Hospital Practices

Some on here have reported various hospital practices from the golden age. During high school in the late 60s I worked one summer for a small county hospital in North Carolina along with several other high school aged kids whose parents knew the hospital administrator or his family. Several of the memories that I will never forget involves a female friend, the student nurses and the nursing station on the surgery floor.

First, the female friend worked at the front desk and checked in visitors. One day she was not there and when I inquired as to her whereabouts was told she had been admitted for appendicitis. After work I naturally went to visit with her. I got quite a thrill seeiing her in the bed with a gown and nothing else on!!! She even asked if I could see anything and of course I said no!! LOL. Then she told me the nursing staff had given her the choice of laxatives or an enema. She didn't know what an enema was but I readily suggested that was the best choice. Sadly, Inever got up the nerve to ask her which she selected and she never mentioned it again.

This hospital had a small nursing program that must have been exceptional for its day given the number of student nurses that were always around. They lived in a two story dorm adjacent to the hospital. And by what some older guys told me they were very frisky! There were quite a few cute ones that I would have loved to have been a patient for them to practice their newly learned skills on, but sadly that wasn't to be either. Outside of some flirting, I never got lucky on any front with any of them.

Finally, behind the nursing station and in plain view of anyone who happened to look, was a rack and open drainage area similar to what a tile shower floor looks like. On the rack at any given time were multiple red rubber enema bags and hoses drying. More than once I considered complaining about being constipated to see if one of the nurses would give me an enema with one of the hospital bags.

This must have been towards the end of hospitals use of traditional rubber enema bags and the transition to disposables. Given this was a small community, I guess it took a while longer for tradition to die.

I had a student nurse give me a Fleet's Enema in the hospital. She was very nervous and I could tell she hated it. On the other hand I also had an older nurse (35 to 40 I'd guess) give me an enema. She was friendly but still kind of businesslike. When I would complain about feeling full, she would clamp the bag for a few seconds, but she kept giving the enema until I had taken all of it. She used a disposable 1500cc plastic bag and she mentioned it was a soapsuds enema, which didn't mean anything to me at the time. I was 20 years old, and that was really the first time I enjoyed an enema.

As I can recall enemas were abudantly given to hospital patients in the 50s. Laxatives were not generally used except for castor oil. Nurses at that time did not need a physicians order to give a patient an enema. As historical fact, large hospitals had a standard floor Nursing Procedure Manual that allowed nurses to use their judgment about certain routine care; e.g., dispensing an asperine, back rubs, enemas.

For example, if a patient did not have a bowel movement for two days a sse (soap suds enema) would always be administered the following morning. Patients at that time were also excessively restricted to bed with no or only "bathroom previleges". It was not unusual for a nurses to give two or three enemas on one shift. Of course, enemas were always given routinely as a surgical-prep to patients the night before surgery. The enemas were 1800cc in volume, with a solution of very warm soap suds.

Nothing more sexy than a nurse wearing starched whites holding an enema bag. Even if it is delivered in a business like manner, its still hot!

I think peeling off my clothes and being administered an enema by a nurse is sooo hot..

[quote author=draino14 link=topic=52198.msg379292#msg379292 date=1314473722]

Nothing more sexy than a nurse wearing starched whites holding an enema bag. Even if it is delivered in a business like manner, its still hot!

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Actually this was far enough back that the nurses did indeed wear the traditional white uniform, with those opaque/white stockings they tended to wear back then. I think the hospital must have been pretty strict about the dress code, I never saw any of the registered nurses wearing anything different.

I'll also add that I was transferred to a hospital in my home town a little later, and the nurses there wore the same white uniform. I had had bowel issues, including an obstruction, and I was receiving a Fleet's enema every other day. On my first day an older nurse came in with a Fleets enema. She talked a bit about a couple of friends of mine that she knew and then asked me turn on my left side. She had lubricated her index finger, and she slowly pushed it all the way up as far it would go, into my anus. She held it there, without moving, for 8 to 10 seconds, then withdrew it and inserted the tip of the Fleets enema.

