Are enemas really healthy for you?

I am not qualified to make that determination. However, if you do certain things like using water that is too hot, solutions that are not made for the anus, inserting a nozzle too deep, then yes they may be unhealthy.

Beyond the "they did dumb stuff" issues with enemas there are two more-possible ways that overuse could cause problems. First is that we know that many enemas (with the exception of normal saline and balanced PEG) cause inflammation of the colonic mucosa for a day or so. I haven't seen anywhere that we know what that means, but in a worst case scenario chronic inflammation has been linked to cancer. I doubt it would be a very strong link with enemas, but again we don't know.

Second is if it alters the colonic microbiome sufficiently to cause problems. Again, we don't know what is enough to cause problems, but we do know that there are definite correlations between a unhealthy colonic microbiome and a number of problems. Susie has pointed out that it can take a week or more for the colonic bacteria to reach an equilibrium, but again we don't know what a "bad non-equilibrium" is yet.

In both of these situations there is no hard evidence for harm from enemas, but a conservative doctor would likely say that it could cause problems and it has little benefit so don't do it. I think that is a bit excessive, but I am still working on what a safe balance is.

Growing up in our home my mother thought a ' good cleanout ' was ' just the thing ' as per her assessment of the question and while I at times did in fact ' question ' her frequency , I was not plagued with many of the childhood illnesses making the rounds in our schools and neighborhood . In retrospect , I wonder if her regimen was in large part responsible for my ' robust ' health Probably so !!!

I am inclined to believe the major subject of this thread. I was bitten with the enema bug at age 11 and quickly became a major fan, taking them regularly and feeling well most of the time until I hit age 65 or so and laid off them. Then I developed hypertension, soon followed by diabetes and atrial fibrillation. all within a three-year period. Today I am on a regimen of medication to take care of the aforementioned conditions as well as high cholesterol. Now I am not claiming that my good health before I reached this period, but I always wonder....

Why question the wisdom of our mothers, aunts and grandmothers? An enema was the first line of defense against all sorts of sickness and malady when growing up. Mom was quick to give an enema and although we didn't always like it, it was what it was- a necessary step to assure good health. My mother was very dutiful when it came to giving me my enemas. And if she wasn't a dedicated believer in them, certainly grandma was- grandma who had the will to give even larger, hotter, and soapier enemas than even mom. I do not dare be contrary to their time-tested wisdom...... michael

Lately, with the stress affecting my family related to the pandemic lockdowns, I'm feeling that taking an enema has actually helped me emotionally and calmed me down. I know this sounds hokey, but there is a connection between giving my colon a good cleanse when my insides are tied up, and the positive effects it also has on my state of mind.

Vicki. My wonderful colon hydrotherapist, who has decades of experience, always says that "the colon is the second brain". The two are linked. Cleansing the colon cleanses the brain.

I used to struggle with stress, depression and mood swings. Now everyone tells me how well I look and I am the happy, stable man I always aspired tobe. I wonder why????

I would say as in a general comment that my answer would be a ' yes ' in moderation . My mother , her mother and grandmother all lived to the proverbial ' ripe old age ' of late 80's / early 90's and I know for a fact that all three of my above referenced relatives were actively engaged in the ' enema arts ' all their lives as I heard them often say which is why I think they all were so keen on ' watering my rose(bud) garden ' from an early age forward . Yes ..... all of these dear ladies in my life are gone but not forgotten and I have legacy of enemas which early on expanded past the ' need ' which was valid in my life to the ' pleasure aspect ' I have experienced for many years . They all seemed to rather enjoy a long warm infusion based on their frequency of reception and sharing as per their conversations and my knowledge of their ongoing enema activities . These ladies were very open in the home that they were of a ' klismo bent ' as enema / douche equipment was mine to observe in the bathrooms and occasionally in the corner of the bedroom . In retrospect , all was very interesting from youth onward ........... Such ' openness ' as to the enema / douche ' scene ' is not so common in homes today .

First of all I am an enema affectionado who loves to give. I would have to say that an occasional enema for constipation or just being in the doldrums is probably good for you. Most medical practitioners ( I am not one) would say that frequent enemas are unnecessary. Who can say but if I get the opportunity to bare a bottom and fill it I'm going to do it.

@Moppys_jalopy

First of all I am an enema affectionado . .

Really Moppy? Who would have guessed? I’d say the Zity world has figured out your obsession with enemas.

I don’t know if enemas are absolutely necessary, but certainly they could be helpful as part of the larger picture in my opinion. Best frequency of enemas is another debatable topic! I wonder if it is important to return to “normal” for a time before the next enema?

@Moppys_jalopy Really Moppy? Who would have guessed? I’d say the Zity world has figured out your obsession with enemas.

