Was only soap used?

Soap as an Enema additive I think became the contributing factor as to why I'd developed a penchant for whats universally known as a "Good Enema" . .Taken from "home health remedies", "home nursing" & other literature my parents had at that time, decades ago & described as Enema Saponis

So I can only assume by its description that an Enema Saponis was the preferred course of action for both it's efficiency & good results. .characterized by the statement contained within - "how to give a good enema". .to "that" I agree

I have used Kirk's Castile soap with great results. It gives great results with no more cramping the Ivory.

All of my family Pediatrician approved constipation relief enemas I got as a 9-12 year old boy were soapy water.A bar of castile soap was rubbed in the water until it was "milky & slippery". The Pediatrician advised my Dad to give me 1 quart of this enema solution at 104 degrees F. The Victoria enema bag was hung at 16" above my buttocks.From age 11 on,the amount of solution was increased to 40 ounces and the enema bag was hung at 18" above my buttocks.

Was only soap used ?

For the most part but not exclusively.

There was soap solution with glycerine added

Soap solution with a flattened teaspoon of table salt added to each pint

Plain water @ 105 ° with salt added….known as the Saline Enema…inaccurately as true Saline is medicinal (sterile) saline.

Plain glycerine delivered via a small glass barrel and bakelite glycerine syringe

Plain glycerine mildly warmed & mixed with water

Parrafin oil given via the same syringe mentioned above, followed by a SSE enema next morning & then a plain enema to remove any soap residue.

There are many enema solutions.

When I was growing up, my mom only gave me soapsuds enemas, made from good old Ivory. I'm sure she was aware of other solutions, but that's the only one she used.

The first enema I remember getting with an enema bag when I was 4 years old and was constipated during a cold was a pint of lukewarm water with table salt that the doctor ordered, but soon after that my aunts, grandmothers and friends' mothers suggested various solutions that they used on their kids including plain water, baking soda, salt and soda, soap, and Epsom Salts. After trying these solutions my Mom decided that Ivory soap gave the surest results and started using that for most of my enemas. For a while from about 10 - 12 years of age she occasionally gave me a 1:2:3 enema (1 oz. Epsom Salts, 2 oz. glycerin and 3 oz. hot water) injected with a bulb syringe which my best friend's Mom used on him when she was in a hurry. Also when we were travelling she sometimes gave me a Fleet Enema if I got constipated.

Several treatment slips from our family doctor survived in my late mothers things. Two of them specifically mention ‘keep his bowels open’ and to give ‘soapsuds enemas.’ That is what my mother and occasionally my RN aunt would use. My mother's go-to soap was Ivory. My aunt's preferred soap was Lifebuoy. After a ‘good’ soapsuds enema, (or two) a tap water rinse followed.

Until a naturopath recommended baking soda in my later years, all I ever used was Ivory followed by a clear rinse.

My mother's go-to soap was Ivory.

Most of the enemas that my Mom gave me growing up were made with Ivory soap but there was never a rinse afterwards. She would stir a bar of Ivory soap around in a pitcher of water just hot enough to sting slightly on the inside of her wrist until the solution was milky and had a layer of suds on top. She gave it non-stop as I lay curled up on my left side in bed with both legs pulled up to my chest and I was made to hold it for 5 minutes as she squeezed my butt cheeks together tightly and told me to take slow deep breaths through my mouth to ease any cramps. She used a kitchen timer to time the retention then helped me up onto a chamber pot set on a stool beside my bed to expel it. She had me lift up slightly when I was finished while she wiped my bum with a kleenex and inspected the results. Very occasionally she wasn't satisfied with the results and gave me a second enema that always seemed stronger than the first and she forced me to hold the second one in for 10 minutes which gave me severe cramps and was sheer agony for me. I got soapsuds enemas daily when I was too sick to go to school (on our doctor's advice to keep my bowels emptied out while I was sick) and I also got them as a last resort after she had given me a laxative at bedtime that didn't make me go as soon as I woke up in the morning. In those cases she would give me a glycerin suppository, give it about 20 minutes to work, and if I still hadn't had a good big poop she'd get out the enema bag and give me a soapsuds enema to forcefully flush everything out of me.

Just soap enemas got a few as a kid just took a quick soap enema felt plugged up

I need to correct what said here about my my enemas being made with Ivory Snow, It should have read Ivory Flakes. Quite a difference between the two.

Half a dozen dulcolax 5mg tablets crushed in two quarts of isotonic saline 105 degree water will do the job on the most full colon ever. You will barely make it to the commode on time.

Remember watching a TV programme years ago, interviewing retired nurses about their work back in the day, they kept a large glass jar of water which was kept warm, and they threw all the soap bits in, and that was used for enemas

One time mom was out of Ivory soap and used Lifeboy soap for my enema and it burned like hell! After that ordeal whenever mom went grocery shopping i made sure she stocked up on Ivory soap!

Once got a "Joy" dish detergent enema at the last minute. Talk about farts and cramps.