She never said anything before, during or after she inserted her finger, and I was never sure why she did it. I thought it might be to relax my anus for the enema nozzle on the bottle, but that didn't make any sense since the nozzle was much narrower than her finger,why not just insert the nozzle? Also, it didn't seem to be any kind of exam because she held her hand completely still and never moved the finger. Unfortunately, she never gave me another enema, a male orderly did it from there on out, and he didn't do anything like she had done.

....I thought it might be to relax my anus for the enema nozzle on the bottle, but that didn't make any sense since the nozzle was much narrower than her finger,why not just insert the nozzle?

Precisely for that reason AtlMale. The finger should always be inserted first, to check for internal haemorrhoids or lesions and to assess the direction of the anal canal. Not to do this would be to risk damage. Remember that, whilst a patient inserting their own Fleet nozzle would be able to feel and correct the direction etc, someone else inserting does not have the benefit of feeling what the patient can feel.

It should always be done, especially with slim nozzles and thermometers. It's desirable even with larger more rounded objects such as colonic irrigation specula etc. Many are the video clips on here that do not portray that elementary precaution.

Back when I was 14 I was in a large hospital for surgery. I was in pediatrics as was the practice to put you there up to age 15. The morning of surgery, a really cute student nurse came in with an enema tray, and told me she was going to give me an enema. I was embarassed and excited at the same time, to say the least. She then gave me the enema and kept telling me how well I was doing, which excited me more. After it was done I went to get up and turned over, the hospital gown not covering me to expose a large erection. I looked over and she was looking at it. After I returned from the bathroom, she told me to get back up because she had to give me another one. Later that day, my surgery was cancelled for the day because of an emergency surgery. Next day, I had the surgery, preceded by another enema, this time given by a different young nurse. She looked in the bedstand for a bedpan and couldn't find one. I heard her go to the door and ask someone to go get a bedpan. She came back and told me to get on my side etc. She started the enema, and I heard someone walk in and say they had the bedpan. She said it was "just in case". The nurse told her to bring it in!! I turned around, and there was one of those young girls that helped out, mostly high school girls, standing there watching my enema and looking stunned. The nurse had to tell her to leave. I was mortified, but it excited me even more. They didn't always have big consideration for privacy back then, especially in pediatrics! Three days after my surgery, I got another enema from a third different nurse, and this time I was placed on the bedpan, as I couldn't yet walk very well. This is what got me interested in enemas for good.

My most intense feeling of both dread and anticipation occurred when I was hospitalized after a car accident in the early 60's. The hospital I was in still used the two quart variety enema bag. One evening a nurse came in and drew the curtain around my roommate before proceeding to give him an enema. The whole thing from start to finish probably took about 15 minutes. All of that time I was wondering whether or not I was next. As she was returning his bed curtains to their original position, she looked me right in the eye, almost like she could read my mind, and just slowly nodded her head yes. What's worse is the nurse was the younger sister of a woman I was dating.

First wife graduated from a 3 yr. nursing program in 1964. She spent her pediatric rotation at Cincinnati Children's Hosp. in 1963. She told me that every morning she would have to make up at least 6 SSE's(500ml., kid sized) and get them all administered. She used the hottest possible temperature water, as the cans would cool off by the time she got to the last enemas. This was done every day and they always used student nurses to give them, because it was good practice and the floor R.N.'s were busy passing Meds.

Would LOVE to be in that situation,Tuber.I was in the hospital in 1960 for appendix, and the only enema bag I saw was for the kid in the next bed.my heart was pounding as the Nurse came in My direction with the bag.wish it was for ME.....

When I was in High School (i was 17-18 years old), my last year was spent in a health occupation vocational program. The chief instructor was a really cool old fashion nurse, who worn the white starched uniform to work every day...(She had short blond hair, and apart from being in her 40's she was actually pretty hot) . 😃 and had her starched "graduate cap" in the class room next to her desk. She would tell stories of when she was starting out in the early 60's they would give everyone an enema that came into the hospital. She even told a story about "psychiatric enemas" given to certain patients when she was on the psych ward. By the end of the course we all had our CNA certificates. We learn how do do pretty much every type of patient care necessary.

