Why has society's view of enemas changed

Years ago I had a roommate who was in nursing school and when she graduated she got her first job at a small rural nursing home. As you might expect, the rookie of the team got the job of giving morning enemas when needed. About that time they switched from the can to the Fleet. One time I commented that I had tried the Fleet but did not find it as good as the old fashioned soapy enema. My friend explained to me it is all about the money, and time is money.

I don't remember the exact times she told me but it was something like a regular enema to relieve constipation with the can took 15-20 minutes each counting prep and cleaning time while a Fleet was less than 5 minutes. When they switched to Fleets they were done in a few minutes rather than hours if they had a list of people to do.

It is not better, but faster. And these days that is what counts.

Great topic. I pretty much agree with most of the replies on this topic. Plus laxatives(pills)has to many side effects these days. I would do a enema over pills any day. Hopefully enemas will make a come back in the near future.

Our doctor had an entry on a website that gives doctors a space to briefly indicate whic procedures and diagnostics are available in their practice. Our doctor includes three kinds of enemas in that list:

(Routine) enemas, x-ray-prep enemas and barium enemas.

Society's view of enemas has probably been influenced by the medical profession and their reluctance to use enemas for cost and convenience. Behind that is a significant disdain for enemas that many people have. My wife would rather endure anything rather than an enema. To her, an enema is disgusting and dirty. Luckily, she puts up with my desires, but doesn't partake.

Since enemas are not viewed today as having any benefits other than for the relief of constipation, and there are other more acceptable alternatives in most people's minds, enemas have become the last choice. If it wasn't for the internet, enemas would probably almost disapear as the older generations die off. Anyway, we can sitll enjoy them!

I had a colonoscopy done recently. I did the dulcolax pills and then the gallon or so of miralax prior to the procedure. After it was done and I was in the recovery room, the doctor came in and showed me photos they took of my colon, including one showing some feces. I had followed the instructions to the "T" and was shocked that I wasn't totally cleaned out. I asked one of the nurses who was younger than me by decades if I should have taken a cleansing enema along with the laxatives. It was like a had said a "dirty" word. Enemas are definately out.

I think it was a combination of things. People's attitude changed, mostly from concern of being accused of child abuse because of the inimate nature of enemas. When I grew up in the 50's enemas were common and most of the kids i grew up with got them. Another factor was that doctors and drug companies couldnt make much money from enemas. I think the biggest cause was simply a change in attitudes. Giving a pill for constipation or drinking a liquid was much eaiser than going thru the process of giving enemas. It is a shame, in my opinion because enemas were a time where you had your parent's attention. My mother used that time to talk with me about what had happened during the past week and what was coming up the next week. Now kids are parked in front of tv's and dont have that private interaction.

All of what's been said in this thread, and more's the pity!

Yes, there was a time when enema bags were commonplace and sex was taboo. Now it's vice versa.

I think a simple gut washing is logical. Look at all the hand washing, and stink washing. Doctors are allowed common sense too, aye? Often, today's MDs are criticized for being puppets for the modern pharmacopeia. The other day I heard of a respected neurosurgeon recommending chiropractic care. You have to know his schooling did not teach him that. Doctors have to be academic and thorough at the same time. I believe MDs today, with the plethora of queers and klismos, are afraid of recommending the obvious because of the stigma. But hey, it's OK to recommend mood altering dope, WHY?

Now that you mention it, Condoms and Kotex were discretely placed in the stores, and for a boy to buy something for his mother he had to have a note. I remember when knoozles were kept in a small chest of drawers at the drugstores along with necessary adapters, kind of like how the hardware store keeps various parts selections today. A kid would really have to be daring to steal from one of them.

As our economy winds down with the Democratic thrust, I see our naturopathic preference again taking front stage for all.

Seems the USA is more up-tight than ever about anything having to do with bodily functions. The drug companies want to totally replace home remedies...and that is just the tip of the iceburg.

A few years ago, I was in the hospital for heart surgery. I had gone a week without a BM and the nurse "threatened" to give me an enema. (OH! Please!) She then loaded me up with MOM and that forewent the enema. I am not sure that I would have wanted the enema any way because now they consist of four ounces of poison packaged in a polyethylene squeeze bottle with a useless tip. I am sure that the real reason that you can no longer get an enema now is that there is no money in them. As someone has already said in this thread they take too long and at $500 per hour for other treatments, how much can you charge for two quarts of water? I'm betting that under O'Bomer care, enemas will be totally banned and you may be visited by the enema police if you have a bag!

