. I was about 10 years old and was mortified that I was naked in front of my mom. She even stayed for the evacuation to make sure It was clear!

My earliest memories are from the 1950's: a few snatches of visual and internal sensations as Mom pick me up, stripped my bottoms off, and laid me across her lap for an Ivory soap and warm water cleaning out. They say that olfactory memories are some of the oldest memories, and although I don't use Ivory soap except very rarely now, the scent takes me directly back to the sunlit kitchen/dining room of my very early childhood. I remember crying and YELLING that I couldn't take any more, and still Mom managed to get a couple of bulbs full more into me ... always. Up until I was seven all enemas were from a red bulb and black plastic-like nozzle designed for children. Mom used to brag, when my brothers and I were older, that we'd all been toilet trained by the time we were 18 months old. In retrospect, I don't really believe that was so. She had in her mind an ideal schedule for our bowel movements, and if we didn't match her vision for reality, she would see to it that we matched her vision for reality. My brothers and I referred to the enema bulb as "the little stick." As the oldest of three boys, I have memories of listening to my brothers learning to own the vision. Unaccountably, I have a clear memory of sitting on the living room sofa, listening to the sounds of my younger brother getting cleaned out, and longing for a good cleaning out for myself, to feel the "little stick" being repeatedly inserted, to feel myself filled to the point of nearly bursting, to feel the luxury of release. Nearly all enemas were given to cure or ward off what Mom considered incipient constipation. My use of enemas across the decades have been one of Mom's best gifts to me.

I might add that the Wayback Machine has grundles of old texts that suggested enemas for a multitude of conditions. Some were from the 1800's. I read through many earlier tonight!

In the early 60's I remember going to the doctor for some kind of general checkup. I remember him feeling my belly and making the comment that "he's loaded," meaning that I may have been constipated. I was afraid that he was going to prescribe an enema, but don't recall that happening.

I do recall being home from school, sick, might have even been diarrhea. I remember telling the school nurse "it came out like water." I went home, went to bed. I think the doctor over the phone told my mother to "give him a bag." We know what that meant. At the time, enemas were a cure-all for many ailments.

This occurred during elementary school, I had not reached puberty yet.

the hoseman1

A nurse friend who works at a children's hospital claims that this is still a very common procedure in pediatrics. The main reason is constipation. Although there are other indications. Unlike adults, children under 12 years old before endoscopic examinations are prepared only with enemas. If adults, often, for some kind of research, an independent stool is enough, then children are still given an enema.

As a child of the 80s I received enemas fairly regularly from about age 2 to 6, and as far as I recall, always for health reasons. Never for punishment or anything. Both parents were involved in the process - mum would undress and position me, dad would administer with a rubber bulb. Usually 1 bulb did the job, occasionally two. I still vividly recall the feeling of the bulb tip sliding into me, then the rush of water filling me up while I lay on my belly, or sometimes bent over the sink/bathtub. Did not enjoy it one bit at the time.

Growing up in the 70's-80's my siblings and I got enema frequently. As I have posted elsewhere here, my step dad was quite a bit older than my mom and was a big believer in enemas as a cure all. He was part of our household from when us kids were quite young so we really dont remember different. We were almost always given enemas from the red 2qt bag with warm ivory soap water. Generally for the following reasons:

1) Constipation - which my sister and I got frequently

2) Being home sick from school - guaranteed you would get at least one enema that day

3) Being considered 'out of sorts' - this was often an arbitrary decision made by my step dad who felt an enema would 'fix' our mood

4) After vacations - we were normally allowed alot of junk on vacations so after they were over, within 2-3 days of being home we would each get an enema

5) Punishment - these were very real events in our home and I have written about them here. These were much soapier than our normal enemas and always followed a spanking.

6) Stained underwear - this would often lead to an assumption that you were constipated or holding back which would lead to an enema

Given the reasons the enema bag was usually out pretty frequently for one or all 3 of us

In the past, especially before the 1970s I think there were a lot of parents acting more on their own fears and anxieties and less in the best interest of the child.

That has changed, and it is one reason we won't see as many enemas given to children in the modern world.

While LisaK makes some good points and is spot on with the timeframe, in hindsight I have come to the conclusion that mom and grandma were acting in our best interest based on their knowledge and up bringing of those times.

I hated getting enemas from them, and had hatred of our pediatrician who often prescribed them, but once the positive outcums were realized, things changed significantly.

I've changed my outlook!

Sometimes I think they were "just because"

In those days, people relied more heavily on home remedies, bothering doctors only for things they could not cure themselves. Enemas were simply tools in their toolbox. I think parents would go through all the options, hoping for a home cure. Fever? Constipation could cause that and an enema would cure constipation in a hurry.

Not sure when but it was from a fairly young age. I do remember one day I was told "we have to give you enemas because you have lazy bowels and the doctor said that your bowels have to be washed every few days". I do remember not liking the procedure, I felt it was rude and humiliating. I was always embarrassed when they did it. To make it worse, other people knew. I often overheard Mum telling her friends they they had to give me enemas because I had a bowels problem.