Hospitals for decades used Castile soap. Mommy from home used Ivory. Dr. Bronners offers soap in flavors today.

Salt or plain water has long been uses for rinses to purge soap residue.

Coffee has quite a following today, as a primary or secondary use.

These seem to be the mainstream ingredients for enemas over the years.

Special purpose additives are also used and documented elsewhere.

Note: I do not recommend any substances and suggest you consult your physician before putting anything up your bum.

I think it depended on the circumstances, and, of course, what the giver (usually the mom) had gotten when she was a kid and her knowledge of enemas.

If the mom has always been given enemas with soap in them, it was very likely she would do that with her offsping Taken to the extreme, if the mom had received punishment enemas, like as not the bag would be used on her kids for the same purpose.

The saavy mom or nurse could well have done something like this:

If the recipient wasn't very constipated and just needed 'to give nature little help' to get pooing started, she'd fill a bowl or the sink with warm water and fill the bulb and give one or a few 'squirts'. This would generally start the recipient pooing within a half hour or so, but not cause any great urgency. I would get this, just before my nightly bath, and the warm water loosened things up during the bath and a controlled poo happened usually before very long.

However, if the bulb didn't produce results within a couple of hours, things escalated to the bag. If the bag was needed, it was always filled completely with warm water that had Ivory bar soap swished in it until the solution was noticeably somewhat milky.

It is well known that a soapy enema has much more poo power than plain water and usually works much more rapidly. While it is often possible, even easy, to hold plain water for 15 minutes or more, the same cannot be said of a bag of soapy water which usually causes a powerful urge within a very few minutes.

Another aspect of the soapy enema is that often it will pompt a poo, but then pompt additional poos over the next 8 hours. The 'repeat performances' may or may not be desired The addition of clear water or saline rinses is relatively recent. AFAIK, neither I nor any of my friends ever got a clear rinse after they had been given a soapy bag enema. Even today, I think the rinses are the exception rather than the norm.

In hospital, some years ago, I was confined to bed and was unsuccessful on the bedpan Eventually an enema was ordered and I saw the nurse add the soap packet to the water in the bag. The enema soon produced the expected effects and I pood a lot, then went to sleep. A few hours later and almost immediately had another large, very urgent poo, prompted, I assume, by the residual soap

I don’t remember mom using anything other than plain warm water when she gave me an enema and as I began giving myself enemas, I only used plain water. Except when my sister and I gave ourselves enemas in the bathtub, but whatever soap that was in the bathwater was probably too diluted to matter. I didn’t start experimenting with other solutions until after I left home. I had read in home health books that people used various things in their enemas but never tried them. Then my employer sent me for some training out of town and one evening I walked down the block to a local drugstore and bought a Fleet BagEnema kit, which came with a packet of Castile soap. I remembered reading that Castile soap was commonly used for enemas in hospitals, so I used it. It was quite effective, yet mild. I found a local drugstore that sold those little packets for ten cents each! That started me reading more and trying some things. I have never done some of the strong stuff, like the M&M enema because I am not into the major cramping and such. I want to enjoy my enemas.

Every enema I was given as a kid was Ivory soap. No rinse but sometimes two soapy ones. Nowadays it’s Dr. Bronners, salt and soda, or tap water.

If the recipient wasn't very constipated and just needed 'to give nature little help' to get pooing started, she'd fill a bowl or the sink with warm water and fill the bulb and give one or a few 'squirts'. This would generally start the recipient pooing within a half hour or so, but not cause any great urgency.

In our house, this was known as a “starter enema” which was always what I asked for if I had to have one.

Another aspect of the soapy enema is that often it will pompt a poo, but then pompt additional poos over the next 8 hours. The 'repeat performances' may or may not be desired The addition of clear water or saline rinses is relatively recent. AFAIK, neither I nor any of my friends ever got a clear rinse after they had been given a soapy bag enema. Even today, I think the rinses are the exception rather than the norm.

Back in the ‘60s, I was always given the option of a rinse enema. I was told I could have a rinse and go out and play or otherwise I would have to stay inside near the bathroom for an hour. Since I really didn’t like enemas in those days, I would normally opt to stay nearby.

The only enemas I can remember from my mother and grandmother were warm water. I was an adult and married before I branched out. I bought a Fleet bag enema one time out of curiosity and enjoyed the Castile soap that came with it. Soon after while in a health food store with my wife, I saw they had Dr. Bronners Castile soap on the shelf but didn’t get it then. But I went back later and bought a bottle. I liked it. Some years later after finding Zity, and reading that Ivory was popular for enemas, I bought some. I really didn’t like it much compared to the Castile soap. I also tried and liked J&J baby shampoo. I kind of alternate between the Castile and J&J when I use soap, but often still use just plain warm water.

To be honest, I never questioned it growing up. I just knew an enema meant Ivory soap in the water. Now if I pissed my dad off and try to avoid taking them, then it was Irish spring soap. That did not feel better.