The propagandistic campaign against the enema bag started when the medical profession began to down grade feces from undesirable to taboo. Any referral to this natural byproduct of everyone's daily life makes the person who refers to the healthy removal of this material is therefore, also taboo. Since an enema deals with the unhealthy retention of body waste they too are taboo and as my step daughter put it, " disgusting." That makes me disgusting since she recently found that I am a devotee to enemas and Colon Hydrotherapy. I guess it's better to be ill and constipated than disgusting?!! No! Thank You! I'll stay healthy!

Now more than ever, an enema a day, which you need, keeps the doctor, who you don't need, away! Keep him far, far away!

Societal norms have certainly changed over time. Aside from changes in health care and the high cost of giving patients traditional enemas, views changed regarding the acceptability of adults touching and viewing their children's private parts and stimulating them in a potentially erotic way.

I have read hundreds of postings on this site and many people have fond memories of their mothers and female relatives administering enemas in a knowledgable and caring way. However, there are others like me who did not have such handling and nurturing with use of enemas. In the hands of the wrong adults, enemas can be a very damaging force on children and their development. In my case my mother was bipolar and abusive due to not undergoing treatment for the condition. My father (and sorry if I offend anyone) was religiously programmed to use physical punishment on children to "beat the will out of them." The combination of forces was not good for my brother and me. Enemas were just one more tool and excuse to abuse children.

Personally I am glad enemas are no longer commonplace for children old enough to comprehend what their parents are doing. However, for consenting adults and for healthcare professionals, it would be nice if enemas were still more commonplace and not such a taboo topic.

I have to agree with the general consensus here that the golden age of the enema is gone. Large volume enemas are rarely done in hospitals nowadays except in cases where the patient is to undergo major abdominal surgery, particularly of the colon. But there are exceptions. When I was an in-patient in a hospital chronic pain clinic for six weeks last year, I became terribly constipated because I was being weaned off all narcotics I had been on for so long, and combined with lack of exercise and all the fiber I was used to eating that was absent in my diet. After trying oral laxatives (senna and Dulcolax pills, Miralax, magnesium citrate, MOM) the attending physician told me that the only avenue left was a series of enemas. That is what we did. But not just any enemas. SMOG enemas (1.5 liters of equal parts of saline, milk of magnesia, mineral oil, glycerine). These are apparently used when patients come in for STAT colonoscopies when there is no time for an oral system purge. This is the atomic bomb of enemas. Not only can they not be held in, the patient ends up sitting on the throne (in my case a series of bedpans) for about an hour while everything including the toenails comes out. Thus, while enemas are not used as they once were in the old days, my personal experience suggests that they are alive and well when absolutely necessary.

I agree that enema use in the medical industry has declined since the good old days. But I think there is a new generation of people using enemas and colonics for health reasons, and I'm sure that more than a few enjoy them. I remember in 1977 when my first wife and I were looking for a place that did colon irrigation. There were none in the yellow pages and when we did find a colon therapist we had to drive an hour to get to him. Now there are colonic irrigation clinics all over town.

I am old enough to have seen many of these changes. As a "baby-boomer" enemas were quite common when I was a child. Most bathrooms in those days had either a bulb. bag, or both and an enema was a common solution for a tummy ache and a variety of ailments.

I recall seeing the first add in a magazine for a Fleet enema in the late 60s. I recall their line was something like, "because the volume is low, the comfort is high", or something like that. My first experience with one was the birth of my first child in the 70s. My grandmother and mother told me to be prepared because when I got to the hospital they were going to give me a big soapy enema to clean me out. I got a Fleet. A couple years later for my second at a different hospital it was the same. One of my friends was a nurse at the time and I asked her about it. She said it is all about the money. Time is money to the hospital. A conventional soapy enema might take 20-30 minutes of a nurses time to prepare and get it into the patient. With the Fleet it is 5 minutes. Pop the top, squeeze it in, throw it in the trash. I hear that most hospitals do not even give you a Fleet these days.