When I was sick/constipated (including trying to play hooky from school), when I kept up an attitude and she didn’t feel like spanking me, and a monthly cleaning at the beginning of every month. This was the 2000’s but my mom is older.

After 4 or 5 days of not going to poop I would ask my mother for a enema and she would give me one.

I received many enemas in my childhood. The main reason was constipation.

They were the only remedy that worked... also, my family wanted to avoid excessive medication use.

Mommy liked giving them to me!!

The doctor said "give him a bag." Or, give him a quart. Was a cure-all.

I am a boomer, so when I was growing up enemas were common. I never got enemas on a schedule, like every Saturday, as some people did. I got them when needed for constipation. I remember a few times my mom gave me the choice of Castoria or an enema. I learned to take the enema because it was quick and predictable. And I liked those enemas enough to learn to do it myself, even when I really didn’t need one. My friends who got enemas claimed they hated them so I was not about to admit that I liked them.

At age 10 I was on a medication that was unknowingly making me constipated. Somehow I managed to hide that fact until one day I was totally blocked up and couldn't go at all. Still, I feared what that meant for me and the potential embarrassment of dealing with it. I really hoped it would somehow sort itself out, but a couple days later loose stool started making its way around the hardened mass and I was outted to my mom who most certainly noticed that.

Went straight to the ER where my first rectal exam proved I was severely impacted. After the countless fingers and enemas of all sizes and solutions worked to fully clean me out there was an expectation my rectum could be stretched and/or damaged. The tests that followed the couple days later showed that was indeed the case. We needed to keep me clear to give my rectum time to regain a regular shape and hopefully regain regular muscle function and sensation.

We spent a couple weeks trialing different forms of laxatives, but they all left me with bad reactions or side effects. My doctor said to try enemas as a last resort and those caused fewer issues than the laxatives did so I got stuck with them daily for about 2 years. The enemas finally tapered off after that as my rectum regained shape and function, but by then I was in the depths of puberty and had come to like the feelings enemas brought about!

Lucky boy @Mature_e_guy.

Being a child of the 50’s and 60’s, I remember getting my share of enemas. As a younger child, mom would sit on the side of the tub and have me lie across her lap as she used a bulb. As I got older, I graduated to getting warm soapsuds enemas from the red bag either leaning over the side of the tub or in chest down bottom up in the air position. Most enemas were administered for general health reasons, a few might have been given as punishment for something or other. I think mom gave me the old soap-stick for punishment because it would burn and sting being pushed into the rectum. On the occasion of being given a soap-stick for general health purposes, I always ended up crying and begging for a soapy enema instead.

Paradoxically, there was no real reason for my childhood enemas. It is possible that my parents or grandparents observed my bowel habits, but I doubt it. However, from time to time I was suddenly offered an enema, which I, already knowing its effects, did not refuse. I have had perfect bowel movements since childhood and I perceived enemas as a whim of my parents. I never objected to these whims, because I liked them from the first time. Even on those occasions when the soapy water stung my intestines a little.

Back in the 50' and 60's, enemas were no stranger to most of us. You don't look like you feel good, you got an enema. Sick and stayed home from school, you got an enema. Cranky and out of sorts, you got an enema. My most vivid recollection was when I had chicken pox around 7 where mom called the doctor for a house call.

The nurse told her to give me an enema before he arrived. I remember her taking to the doctor in the living room before he saw me, and how she gave me a soapy enema.

Needles to say, he ordered 3 enemas a day until my fever was normal. But this point, I started to enjoy my releasing after being filled.

In the late 50’s early 60’s the main reason for receiving an enema from mom was constipation or if I was not going regularly.

As it's been discussed here and many other threads, if you grew up in the 50s (I was 5 years old in 1953) all that was needed to get an enema was acting "out of sorts", one or two sneezes, or perceived to be "sluggish", picking at your food, or any sign of even a slight fever, which resulted in one or more cool water enemas at hourly intervals until the fever dropped. The 50s must have been a strain on the water treatment plants as enemas were the go to solution for almost any malady parents suspected in their children. Remember, doctors made house calls back then, I think not only parents but doctors also believed it was a cure for about everything, because almost always as our doctor was getting ready to leave, the last thing that came out of his mouth was "I would give (him,her) a good enema and see if that helps". I remember mom saying that she hated calling the doctor as it was going to cost $20 for him to come out. But in 1953 $20 was a lot to most people. That would be between $225 and $250 today if you could even find a doctor making house calls!

Just my thoughts on "Reasons for childhood enemas".

I'm still LostInThe50s

Most of the time as a child I was home from school sick.i don't think I was constipated. I remember one exception, at a birthday party, at the end, the kids were in line at the bathroom to get enemas, they must have thought we all ate too much cake or something. One would be getting an enema, one on the toilet. One in the bath tub, might be the one getting the enema. We were all Portuguese, must have been a tradition.