Names of Bags

@Annie2 LOL! One can be too rich, too thin, or have too many pairs of shoes and handbags.

@ddell2

Your comment about the aqua-Fem is interesting, but I am not aware that it was made by WaterPik. I'm not saying it wasn't, I just don't know.

I bought my Finesse at a downtown department store in Boston and carried it home on the subway. When playing with it, the pump would not always start, so I complained to the company. Since they were also in Boston, they asked me to bring it in to their office and that was an offer I could not resist. As a result, I met the president of the company. It was a tiny operation with maybe 3-5 employees. What a hoot.

Neither appliance were big sellers. As I remember, they were about $30 in the early 1970s...

which is about $200 now. (and you thought a silicone bag was $$)

About 20 years later, I was working in an upscale town in NJ and went into a drug store there. Surprise, they had both an Aqua-Fem and a Finesse on the shelf. I bought both st a bargain price.

I don't know which machine came out first, but, IMO, the Finesse is a much more refined design.

Oh... and I don't collect shoes. 😃

What wonderful nostalgia!

I remember once seeing one of those aqua fems in my teenage years at someone's house which would have been around early 70's or so. Never understood why they didn't make one for doing enemas too. If anyone is interested, you can find a few pictures on worthpoint site, and they were granted a patent for it also, Patent# 3,762,411. Oh it was not made by Waterpic but made by Aqua Fem, Inc. which was also Trademarked and Copyrighted.

@Master_Dorson

You wonder why a similar machine was not made at the time for enema use.

Well, there were machines that did include enema functions, and, in fact, were arguably intended primarily for enemas. The Minute Hygiene, for example:

https://img.techpowerup.org/200807/minute-hygiene-00.jpg

This device had the disadvantage of needing to be plumbed in. I remember a childhood friend who described it's use to me. He said his mom called him into the bathroom one day and sat on the toilet. She had him drop his pants and lay across his lap and used the appliance on him. He later showed me how the hose pulled out of the unit. Quite a toy.

The Aqua-Fem and Finesse machines were not suitable for enemas because they did not prevent back flow of the water if the enema caused a cramp.

The soiled water could easily get back into the machine and cause infections when used to douche. In that era, there were many published cautions not to use the same syringe for enemas and douches.

I also suspect that a combined enema/douche machine clashed with the marketing objectives of the companies. Also, the average woman user probably took at least 10 douches for each enema.

BTW, the Finesse appliance had a "Mini Bidet" nozzle which worked very well. It was great for washing one's anal area after pooing. A wipe dry was all the cleanup needed.

There is another thing about the Finesse and Aqua-Fem machines I neglected to mention. Both needed power from a wall socket.

In the mid-1970s, battery powered equipment was not really well developed, so things needed a power cord and had to be plugged into a wall socket.

Both the douching machines were designed to sit on top of the toilet tank, like a box of facial tissues. In use, the machine cover was lifted off, inverted, and filled at the sink with warm water and a douche powder or liquid, like Massengill, added. The filled cover was then placed onto the machine base and the user sat down, turned the machine on, inserted the nozzle, and took the douche. There was a valve device near the nozzle to control the flow.

The problem came because there was no wall socket anywhere the toilet (or shower, for that matter) in most all bathrooms. In fact many electrical codes prohibited any outlets within 6 feet or more, of any fixture. IMO, this issue, along with the high price, killed the market. The machines cost about $30 to $40, as I remember, while a serviceable Fountain Syringe could be bought for $2 and even the best syringes, like a Davol Petal, were about $6

Another beautiful bag that i have longed for and it kills me a bunch of people have this bag and are enjoying it is an Armstrong Gold Leaf 2 3/4 quart bag , it has such a beautiful shape and i can't help but think that when a mom went enema bag shopping and bought this bag i am convinced this bag would have put a smile on her face and as she was at the register you can guarantee she was thinking , oh i can't wait to get home and try this new pretty enema , lets face it , back then buying a new enema bag for sure was something to enjoy

Googling for the bag just mentioned, the Armstrong Gold Leaf 2 3/4 quart bag:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/armstrong-gold-leaf-fountain-syringe-152072234

Lots of good photos and info about it.