Fleet type enemas sure seem to be popular. You can even buy 6 packs at CVS or Walgreens. I have no scientific evidence, but I bet they are mostly sold to soccer moms for a quick cure to period constipation, or gay guys for you know what.

There are lots of internet sources of enema equipment that would make even me blush, but I will bet the majority is used for kinky sex, not a cure for eating too many warm chocolate chip cookies before bedtime. Hardly anyone gives enemas to their kids anymore.

Someone else mentioned colonic irrigation is more common these days. Maybe so, because a few Hollywood types proclaim it is the key to a creamy white complexion or something like that and everybody wants to try it. I have not. Is it really that different from a couple of good high enemas?

A lot of things have changed for a lot of reasons. Personally, I like being stuck in the old days.

I've recently read that parents of young children do not use enemas when needed on their children because:

1) They are afraid the child would be traumatized by the experience and;

2) The child would not allow such an invasion.

To which one must respond:

1) Look who runs the house (Hint: The Child) Negotiating with a 4 year old will be even more fun when they reach 10, or 14.

2) Many of the subscribers found the joy of anal eroticism from receiving an enema as a child when needed medically.

So you decide, pills and suppositories or a simple tap water enema; quick and effective.

Well, the times has changed, and it's not just the US, it's in many other countries as well. People expect more privacy and are reluctant to submit themselves to procedures such as enemas or rectal temps.

When our son was born in the early 1970's, my wife was absolutely horrified by the enema she was going to get sometime shortly before giving birth. I'm assuming her pediatrition informed her in advance that an enema before child birth was standard practice. She never mentioned ever having an enemas as a child, but she sure wasn't looking forward to this one. Well.....she lucked out (as far as she was concerned). From the time I got her to the hospital until our son was born, it was a total of 17 minutes. They never had the time to give her an enema, and was she ever delighted. We divorced about 3 years later, and I'm guessing that enemas would have never been in our repertoire of sexual play based on that one time experience.....or lack thereof. We're still friends today....so it's no big deal 40+ years later.

As an enema virgin, can someone please explain peoples addiction to this procedure. I do not know anyone that has ever had one here, and even here across the pond we get constipated, but no one ever reaches for the bag. There is a very, very small bit of me that can understand if you are constipated, but unless I am wrong I get the impression that people have been having on a regular basis ever since childhood.

^^^^ Ask your wife why she likes having her vagina impaled and stretched by your penis. Like most virgins and inexperienced girls, I'll bet she didn't like it much at first.

There are a lot of nerves innervating the area and the pressure of enemas and rectal stimulation feels very good to us.

It's the same thing with enemas. For some it's an acquired taste, others like it from the start. You should try it.

I believe that the cost and time involved in giving an enema is the reason it is out of faavor, It is much checaper and efficent for a hospital to use fleets verus a tradition enema. Same at home most people don't have the time and the fleets is quicker and less torubelsome, Notice I didn't comment on which is better and does a better job!

I believe it all started in the late 60's when the medical industry ( pharmacy drug companies ) and the American .Medical.Association realized the large potential income of the laxative industry. It was about that time that my Mom's doctor informed her that the enemas that she had been prescribed by him to give me all my life were bad for me. She was told that she should cease the procedures immediately. And if that was enough, the good Doc quickly gave her some helpful information on several potential laxatives that she could switch to. I believe, Mom, like so many other mothers across this country, took the bait, hook, line and sinker and have not yet realized that they were scammed by their trusted providers. Have you seen all the laxative commercials in magazines? On tv? And if you just happen to go to the local Wal Mart and watch one check out isle for 30 minutes you would not believe the number of laxative products that go through the check out. We are a money hungry society! Anybody that has ever taken an enema knows that they do a great job giving relief to a constipated person every time. No expense except maybe a couple of quarts of water, a few soap suds, a couple of teaspoons of table salt. And the time it takes to prepare the enema, inject the fluid, and gain relief is minor to the time it takes for some of those laxatives to work, if they work at all. Meanwhile, the drug companies and many doctors are grinning all the way to the bank. Why are we so easily used? Stupidity and trust in a profession that has sold itself to the dogs. To me "It's give me an ENEMA or give me nothing else." They will never get my MONEY!

