Laxatives as a child

@Eforenema1

In reading you post, I think your mom gave you Kondremul which is petty much mineral oil. Mineral oil woks by softening the poo and lubricating the inside wall of you bowel. The more a person takes, the greater the effect. A spoonful usually makes it a bit easier to poo but doesn't cause accidents. A bigger dose can soften poo to become like pudding and grease your bowel so it becomes all but impossible to hold the poo in and messy accidents are all but certain. Also, leakage of smelly oil is common.

Hypol mostly & taken (tablespoon) before bed. Prunes both freshly stewed & preserved in jars together with other desserts, along with both warm off the stove juice & chilled kept in the fridge, where backup kids supps resided generally untouched as the enema was favoured

I remember getting a small block of chocolate and didn't think much about it other than its texture seemed a bit off. It tasted OK and never thought another thing about it and never associated the next morning's BM with it either. Only when I discovered it in the medicine cabinet and read the box did I realize what it was. My mother's favorite remedy was always the enema and about 15 minutes after getting one it seemed like the heavens were opening up.

I don't think I ever remember my Mom ever having laxatives in the medicine cabinet. As a matter of fact one time when I was sick with the flu and very constipated she suggested picking up a laxative for me at the store. Her go to remedy was always prunes, either juice of stewed prunes, adn when younger either a suppository or bum bulb enema. The time when she suggested a laxative, I wound up getting soapy enema, but that's another story.

As a reminder other than things like Castor Oil and MOM most laxatives were just some form of phenothaline derivative, which was pulled from the market because of health studies.

One more addition, my Mom was a big believer in just giving a small enema to start a bowel movement, hence the bum bulb enema treatment. I don't know how many times it worked. She tried it on me once with a small bag enema, and had to repeat it with a full bag. The only thing that came out the first time was just soapy water.

One time when we were traveling down to California to visit relatives with my grandmother from the east coast, we stopped at a motel for the night. I remember a conversation between my parents. My Mom was about to send my dad to a drugstore for either suppositories or an enema. I don't know what proceeded the request whether it was for one of us or parents. I do remember my Mom saying "I am not going to give these big kids a suppository". I never found out the result, my Dad didn't go and no one got either a suppository or an enema.

Growing up in the fifties, my siblings and I were never given laxatives, only enemas. Grandma was a retired nurse and a firm believer in enemas for both kids and adults. Mom only gave us enemas when needed, but occasionally gave us enemas out of the blue for seemingly no reason. This happened mainly on rainy days when we had to play inside. Normally she gave us a soapy followed by a rinse enema, but on rainy days when she gave us one out of the blue, they were usually only rinse enemas. However, those enemas were larger in volume than the one-quart enemas we usually received. During those enemas, we had to take as much of a full bag as possible.

At our grandmothers, things were a little different. Having taught her two younger daughters personal hygiene as preteens, she gave them the responsibility of doing our evening bath including enemas. During the summer, when we stayed with grandma for five or six weeks, we normally got at least one enema a week. That was usually on Saturday evening at bath time. Otherwise, like at home, enemas were given as needed. However, occasionally our teenage aunts, like mom, gave us enemas that weren’t necessarily needed. They would say something like, “Y’all are being rather moody today.” Doing this in front of grandma on purpose, knowing she would tell them to give us an enema to take care of it. Giving them an excuse to give themselves an enema.

I was given laxatives a few times if on vacation because I would get constipated! However laxatives are so hard on me, so my mom started taking the enema bag on vacations ☺️

There were 2 kinds of laxatives used on me, milk of magnesia and some kind of chocolate flavored stuff, like putting, don't know what it was. If the laxative didn't work, and it usually didn't, my mom and a neighbor would hold me down and give me an enema. They didn't have me hold it, I was taken to the toilet. I remember my mother cleaning ne off with a warm wash cloth.

I'm now in my 70's and take mom once in a while, just to remember what it was like as a child. I will do a nice enema, then hours later the mom kicks in, two separate events, the laxative unpredictable.