Well back when I was 10 I had to have some tests done . It was back in the 60's so enemas were given a lot. Any way one night before my tests in the morning . I was given 3 enemas by 2 nurses. One was a nurse and the other was a student nurse . I could tell becuse she had a striped uniform on. Any way I had got enemas from my mother before this but didn't know what they were going to do. They took me to this exam room. It was night an all the kids were asleep. They said they had to weight me . After that one nurse ask me if I knew what a enema was . I said no an she said that was ok. Next while the one nurse got the enema ready . The other one took off my PJ bottoms an underwear. Then she layed me on the table on my stomach. They used a glass funnel and rubber rectal tube . After putting the tube in my butt . The one started to pour the soapy water in again and again. As she was doing this I heard them talking . The one said " I can't believe he isn't crying or putting up a fight. " I just layed their an took the enema . They gave me 2 more after that one the same night. Then when I was in another hospital when I had stents put in my heart. The next day I told my nurse I was badly constipated an could I get a soapy enema. She said she would ask my doctor . Well he oked it an she gave me a very nice slow soapy enema. Taking her time . To tell me all she was going to do. She had me change my position 3 times . The second time I turned on my back . I know she could see my erection I had as my legs were up and open. She just looked at me an smiled an said I was doing good . After the first enema she gave me another warm water enema.

I always joke that there was a time that when you went to the hospital you got an enema about as quick as they now days ask for your insurance card.

Also, on the order sets, there was always a place for the doc to check yes or no on the soapsuds enema and I don't recall many instances where it was not checked.

I spent a weekend in the hospital in the early 80's. When I told the nurse I was getting constipated all I got was some laxative to drink.

48French: It's getting really bad in hospitals when it comes to enemas. I was in the hospital, several years ago, for tests. I don't remember why so much time had gone by, but one by my second day in the hospital, I hadn't had a BM in 5 days. She didn't seem to be particularly concerned. I then told her that I really needed an enema badly. She returned with a Fleets Phopho-soda disposable and administered it quickly. After waiting half an hour I felt no urge at all. I called her back and explained the problem, so she returned with a second disposable, which she administered. Still no urge to "go". Later, I told her that neither "enema" had made me evacuate and could I please get a bag enema? She told me that she didn't know where she could get a bag to use. I felt like saying "Why don't you try the x-ray department?", but I just waited until I was discharged, after 7 days without a BM. Needless to say, the very first thing I did when I got home, was to tale a 3-quart, hot, soapsuds enema.

Was in the hospital for some minor surgery in the late eighties. After day 3 with no BM, nurse came in with a clear plastic bag full of cloudy water. The only thing missing was the white uniform.

I was in the hospital for just one overnight for heart tests 2 years ago when the very young nurse handed me a small stool softener pill without asking me whether I needed it.

Back in the "golden age" it probably would be a session with a white enema can like the one at home.

During the the 1960's and 70's I was often in the hospital because of the side effects of a birth defect so I was probably on the receiving end of over 100+ enemas at different times from 50+ different nurse. It was routine back then but early on I realized that some nurses enjoyed giving enemas more then others. It was usually the meaner ones that gave the most thorough enemas and they seemed the least happy about having to do it.

[quote author=Greg link=topic=52198.msg449322#msg449322 date=1339424972]

During the the 1960's and 70's I was often in the hospital because of the side effects of a birth defect so I was probably on the receiving end of over 100+ enemas at different times from 50+ different nurse. It was routine back then but early on I realized that some nurses enjoyed giving enemas more then others. It was usually the meaner ones that gave the most thorough enemas and they seemed the least happy about having to do it.

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I've been hospitalized twice -- once at the age four in 1944 and the second time at 15 in 1955--and I can assure all the young folks here that the enema age was certainly golden in hospitals then. Neither of my hospital stays were events I ever wanted to repeat but the frequent enemas during each made them more bearable. All my nurses were gentle and caring and the a couple of the ones when I was a teenager were very attractive. I don't know that they enjoyed giving me enemas but I certainly loved them doing it.

When I was about 5 years old I was very constipated and the doctor told my mother to take me to the hospital for an enema. Needless to say I was very upset and it took a number of family members to hold me down. After the enema I refused to go when placed on the toilet and the whole process had to be repeated. With two cans full of water in me I finally went, but it was very traumatic. After that enemas became a threat if I didn't eat my veggies. I also became fascinated by them.