I don’t know if enemas are absolutely necessary, but certainly they could be helpful as part of the larger picture in my opinion. Best frequency of enemas is another debatable topic! I wonder if it is important to return to “normal” for a time before the next enema?

@anng I agree with you anng, frequency is debatable, everyone's system is different. But my enemas are 98% of the time on weekends, that's the only time I have time for. The work week is too busy and all the other things I have to stay on top of. Plus I can enjoy a series of 3 bags, take my time, relax, and enjoy them. 😉

@Vicki_V said,

Lately, with the stress affecting my family related to the pandemic lockdowns, I'm feeling that taking an enema has actually helped me emotionally and calmed me down. I know this sounds hokey, but there is a connection between giving my colon a good cleanse when my insides are tied up, and the positive effects it also has on my state of mind.

When we were kids mom or grandma (a retired RN from the 20’s to the early 40’s). Would give us an enema at the drop of a hat, for two reasons, first being constipated, and second being moody, having a bad attitude, or picking a fight was a guaranteed enema. The second reason also had a down side, about half the time it earn you a bare bottom spanking with a hairbrush across their lap before you got the enema. And sitting on the toilet to release the enema after the bare bottom spanking was no fun.

After I got married and we had kids of our own, we were surprised when their Pediatrician advised us to give our kids enemas for the same reasons mom and grandma had given us enemas. He was totally against giving kids under age 18 laxatives and believed it was easy to tell if kids were constipated by their behavior. My brother’s kids Pediatrician advised he an his wife to do likewise.

I don't know for sure one way or another. I don't get sick very often, so I believe that happens because I have an enema everyday. Doesn't matter anyway. They feel good and I enjoy them and my mental attitude is what counts.

I am sure the Dr.s don't approve but what do they know other than they treat “sick people” and that is their speciality.

“Modern Medicine” can dismiss the use of old-fashioned enemas as unnecessary, even quackery, but those of us who take them, including for our physical and mental health and well-being, know how we feel after a session.

If putting a rubber tube up my behind and dealing with cramps, poo and bathroom smells didn’t help me feel better, I wouldn’t do it.

YES!!!!!

Oh, all the many, many hours of pleasure enemas have given me - that alone accounts as something healthy!

I attended a funeral the other day for an old work colleague. There were people there who I had not seen for fifteen years. They all commented on how well I looked. I wondered why?????

I attended a funeral the other day for an old work colleague. There were people there who I had not seen for fifteen years. They all commented on how well I looked. I wondered why?????

Not to deflate, but that happens to me as well when I see people I haven't seen for years or decades.

I fear it is nothing more than polite social protocol, something one is expected to say.

Speaking from my own habits with enemas, especially during cold season, hardly ever get a cold and if I do it seems to be over quickly if I am doing regular enemas a couple times a week. During times where I was not following the routine for whatever reason, seem to get sick way more often. Also, just the well feelings one gets after a good enema session is definitely worth it!

This is a very interesting thread. Let's get to the (sorry for the unintended pun) bottom of things, however. If you do stupid things such as using substances in your enema that are potentially harmful because of their content or temperature, take too much (and here I wonder about those who claim to take gallons), hang the bag too high as to make for dangerous pressure, or insert items too far or with too much force, then enemas are bad. On the other hand if you use one to relieve temporary discomfort instead of taking an oral medication (laxatives or PMS cures), or use one to adjust your disposition or temperment, then an enema is probably good for you. Notice that I left out the recreational aspect that my wife and I mutually enjoy on occasion. Nearly anything can be made harmful to our bodies, but we were given a brain so we potentially have a modicum of wisdom to know what not to do.

They are healthy for me because they allow me to relieve built up sexual tension, unfortunately as the years go on, they don't totally satisfy my need.

Greetings all

Please note the following text is all: In my humble opinion

Yes I believe enemas to be a healthy activity. I was brought up using enemas at 14, and encouraged to take one whenever I felt the need. My grandmother 'gram' used the bag every Saturday evening herself in the upstairs bath - it was her special time. Gram made it to 99 and used enemas at least once a week sometimes more.

A colon hydro therapist I visited once had this take on enema use: In her opinion a single plain water enema was not necessarily good for you as it liquefied wastes and toxins that could be re-absorbed back into the blood stream. in her opinion mild soap should be used in the 1st enema followed by a saline rinse or 2.

Personally I've been doing a weekend cleanout enema series for over 20 years now, at 79 I'm still in fairly good condition and still sexually active. My GYN knows of my enema use and says age wise I'm mid 60's. My gastroenterologist says my colon is healthy with just a slight enlargement of my transverse, no where near mega-colon but slightly enlarged.