The hoseman

Boarding school, 1960s, aged 8 to 13, if you didn't move your bowels at the alloted time you were on matron's list. First Syrup of Figs, next Liquid Paraffin and ... after that a summons to her treatment room for an enema.

Mom never gave harsh laxatives. We all got a tablespoon of Castoria once a week or so probably just to prevent constipation, not remedy it. The remedy was always a "good" soapy enema.

"Lubentyl", a kind of white paste made from paraffin oil, you eat it and it lubricates your bowels (a side effect may be an oily anus). I think I would get a table spoonful with every meal if constipated. I could get prunes as well.

For years my mom relied on MoM (Milk of Magnesia) as her to-go for my stomach upset. It was yucky, but quickly chasing it with a fruit juice or maybe chocolate milk made it OK. Use of that product continued until I decided to fake stomach cramps to avoid going to 5th grade class with the teacher I hated. Since MoM couldn't fix that problem or the symptoms I was faking I got taken to the doctor. His suggestion was enemas and I got my first one from her that night and more in the days, weeks and years that followed. Since I needed an exit strategy from my fakery, I 'allowed' the enemas to solve my problem (and sucked it up and faced my hated teacher.)

Those enemas continued until I ejaculated in front of my mother during enema at age 13 and I was allowed to continue them solo 'as needed'.

The only laxative I remember as a child was Castoria. I didn't get it very often, but sometimes I got the choice of Castoria or an enema. I didn't mind the enemas mom gave me, but I remember one time when mom said it was time for my enema, and I gave her some static. Maybe I didn't want to interrupt the TV program I was watching, so she said if I didn't want the enema, I had to take the Castoria. The next morning, getting ready for school, I tried to poop but nothing. Later that morning, sitting in class, I could feel it coming. I nearly did not make it to the toilet, narrowly avoiding disaster. I remember telling myself to always take the enema if offered. At least you will know when it is going to work. Since then, I have avoided oral laxatives whenever possible.

My sisters and I got sorbitol added to orange juice on occasion. We would only notice its effect when later we would get a rumbling in our stomachs from the gas. We didn't know what was going on but the longer we waited the stronger was the urge to go. Finally it would overpower us and a diarrhea like bm accompanied with gas would follow.

Although Mom gave her herself enemas at least a couple of times a month, her laxative choice for me was old-fashioned prune juice. I was very active as a kid and rarely needed a bathroom boost.

I only began having constipation issues in my early 20s after I was critically injured in an accident and was taking heavy pain meds. I was on softeners and laxatives, but that experience led to a lifelong intimate relationship with an enema bag.

Laxatives were absent from our house as I grew up. Stewed prunes were always present as was Karo syrup. I loved both, but they were never a "laxative" in the true sense.

They never diminished mom's or grandma's use of the enema bag and that included us kids. They did have support and encouragement from the family doctor and his nurse. Our pediatrician was also quite an advocate. "Just give that kid an enema" was the most common reply when he was called.

I hated those early enemas, but have realized the practicality in lieu of chemicals until today.

I was given Ex-Lax growing up. I never received an enema from mom and one suppository when I was throwing up.

I was given Castoria and then made to drink prune juice. If those did not work after about three days I would be given a soapsuds enema with the two quart pink bag and a white douche nozzle. I dreaded being told that I was going to get an enema. It was always given with me completely naked sitting on the toilet.

@John_Sitter What I find interesting with your mother is that not only she syringed you on a regular basis as a matter of course, but she also asked others to do so when she was not there, such as your aunt Ruth. By the way, how many people were called to assist on that?

Some horrid Choclate drink in on kids wards never worked nurses preferd supos or enemas at home same choclate drink or castor oil mothers words if dont take this you get soap up bum so ended up sosp stick up bum lol

As a kid, old faithful was of course an enema or sometimes a suppository. But a few times I got castor oil in Orange Juice and sometimes my mom would service prunes at supper in the evening. The castor oil always did want it supposed. Prunes I guess, but I do remember getting or a suppository or sometimes an enema the following day after eating them.

Never needed them when young.

Was given Milk of Magnesia and hated it. So usually a glycerin suppository was mainly used on my bottom.