I guess my Mother was a purist or perhaps not very creative because I only remember warm water enemas. Enemas were secret, naughty and simple. Secret because I did not want any one to know or see me getting an enema. Naughty because some how I felt I had been naughty or maybe because they excited me. Simple because my Mother just filled the bag with warm water, put me on my tummy over the bathroom chair and gave me 2 or 3 enemas or until the bag was empty. By the end my checks were tear stained and the enema bag had beads of moisture running down the sides. Sometimes after my enema I would see the still moist bag hanging from the back of the bathroom door. I did not realize the excitement was sexual until I was older.

My mom never used soap when I was a kid. Only body temperature tap water. I did not experience a soapy enema until adulthood when I tried one for resolving a serious case of constipation. I seem to recall purchasing a Fleet bag enema just so I could use the soap packet that came with it. I learned that day that the addition of castile soap to the water makes the enema more effective. When I do a soapy enema, I usually don't bother with a rinse enema. I have also found that adding 10 ml of docusate sodium liquid to 2 liters of water is as effective as soapsuds.

I know that Ivory soap is freequently mentioned. I can tell you that back then the slogan for ivory on 1950s' TV was "No Tears" as a mom washed her little boys' face as she bathed him.

You have to realize that stores didn't have the vast veriety of soaps you see it today supermarkets. Some moms are said to have kept a jar of old used bars of soap saved under the bathroom sink for the sole purpouse of the SSE. Many Talk of Dr Bommers, but I dont recall it being very popular back in the day in my neighborhood. My grand mother used a rather large bar of brown soap. She grew up in Europe, and came to America at age 20, with 2 sisters before WW1. I can tell you that her English was poor and reading worst! Europe had no supermarkets, nor did America back then, and soap was just that ...SOAP. Her brown soap was used for everything from dish washing to laundry and everything in between. I can tell you that in an SSE it stung something awful. You could count to 10 after that unmistakable "Click" of the metal clamp on that red rubber hose, that a strong burning / stinging feeling would come from down low in your belly, and you knew that you were at the point of no return. Pleading for mercy didnt help as the water continued pressure would build. It would make you promise anything, just for some relief.

If mom felt I needed an enema for whatever reason, there was no way out for me.

That meant burning in the ass and cramps in the intestines. The Ivory soap did not exist, rather the classic curd soap. A simple soap in the block, without fragrances and dyes. Mom put them in a bowl of warm water before use and rubbed them between her hands until she decided the soapy water was good enough for me.

Now the one-piece red rubber bulb was used. Mom sat on the closed toilet seat, I had to kneel in front of her and offer her my butt hole. First I felt her finger smearing it with Vaseline, then I heard the bubbling as she filled the bulb and then felt the tip in me, over which the soapy water spilled out in me.

Three to five bulbs formed an enema, which I had to hold for about five to ten minutes. Waves of cramps accompanied this time before I was allowed to defecate. If this result was not satisfactory, it was repeated. The salvation was always the subsequent rinsing with warm water, which freed me from the soap residue.

I can consciously remember taking enemas from the age of five. But I'm sure I got these beforehand because mom later told me I had a prolapsed rectum when I was a toddler and our GP recommended making sure the bowel movements weren't too hard. So I was under special observation. If I sat on the toilet too long... enema; one day without a bowel movement... enema; if I ever ate too much chocolate or hard-boiled eggs ( at Christmas or Easter for example ), there were soap enemas as a precaution.

All of mom's enemas were soap enemas followed by a rinse.

I hated enemas, and mom knew it. So how natural was it to incorporate that into my upbringing. If I was particularly naughty again, extra soapy larger enemas were used to get me back on track.

The soap enemas of my childhood shaped me.

When I got the virus in my early 20s, it was clear that soap would never find its way back into my colon. Instead, tea blends were created, such as a good friend's mother's variant. She washed my bum twice with a tea mixture consisting of caraway, fennel, aniseed, chamomile and peppermint. Those were the best enemas I've ever had.

And now? After reading the many posts here about soaps, I thought about it and started looking for a suitable soap. I discovered that at OHN; rather my witch.

After more than half a century without soap, my wife now administers the soap enemas to me. And this soap is really good. In the first week I received four 2.5 liter enemas, followed by two equally sized salt water rinses with a few drops of essential oils.

And I thought there was no more increase... what a misjudgment...😛😎

I think i read somewhere a reference to GREEN SOAP being used for enemas. When having my first colonic in Florida back in the late 1900’s, the therapist gave you a 1 qt enema. using green soap. She said it was the only soap she used, as that was what her RN mother had used. BTW she was in her late sixties.

Today it seems to be used a lot by tattoo shop ... Dynarex tincture of green soap ... and available on line.

Any users for enemas?

My grandmother had a gallon jug of green liquid medicinal soap in the bathroom cupboard that she used to make soapsuds enemas adding 2 TBSP of the soap per quart of hot water. Those enemas were extremely hard to hold for the 5 minutes that I was made to hold them in. They caused bad cramps and when I was finally allowed to sit on the toilet they caused an explosive evacuation of everything in my bowels until there was nothing more left in me to come out.