The Davol PARIS bag is a beauty. It was a treat to see her her holding it in front of her pink body, sans anything else.

Maybe that aqua-fem and most hair driers of the day needing an electrical outlet was one reason home and apartment bathrooms are now required to have an electrical outlet. It really has to be a specific distance from the sink. Close enough for a cord to reach, but not close enough to be a shock hazard.

All new houses built since the mid 1970s and apartments built since the early 1980s have that requirement.

Starting in the late 1980s it was required to be GFI protected.

Anything built between 1960 and the time that requirement came in will have a single outlet on the above the sink light fixture.

@LisaK

Electric shavers??"

I have several Davol bags, I would love to have a nearkid and or a Paris bag. Those and a JBL

Electric shavers two!

Though those became rechargeable before almost anything else!

Thanks Annie2 - here's a link to what I found: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/red-regal-montgomery-wards-27412840

Sure has a nice long curved douche nozzle... It's an interesting looking enema bag shape, not the typical one like in my avatar.

Interesting bag, though I have to admit the square cut at the bottom makes it look kind of clunky. I'd go for one that had a rounded bottom that reflected the curve at the top.

@moliere Interesting bag, though I have to admit the square cut at the bottom makes it look kind of clunky. I'd go for one that had a rounded bottom that reflected the curve at the top.

I agree about the square cut bottom of the bag…. it's a turn off. Seems I'm fussy about the shape of bags that excite me. They have to be that of a Davol bag, and of course red rubber.

I agree about the square cut bottom of the bag…. it's a turn off. Seems I'm fussy about the shape of bags that excite me. They have to be that of a Davol bag, and of course red rubber.

Wouldn't a rounded bottom drain more easily and completely?

@gwhap

Both styles of bags pretty much the same. It doesn't take much of a slope for water to flow. Also, simply hanging a bag up to dry is more to let air get access to the inside surface, rather than drain by gravity.

@huggie627627

Davol Paris bags do show up on eBay from time to time in the $50 to $75 price range. The Nearkids also do, but they are much more expensive. I've not seen a JBL lately.

@Annie2

The long, curved douche nozzle you mention is a then-standard “balloon spray”. Similar nozzles come with the higher end of the line syringes made by Davol the Petal) among others.

FYI, if you have a similar, hard rubber, nozzle it can be bent by putting it in boiling water for a few minutes and bending to taste before it cools and becomes rigid again.

One bag name I don't see is a bag sold my Macy's Dept store under their house brand of “AA Fountain Syringe” or something like it. Being a house brand it was made by another company and they called it what they wanted. Twice a year Macy's would have a sale ad in the local newspaper and I remember my mom ordering the fountain syringe from it.

Sean i never mentioned anything about a douche nozzle

@gwhap

Both styles of bags pretty much the same. It doesn't take much of a slope for water to flow. Also, simply hanging a bag up to dry is more to let air get access to the inside surface, rather than drain by gravity.

@huggie627627

Davol Paris bags do show up on eBay from time to time in the $50 to $75 price range. The Nearkids also do, but they are much more expensive. I've not seen a JBL lately.

@Annie2

The long, curved douche nozzle you mention is a then-standard “balloon spray”. Similar nozzles come with the higher end of the line syringes made by Davol the Petal) among others.

FYI, if you have a similar, hard rubber, nozzle it can be bent by putting it in boiling water for a few minutes and bending to taste before it cools and becomes rigid again.

B F Goodrich

Goodyear

Faultless

Davol

Rexall

Valutex

Sunburst

@LisaK

You've listed some companies that made bags, except Sunburst, which was made by BF Goodrich

Was thinking of starting a topic about different designs found on enema bags. One bag that comes to mind is the BF Goodrich Flamingo shown rather well in right-most picture in link https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vtg-goodrich-flamingo-douche-enema-471953787. The front of bag has a dutch windmill theme. Kind of strange, no? I remember one of my girl friends while getting an enema mentioned, “I guess the design on the bag is to keep my mind off this enema” .