I went in the 70's to the hospital with my grandmother because she felt constipated and suffered from severe abdominal pains.there she was examined by a doctor who removed her shirt to expose her from the waist up.he gradually came down with the palpation eventually pulling down her pants and fully exposing her bush😃.after that he got her on her side and performed a rectal examination while she was moaning in pain.he was pushing his finger very hard inside her and she was literally moaning in pain.when he retracted his finger it was full of feces.he ordered an enema immediately and the nurse gave her a huge enema while she was crying.while all of this was happening i was hiding in a separate compartement of the room masked away by privacy sheets.after she expelled she was put on a gyno table and examined and then another rectal examination in the knee-chest position with a proctoscope .this was really painfull and she moaned a lot .after all of this torture she was sent to surgery for the appendix.it was one of the scariest moments of my life.

I'm and RN and back in the early 70s when I was in nursing school part of our training was working at the hospital associated with the medical university I attended. Giving patients enemas was a much more common practice than it is now in hospitals. One of my more memorable enema experiences during my training was one in which I received an enema. I observed and assisted in giving many enemas during my clinical training to both males and females. I began to feel a certain excitement when an enema was given to patients that weren't obviously ill or too old. I became equally excited when the paient was male or female and attractive as it gave me a feeling of power and authority over them; telling them to remove their underware and assume the knee chest position on the treatment table became a real turn on for me. I always tried to make the experience as pleasant as possible for the patients who were receiving the enemas, eplaining the procedure and lots of kind words to ease their embarassment and anxiety. On more than one occasion a young healthy male would become fully erect while an enema was being administed and a few even ejaculated on the table much to their embarassment while the warm fluid filled their bowels. Likewise being a female, I knew the tell tale signs of female becoming aroused during the procedure, the erect nipples, deep heavy breathing and the obvious moisture seeping from the vagina and glistening wet labia. Of course, observing their physical reactions and obvious enjoyment caused me to become aroused as well. Once during my clincal training I was having some stomach issues myself and casually mentioned it to our nurse instructor. I had become quite constipated and when I told her I hadn't had a bowel movement in a few days she told me to meet her in one of the procedure rooms later that afternoon after our clinical class sessions were done for the day. when I arrived at the room she was already in there setting up some enema equipment but I still hadn't put 2 and 2 together. She told me to come in and shut the door. This instructor was very business like, a woman in her 50s, short and stocky while was tall and lanky, a good head and shoulders over her in height. She told me to get compeletly undressed and gave me one of those skimpy, back open patient gowns to wear. I could feel the excitement building up inside myself as I quickly got undressed and assumed the position on the table. She snapped on some exam gloves and got out a tub of lubercant applying some on her gloved fingers of one hand an large gob on my exposed anus. Now I knew how the patients felt and I was actually getting aroused. I turned and saw her face and I could see her face was beginning to flush and beads of sweat formed on her forehead so she too was getting excited. She told me to relax and began by inserting 1 and then a 2nd finger in my anus and up my rectum slowly twisting them all the way up until she said she could feel the blockage and that she would have to do a digital fecal removal before the enema. I actually had an orgasim during that procedure!

In the late 1980s, I went into labor and my husband rushed me to the hospital to give birth. When I arrived, a nurse put me in a wheel chair and pushed me down a hall to a private room. I was changed into the usual hospital garb with the open back. She asked me to climb up on a tall gurney, about hip high. It was difficult for me to get up there, being so pregnant and struggling with recurring labor pains. She prepped me by shaving off all my pubic hair and gave me an enema with a can of solution and a colon tube. My position was flat on my back with the soles of my feet pressed together, which splayed my knees apart like a dead frog. After she finished, she instructed me to lie there holding the water as long as I could. She pointed out the door to the bathroom, then she left me, carrying the enema gear.

All alone, I waited as long as I could, but she didn't come back -- not for a long time. I decided I'd better get down off the gurney and head for the bathroom, but once I sat up and dangled my legs over the side, I became alarmed, because my feet swung a good distance off the floor! How was I to get down? Ordinarily, I would have just hopped down, but I was pregnant, and my weight was not balanced. I was sure that the momentum would carry me forward to fall on my face. I felt like Humpty-Dumpty.

Very carefully, I reached down as far as I could with one foot, than gingerly eased myself over the edge and managed to touch the floor without falling. Then I wobbled off toward the bathroom.