Another lady friend I've known over the years takes a mild saline enema every morning - she says hay you brush your teeth every day so why not clear the lower colon.

Recently this year I do a mini-series every Wed morning followed by a coffee enema - I feel fantastic afterwards.

So for me YES enemas are good for you.

BJ

@Vicki_V said,

“Modern Medicine” can dismiss the use of old-fashioned enemas as unnecessary, even quackery, but those of us who take them, including for our physical and mental health and well-being, know how we feel after a session.

As I said in my last post. Growing up my siblings and I got enemas for constipation, being moody, getting into a fight, or not eating normally. Our grandmother was a retired RN and a firm believer in enemas for both kids and adults alike. Once my wife and I had kids, their Pediatrician recommended we do the same thing mom and grandmother had done with us. My brother and has wife got the same recommendation from their kids Pediatrician my wife and I did. Hence, our kids received enemas growing up like we did. Unfortunately, those doctors were old school and sadly, have since passed into history. Sometimes, the old ways are far better and simpler, than the new way of doing things. Enemas being one of them.

@dudleybott said,

Speaking from my own habits with enemas, especially during cold season, hardly ever get a cold and if I do it seems to be over quickly if I am doing regular enemas a couple times a week. During times where I was not following the routine for whatever reason, seem to get sick way more often.

I’ve had the same experience with colds and flu, hardly ever getting sick with one and if I did, it didn’t last very long. There were times however, I wasn’t able to follow my normal routine for one reason or the other and got sick with a cold or the flu. They were more severe lasting longer than a cold or flu I got when doing my normal enema routine.

After I got married my wife noticed the same thing. We used enemas for both health and pleasure. The enemas for pleasure were a few of times a week before, during, or after sexual intercourse.

Back in post #47, I opined nearly 11 years ago that the thousands of enemas I have taken, or been given, would have manifested any negative conditions by that time.

In the intervening time, a couple of thousand more enemas haven't resulted in any negative outcums. In reality, I believe those enemas have contributed to a very positive state of health and well being, both physically and mentally.

Besides, haven't most of us here enjoyed lots and lots of shits and giggles to go along with the most positive outcums?

If there is a single thing that I enjoy and relish, and my wife also, it is to share the time with one another when we have a cold or the flu by the others proclamation that they are going to have an enema in an hour or two. Always makes us feel better, and it usually means sexual gratification is coming. I would also say that after the big meals on holidays that getting your lower tract emptied is helpful. And, for the times when you want to just pamper your better half it can lead to hours of touching, back rubs, massages, or the other word foreplay. Into our seventies my wife and I have lots of time, a secluded area in the mountains, and lots of opportunities to engage in pampering each other. When you live rurally in low population areas most folks call before traveling, and then we also have infrared sensors that tell us when someone is entering the property, the down side of that is we may have to look when a deer or elk walk through.

For us, we stick mostly to water with some salt. We have castile soap and glycerin but use those less than 10% of the time. We are of course in a position of saying they are not a health concern and just the opposite.

I think everyone here is aware of the ability of the colon and rectum to absorb not only water but also nutrients. This may be where you might want to give some thought to what it is that you put into yourself, I enjoy coffee, but so far I just drink it, taking acidic or bases could have effects beyond where the enema is and I imagine that is most easily illustrated with alcohol. On the other hand, when I don't feel good a coffee enema or two will put caffeine into my system helping me to stay awake and consequently sleep that night. While ethyl alcohol in not a poison, we should all know the absorption rate taken rectally is very much faster than orally and has killed a few folks. Keep in mind, that chronic exposure over years is different than occasional exposure and the effect might be many years or even decades away. Manganese sounds a lot like magnesium, but it is not the same, and while both are considered micronutrients there is a vast difference in the amount we need, manganese is and can be a trigger for Parkinson's disease but that doesn't happen overnight.

It is easy enough to see that a part of the population is not going to appreciate the enema as a recommended procedure for just about any reason. It is probably the reason they put off going in for a colonoscopy. There is seldom one thing that you can do to improve your health, physical condition, outlook on life, or socialization among the list of your own personal strengths. We, as a group, who can enjoy the well-being and or sexual aspect of enemas are not likely to run out and be an outspoken evangelistic proclaimer of such, but at the same time may occasionally leave signals about our use that may lead to discussion with others, that would be like hanging an enema/douche bag to dry in the shower or on the back of the bathroom door.

An interesting study. https://www.primescholars.com/articles/colon-irrigation-effective-safe-and-welltolerated-alternative-to-traditional-therapy-in-the-management-of-refractory-chr-93957.html

I have had a few "open" colonics, Angel of Water and LIBBE, and, despite what some have commented on this board, really like them. Strange to sit comfortably, relaxing, reading a magazine and drinking herbal tea while your internal world moves and moves and moves! I would go more often, but the nearest lady offering this version of colonics is more than an hour away. Shame as she is really nice. She pops in and out to see how things are going and will massage my belly if she feels my release needs encouraging.

