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.