To this day, I can't imagine what reasoning prompted this sort of policy, where the height of the gurney was adjusted to the convenience of the nurse rather than the pregnant woman.

According to my grandmother (mom's side of the family), for decades it was common practice for patients having surgery to check into the hospital on the afternoon before to be "prepped," which often included one or more enemas, depending on the surgery. She remembered going through this routine in the late 1940s and 1950s when nurses treated her to soapsuds enemas on the evening before surgery, on the second or third day after surgery and, for good measure, what she joked was called the "going home enema" prior to discharge. I respect today's nurses for the stress they are under, but can you imagine what the nurses in "those days" must have been doing in the evenings on the surgical floors?

I remember that when I gave birth to my daughter in the mid 80's I was neither given an enema or shaved. When I told my mom she was mortified and told me that in the 50s and 60s that patients would get a welcome enema after being taken to their room and changed into a gown. For me I have never had an enema other than at home or on vacation.

I had heard that in days past enemas were common prep for anything that required anesthesia, and also it was required that you have a bowel movement before they discharged you, therefore the "going home enema".

I have been fortunate to avoid any hospital stays for anything other than when my children were born. Prior to my first, I had been warned by mom and others that on arrival I would be given a large soapsuds enema. I got a Fleet. Considering I had other things on my mind it was not memorable, either good or bad. For my second, things were moving real fast and there was no time for anything, especially an enema. When I packed to go home the nurse packed a Fleet bottle in my bag. I asked her about it and she said there is a Fleet in every labor prep kit and since I was being billed for it I might as well take it in case I need it some day.

Some of my fondest memories resulted from the "Golden Age" as it relates to hospital and doctor prescribed enemas. While I often resisted mom's efforts to give me an enema, I was always expected to comply with medical staff for any procedure. If I cried while getting a shot, I really got something to cry about thereafter.

Many of the procedures were uncomfortable, and certainly embarrassing. Because of the potential for discipline, I always respected the nurses or doctors. That doesn't mean that I was always comfortable with the inevitable. The thing I discovered, was that I was often commended for being polite and for submitting without a fuss.

Being called a "good boy" was music to my ears. I didn't hear that from mom or grandma. I suppose that influenced a positive transition from hating enemas, rectal exams, and temps. As I got a bit older, the sensations were actually to be sought after. By submitting without a fuss, I was able to enjoy some positive interactions during those procedures. As a teenager, I had a very sensual enema experience with a nurse who just happened to be a friend's older sister. While I was already hooked on enemas, having assistance and enjoying some massage and caressing, was heavenly. My surgical procedure was far less miserable due to the personal care.

I have many recollections of hospital events that I observed, or heard others recount during the 50's, 60's, and into the 70's. Nurses have always had a special place in my heart. Even pretend nurses in role play scenarios are held in high esteem. I have seen patients who resist, and bitch and moan, and often wonder if they'd ever realize that compliance and cooperation may just open themselves to a much better experience.

I remember back in the seventies being in hospital for a minor operation, wondering when id be getting an enema or suppositories, but never did ! A man in the bed next to me got an enema, but it was all done in silence.

A while later i was again in hospital and i heard a man close by getting an enema and begging the nurse to stop, but it seems she didnt, she was the sister in charge of the ward, after it happened i overheard two nurses saying about that poor man, having such a big enema.

Wish it was me....

When I was in school in the late '60's a good friend was put in the hospital for observation after a car accident. I went to visit him in the early evening. Our visit was interrupted when a male nurse came into the room and went to the other bed and informed the patient there that he would be returning shortly to give him an enema. The patient protested vigorously indicating he did not want an enema. The nurse indicated to him that the doctor had ordered the enema. He then asked the nurse to call the doctor and have the doctor change the order. I do not recall what the nurse replied but it was clear that he was going to get an enema. As the nurse started to leave the room she informed me that I would have to leave when she returned because she would be giving the other patient an enema. In a few minuted she returned holding a plastic bucket containing probably a quart and a half of clear liquid. There was a long plastic hose attached to the bottom of the bucket. As I started to leave she told me I was welcome to come back when she had finished giving the other patient his enema. As I walked out the door I turned and looked back to see my friend's roommate turned away from the door with his backside exposed.