"Are enemas really healthy for you."

As a holistic critical care nurse, i may read that question differently than the general populace, though i imagine many here have a more inclusive way of looking at stuff.

"Healthy" is more than physical, and there are a lot of people who meet psychological and 'different' physical desire and need, through things that may not be how the body is generally adapted. Science, on topics like physiology, is not absolute, it's just the best we know so far. The body is an infinite universe, and though we may know a lot, taken in context of "infinity," it gives one perspective. For those interested in evidence based gut health, i'd recommend: "Fiber Fueled" by W. Bulsiewicz or "The Microbiome Solution" by Robynne Chutkan. Both are current and excellent reads with lots of research and science to back up the info contained therein.

I've written this in other threads, but our gut is not a sterile environment. We have 10x more bacteria living in our gut than we have cells that make up our entire body. Enema sort of turns our anus into a mouth and we are 'feeding on' or 'eating' whatever we put in there. It's sort of a different way of 'eating' because we have about 27 feet of intestine, about 23 feet of small intestine and about 4 feet of large intestine/colon. We are only effecting/feeding the last 4 feet, the colon/large intestine, with enema. Nutritionally speaking, a large part of that happens in the small intestine, and enema doesn't affect that. The large intestine/colon happens to be where the majority of the micro biome resides and enema is putting something into that part of our body and bypassing the preceding processing part of the digestive tract. i think it's fair to state the body is more adapted to eating than it is to enemas, which is not to argue for or against, just a factor.

We affect the micro biome mostly by what we eat, but also in other ways. For instance, we often blitz people with antibiotics to save them from death from sepsis. When they come into the hospital with suspected sepsis, we get a lactate level. If it's >2, we typically implement sepsis protocol that involves getting blood cultures, infusing fluid bolus' and starting broad spectrum IV antibiotics. "Broad spectrum" because it takes 24-48 hours for cultures to grow, but in 2 days a person can die, so we treat presumptively. The broad spectrum antibiotics kill indiscriminately, hopefully the infective pathogen, but also does a number on and alters the good bacteria in the colon. People on long term antibiotics frequently get fungal infections or C. diff as a result of an altered microbiome... i.e., we've killed off beneficial bacteria that we live in symbiosis with that keep those things in check normally.

One of the most effective treatments for C. diff is a 'fecal implant" where we essentially give a fecal enema to the sick person with feces from a healthy person to restore the accompanying beneficial bacteria from the healthy persons feces into the 'disinfected' gut of the person with C. diff.

I think the big deal about doing enemas too often is the flushing out of good bacteria.

I used to get colonics years ago abd the therapist would give me an acidophilus enema on a tilt table. I think it was about a qt & I would to hold it for 20-30 min before leaving.

The dose makes the poison...

So far no enema has harmed me, on the contrary; In retrospect I have to say that even mom's enemas didn't hurt me 😎.

Those who do not exaggerate can derive a great benefit from it.

I think the simplest explanation would be this > obviously your colonic tract is the final flow through area for waste . It is composed of living tissue which can & does absorb toxins onto the surface . Also it is not a perfect system as waste accumulates & stays stationary at times . In other words there is no perfect evacuation & cleansing of the colonic wall . It would them be logical to flush this system out periodically ( I use bronners castile soap ) when taking a large enema with a colon tube inserted fairly deep . Optimal Health has inexpensive & safe tubes which my RN says she uses in the hospital .

After using enema & clean living as a life long strategy I will tell you I am lucky to be blessed with almost 0 health issues . I also love being on my back with my legs pulled up taking a 3 qt e from a female . Nothing better / Looking for a partner all the time . this week my RN came in & gave me 3 fairly good size enemas & I feel great

There are several articles that reference studies on how the large intestine naturally "replenishes" its lining (epithelium). IMHO the colon naturally cleans itself and doesn't need to periodically be flushed. Enemas are good for constipation relief or pleasure as well as for some people with IBS or other digestive problems.

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/07/understanding-how-the-intestine-replaces-and-repairs-itself/#:~:text=The%20intestine%20is%20the%20most,every%20five%20to%20seven%20days.

“The intestine is the most highly regenerative organ in the human body, regenerating its lining, called the epithelium, every five to seven days. Continual cell renewal allows the epithelium to withstand the constant wear and tear it suffers while breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and eliminating waste.”

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/intestinal-mending-depends-key-protein

“The inner lining of the intestines is one of the most-often renewed surfaces in the human body, replenishing itself every 2 to 4 weeks.”