And, by the way, if doctors do prescribe an enema in the hospital these days, you get a Fleet enema. Who do you think makes Fleet enemas? The pharmacy drug companies. That's right! You say the high cost of a regular enema. Unless you live in California where water is harder to find than an polar bear, its only a penny or so for the whole thing. My wife's enema ( a fleet enema ) cost me nearly $50.00 on the itemized sheet I received. Wow!

The main reason is the gullibility of medical professionals. They are conned by the drug industry to use massive amounts of laxatives to deal with most bowel issues. Of course the drugs have a rebound effect which causes the person to use even move laxatives a few days later. Eventually the colon stops functioning and then they get to sell their favorite, expensive surgery and the subsequent follow up surgeries. There is a drug company supported medical site called Inspire and there are a number of groups about colonic inertia and neurogenic bowels. There is a common element to many of these people's issues and that is an overuse of laxatives and drugs and little if any knowledge of enemas other then the, "I would NEVER stick anything up there like that" and "My Doctor says enemas are habit forming" not realizing they are 'habit forming' because they work.

Seems enema's were very popular in the early 70's in pop-culture, then seemed to fall into disfavor in the early 80's until just recently. Seems enema's have become very popular once again, and much more prolific than before with the use of the internet which was not available back then. Porn has seemed to embrace the new resurgence in enema erotica, and even some mainstream players have dedicated sites to milk enemas, ass-smoothies(yuk) and others. A lot of these porn sites also show the enema expulsion, and while most are clear discharges, its safe to say things are going all the way to the limits. I'm sure medical science will once again find a use for enema's in mainstream medicine. I know Fleet came out with a clear water enema a couple of years ago that could be used daily just to "freshen up" your bottom. There is hope!

They would prefer that we spend big bucks buying prescription meds!

I don't spend a lot of time in sex toy shops, but the one thing I've been surprised about with those that I have been in, is that they have a very poor selection of enema related products. The only things I have seen are really cheap enema bags, with the standard Fleet size delivery tubes. I would think that the owners of these shops (both corporate and local) would see the benefit of stocking them with a good selection of enema bags and nozzles, including double balloon rectal catheter. I bet they'd sell a bundle of them, all for a healthy profit to them. People are often embarrassed to buy enema products from the local drugstore (which is why they buy on the Internet), but when you shop at sex toy store, the people know why you're there, and there is no embarrassment with anything you ring up at the cash register.

Well I have to agree on all fronts as to the things people here have said . Both in the drug companies , money , time , and the just all around EMABRRASSMENT enemas bring to light . Yes we on here the older ones were so lucky to live in the AGE OF ENEMAS ! Those of us that had a mom that new enemas was the best thing well never forget . All the time an loving attention they gave us . Now parents don't have the time . Both work or just to tired to deal with a child an enemas . Or even give themselves enemas . An like you said the nurses now a days sure don't have time to give you a good old enema . Their over worked an under paid . Plus they have all their paper work to do . You can't even get a bed bath from them . I am happy the web has at least picked up on the need still for enemas . An that they offer some good enema bags . Yes we in this country would DIE FROM EMBARRASSMENT ! If we had to go into a store an BUY a ENEMA BAG ! I mean like on have said you can buy condoms , kotex pads , tampons an no one cares . But just ask about a enema bag an OMG people LOOK at you . So it is a thing so TABOO in our country now we don't DARE mention it to any one . I ask my doctor once about having a BARIUM ENEMA done . He told me " YOU DON'T WANT THAT IT'S TO UNCOMFORTABLE " . I just about wanted to jump up an tell him YES I do I LOVE ENEMAS ! Well hang in their we enema lovers .

And yet, despite all the changes in attitude so many members here so correctly attest to, it seems that enemas as an idea in theory, still do live on, especially in comical references on TV and in movies.

That may reflect the influence they had on the older generations, since now it has often become something surrounded by hilarity as well as being perceived as a distasteful activity. If you look at all the plentiful modern day references to enemas in the media and movies and then try and compare the same in old movies from the 30´s and 40´s and 50´s, then it´s obvious that back then there seemed to be nothing funny or comical (or dreadful) about enemas. In fact, they are apparently never or very rarely mentioned at all. Probably an indication that indeed things have changed very much.

I don't think people have the time or don't want to take the time to take enemas using the bag. Fleet enemas are being sold by the thousands. People need to slow down and enjoy the benefit of a good old fashion enema.