Has anyone added the Celebrity Folding Syringe? No idea of manufacturer except it was, for its time. very expensive and of amazing excellent quality from rubber, to clamp, to pipes. If Marilyn Monroe had a love affair with enema bags it may have been this one.

Thinking back the German mfg company ‘Continental’ produced some very nice rubber bulbs in a range of quantities and styles oddly enough . .My fave amongst them is the large terracotta /orange/ red syringe with the heavy rubber slide over bell shaped water “deflector”, together with a smooth black mildly curved nozzle of approx 7" long X 1" thick with an olive shaped head. There's two versions of this, one that holds 7 ounces & the other (of 8oz) that has a battering ram shaped tip. . .ooooh !!

Many years later I had come across a very large football bladder shaped latex rubber configuration incorporating a flexible ivory coloured nozzle that was made in Italy – It held about two quarts . . . . . Then perhaps 10 years ago a quite supple sit on round bag that resembled a ball when filled . . .I'd like to know their names

•Boots & Perfex - Both are or were Higginson syringe brands . . .have both

• Continental - Again also made Higginson Syringes of a high standard over a period of decades . . how long is difficult to determine, short of writing to them

• General Mfg -

• Monarch - Is or was an Australian brand thats not been around for several decades . . long gone

• Surgipack is another one of the names & yes you felt it surge😜

@That_Australian

The bulb you describe is almost certainly a douche, not an enema.

The ‘football shaped’ is likely a rebeather bag.

The ‘Continental’ brand unit is a dual purpose product. Remove the larger douche shaft that has the rubber bell over it & it reveals a substantial bakelite rectal nozzle

The Bag mentioned is not a re-breather item, which are usually pleated and made by Schimmelbusch . . It is an Italian made rubber enema bag incorporating a screw on Red filler cap/ nozzle as one piece . . I have the video clip of it & the language spoken therein is also Italian.

The large round sit-on ‘water ball’ that closely resembles a smallish exercise ball was at one time featured here around 7 years back & an authentic commercially mfg product . . presumably in low numbers ?

Hi Australian! Here are some names not from the “majors”: Perma-lite (Vantine's) Holiday (Davol). Ayvette (unknown but sold by Bloomingdale's maybe one season in the 1940's. Then there was a travel syringe I will post about, soon. It was the Travelette (Faultless). It had an on and off 30 year run. There was the “Tropic” that was a rubber fountain syringe with a big loop for hanging. Sears sold it in the 1950's.

Expanding syringes that were not the classic gravity syringes. Shy (various owners) Sonata (Faultless / Abbot) and Nice.

Do you have photos of the Continental you can post in images?

One bag name I don't see is a bag sold my Macy's Dept store under their house brand of “AA Fountain Syringe” or something like it. Being a house brand it was made by another company and they called it what they wanted. Twice a year Macy's would have a sale ad in the local newspaper and I remember my mom ordering the fountain syringe from it.

I'll add more names as I think of them.

One bag name I don't see is a bag sold my Macy's Dept store under their house brand of “AA Fountain Syringe” or something like it. Being a house brand it was made by another company and they called it what they wanted. Twice a year Macy's would have a sale ad in the local newspaper and I remember my mom ordering the fountain syringe from it.

One bag name I don't see is a bag sold my Macy's Dept store under their house brand of “AA Fountain Syringe” or something like it. Being a house brand it was made by another company and they called it what they wanted. Twice a year Macy's would have a sale ad in the local newspaper and I remember my mom ordering the fountain syringe from it.

Wouldn't a rounded bottom drain more easily and completely?

Are we talking about the Ayvette syringe offered by Bloomingdales? They were maybe the first plastic fountain syringe for home use. I've never actually seen one but posted an ad in the images section.

Looking here, it's interesting; all the different names given to fountain syringes. Enema bulb syringes have missed out on this kind of fetish popularity - at least in my case; as I would go out looking for any and all fountain syringes I could find.

I call mine Cynthia.