How much soap?

Ericmason - I'm sorry that I gave the impression that there was no reason to measure or otherwise pay attention to the concentration of soap in an enema. I mentally had all the context from my other posts when composing that post. Personally I pretty much always either use liquid castile, baby shampoo or a measured amount of "soap goo" @1.8 grams per tablespoon for my enemas so the strength can be controlled and repeatable. If people can eyeball and have it work fine then that's great - easier for them.

A better way of saying "I have come to the conclusion that most recipes for soapsuds enemas are vague on the amount of soap because it doesn't really matter enough to have a specific amount - something reasonable usually works just fine" is probably something more along these lines:

For soapsuds enemas/soapy enemas/soap enemas a fixed recipe can't really be given. As long as you're reasonable and choose safe materials (pure soap without hazardous additives) most people don't have to worry about serious damage to their colons (chemical colitis). In addition people's sensitivity varies. What's a fine enema for one person may not be as effective in another, and in a third it may be uncomfortably strong. While a strong enema will probably not cause severe damage, it can make for an uncomfortable hour or so for the person taking it. Because of this it's a good idea to work up a "ideal recipe" for each colon, although even this can change. On some days I need a stronger enema than others, and mix mine accordingly. A good rule of thumb is to start weak and then move up - 5mL of castile per liter is probably a good start. "Real hospital soapsuds enemas" generally give a stronger dose of soap to start (10-20 mL per liter), but keep in mind that in the hospital they are/were more interested in making sure the enema was very efficacious than they were in making sure the enema was as comfortable as possible. Here's an example of an actual medically-recommended enema:

For 500mL water add:

¾ teaspoon salt (3.75mL)

10-30 mL glycerine (2 teaspoons to 2 Tablespoons)

10 mL liquid castile soap (2 teaspoons)

They do recommend that you start at the lower range and work up, but this is going to be one kick-ass enema at the full dose.

Moliere,

Thanks. Where did your hospital enema recipe come from? I've never looked one up.

Here's an example of an actual medically-recommended enema:

For 500mL water add:

¾ teaspoon salt (3.75mL)

10-30 mL glycerine (2 teaspoons to 2 Tablespoons)

10 mL liquid castile soap (2 teaspoons)

They do recommend that you start at the lower range and work up, but this is going to be one kick-ass enema at the full dose.

For me, the salt is 1.5x what I use but fine.

The glycerin is about 5-6% so I could do that with just some excess grumbling and not much cramping.

The soap is stronger than my usual of 1 tsp/quart by a factor of about 4x, so I'm sure it would be pretty irritating especially with the glycerin in there too.

I'd have to start on the very low end of this and work up, but it sounds like something I could manage if done gradually. Sounds like a plan.

Eric

That particular recipe isn't from a hospital or nursing text. It's taken from a page that was up on Steve Hodges' bedwettingandaccidents.com website (I don't have a problem with bedwetting, but it came up when I was looking for SSE "recipes"). I did some preliminary poking around, and Hodges seems to be somewhat legit. The maximums seem rather strong (over a tablespoon of soap per liter for a child), but he does note that you should start with saline, add the glycerine in gradually increasing quantities, and then add the soap in teaspoon increments, stopping when the enema is sufficiently effective. Unfortunately the recipe is now down from the site, as they're trying to get you to buy the $20-some ebook.

As far as "hospital enemas" I find mostly vague instructions in older texts ("prepare 2 quarts of soapsuds, making it fairly strong" (Goodnow, Minnie. First Year Nursing. W. B. Saunders: Philadelphia. 1921), or newer texts that use castile packets (I haven't found much from the 1924-196x period from my sources). One newer one suggests 3-5mL/liter of castile soap.

If you want to I'd say give it a try and see what happens. Don't do it on a day when you need to be out and doing stuff soon just in case!

Growing up it was always a bar of Ivory soap floating in a pyrex measuring cup with 16 oz of water heated up on the stove until cloudy. the process was repeated again and then the bag was filled to the top with tap water from the kitchen sink. Shortly after that it was Enema time for the condemned.

Modified O’Regan Protocol for Overactive Bladder abstract is here:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304577411_Modified_O'Regan_Protocol_for_Overactive_Bladder

this is in reference to moliere's finding below

As long as it will flow through the nozzle you are using, it's not too much.

As long as it will flow through the nozzle you are using, it's not too much.

That's a rather wild statement considering you are so concerned about other safety aspects of enemas.

At some point I'd like to see by weight how much soap is in the various liquid castile soaps. I know for my "goo" how much is in there (1.8 grams per 15mL tablespoon), but I'm not sure about, say, Bronner's peppermint.

I don't have an accurate enough scale to do it yet, but it would be nice to get the mass of, say, 1 tsp (5mL) of the liquid dried out for the various soaps.

I've stopped pursuing this. Different soaps have different effects on the colon, so this would be meaningless. You could figure out how much soap by weight was in your very soapy Ivory, but this wouldn't translate to a very soapy castile or baby shampoo or glycerine soap, or really anything but that specific soap in your specific colon. Start with a reasonable amount (slightly milky for bar, teaspoon per quart for liquid castile, tablespoon per quart for baby shampoo) then work it up for your colon.

Enemarun - it was interesting to see how much soap you were using. Thanks for working that out.

Personal sized Ivory. Make it up by washing my hands in warm water until the solution is milky and then fill the bulb.

Doesn't the peppermint burn a little?

Doesn't the peppermint burn a little?

Assuming Bronner's Peppermint Castile.

Cool, tingly feeling. Of course if you use a lot it might burn.