Pediatric hospital enema

When I was 5 or six and in the hospital for an operation a nurse entered my room and escorted me to a tiled showered room. Once there she told me I needed an Enema to clean me out. She told me to take my pajamas and underpants. I heard water running. She took a rubber enema bag full with tubes and hung it on a hook near a tiled bench. She told me to lie on my belly on the bench. I was scared and did as she said. She spread my legs and I felt a greased tube going into my backside. Warm Water was now entering me,

when the bag was empty she had me sit up and roll on to my back. She then had another nurse come in and feel my belly I wanted to go to the bathroom. They then helped me to a toilet where I went good.

The new nurse stood me up walked me back to the bench and lay naked on my back with both watching. Both sat on the bench next to me and was rubbing my belly and lower. I was still nude. After that I put my clothes back on and was escorted to my room. There I was asked to again remove my clothes for the doctor to examine me.

He took his time with his hands and stethoscope. He went lower and lower. Pulling my underpants to my ankles. his hand went between my legs. This doctor I never saw before. The nurses remained with us with the curtains closed. He placed the scope above my penis and then patted my belly and they left.

Weren't your parents there too? I question the notion that such procedures were done without the parents. We would never dream of doing such things for a child of this age without the parents being there.

I was in the hospital a few times in the 50's as a child. 1st time was for a tonsilectomy, my mother was there while I was given on enema at my bed and put on a bed pan. The first enema was given in the afternoon and after visiting hours were over, a nurse came in and said she need to give me a couple of more enemas. She told me to get out of bed and she took my hand and we walked to a room very similar in description to joe's experience. She did lubricate my rectum with vaseline then inserted the small straight pipe. The first was a SSE and the second was a rinse. She checked my results and said I was a little dirty and needed just one more. I wore a hospital gown the whole time, she was very nice and encouraging.

On other visits to the hospital, after visiting hours, is when I got the enemas. Not all were pleasant. It just depended on the nurse. Parents were not around and these were all given between 6 and 12..

Why would they possibly give enemas for a tonsillectomy? It's tantamount to malpractice. I don't believe you, sorry. If you are 50+ now how old were you in the 50s?

Liquidsky this enema took place in the am. Back in the 60's the parents did not always stay like they do today. Most of these exams, procedures took place in the early am or pm.

Drs. did tell your parents but sometimes the parents were not there.

Liquidsky,

In the 50's ANYONE getting a general anesthetic, got a pre-op enema the night before surgery. They "said" it was to prevent any soiling of the operating table, but time has shown that to be a lot of nonsense. Every friend I had during these years that had a tonsillectomy, told me they all got an enema before the surgery.

I had an appendectomy in 1957 and a triple arthrodesis in 1961 and had enemas before each surgery.

Interesting Jimmy. I had a T and A done in 1957 and I wasn't given an enema. Oh well live and learn.

I can also verify I received an enema (1954) in the evening after-hours prior to my scheduled tonsillectomy in the early AM the following day. That was my first and last introduction to ether as something to put me to sleep. They dripped it on a cloth covering a screen held over my nose .

Having tonsils out on my 7th birthday I missed the cake and ice cream and party fun. I did get my first hospital enema pretty much similar to others here. But my first enema was the summer before when I fell from a tree breaking my left arm. Initially a trip to the doctor followed by a trip to the hospital a day later mom had been told to give me the enema before going to the hospital. That happened from her red open top syringe bag. It was warm and soapy. It felt funny. Still does. Brings back a lot of memories.

Just for further context re hospital practice in the 1950s: My tonsils were removed in 1954 when I was just six. (They took my adenoids too though it wasn’t in the contract—never trust a surgeon!) I was in hospital for about three days I think. My parents didn’t stay with me—I think this would only have happened in case of serious illness, though of course mum visited.

And I didn’t get an enema before surgery!

The highlight of the stay as far as I was concerned was getting icecream for breakfast, supposedly to soothe my sore throat.

One-eyes^^^Perhaps that may have been that particular state hospital's policy...idk....Public Hospitals, Aged Care Facilities & State Institutions In the state of NSW from what I am aware through both grandparents, parent's & aunt...Enema administration prior to surgery was a common occurrence....So too in SA & WA which I can attest to....being on the receiving end...though not that early!!

There wouldn't have been that many children that passed through the local hospital who avoided an appointment with the Enema mostly via the white enamelware irrigator....which was considered "Normal" practice at the time. However that would have been dependant on the patient diagnosis & respective surgical requirements pre-operative.

Something I'd pondered from time to time...namely who amongst those were to continue thereafter enamoured of Enema's

I was in the hospital for a T & A in the 1940's and did not get an enema. I have been in hospitals several times since then and no enemas, except for a barium enema exam as adult. After reading these posts, I wonder why I didn't get one as a child.

I had my tonsils removed in 1952 (age 5). No enema before surgery; however, when the doctor came in to release me the next morning, he told my mother she could give me a suppository if I didn't have a bowel movement when I got home. Sure enough, right before bedtime, it was time for a suppository! I took a mad dash out the front door, screaming my head off. Of course I was caught and soon found myself over my mother's lap, cheeks spread, with a suppository sliding up my butt. That was 62 years ago, and I have never forgotten it.

I also had my tonsils out in childhood. There was a cabinet alongside the bed and on top of it was a narrow neck container with a piece of cotton in the bottom and filled with alcohol. This held the thermometer. I had hardly gotten in the bed when the nurse appeared and had me turn on my side while my parents were still in the room. She wiped the thermometer with a square of gauze from the cabinet and expertly inserted it--no lubricant just right in and no problem. She stood and talked with my parents a few minutes before reading it, wiping it off and putting it back in the container--handy for the next three of four times it would be used before I went home the next day.

The nursing staff were very nice. At some point another nurse came in with an enamel can having a rubber tube attached to it. Having had enemas with a rubber enema bag and tubing at home I had an idea of what was about to happen. She smiled, asked me how I was and had me turn on my side. I wasn't told I was getting an enema and there was no explanation of the procedure. Maybe the enema tube was prelubricated but I didn't see it done.Again cheeks spread and in it went, no problem.

I can still see her holding the enema can with her forearm resting on the tray table over the bed. It seemed to take forever. It was a really effective enema. "Isn't that enough" I asked. "Just a little more" was the answer and it seemed like a lot more before she tilted the can and raised it up to the full length of the tube to be sure I got all of the enema.

Then I was supposed to hold it for a few minutes. As I said it was a very effective enema and the urge was too strong so I started to get out of bed and go to the toilet which was only a few steps away. But no--the bed pan was ordered. An awful experience as the pan was large, my butt was small and I was constantly afraid I was going to slip in.

/p>Enemas in those days were an integral part of medicine.Part of the discharge instructions directed that if I hadn't had a bowel movement by the second day after going home a soap and water enema was to be administered. Oh for the good old days!

As I've asked in another thread, why in gods name would you need an enema before a tonsillectomy?

The enema I got was the following morning and the kid in the next bed got one too. Why I don't know and I didn't question because I was young. I don't see the connection now but I know I got enemas during each of my hospitalizations.

I had a bi-lateral hernia surgery back in 1951 when I was 5 years old, but I got an enema AFTER the surgery (actually the next day)---does that make sense ?-----My parents were not there for that but my aunt was a nurse at the hospital and she was there that time. I think she was also the nurse that took my rectal temp most of the time for the 3 days that I was there.

Liquidsky, I don't know how far back you go but in the 50's and prior a kid got an enema just for being admitted to a hospital and probably one almost every day they were there In those days standing orders were for "enemas prn" and nurses took that to mean that a kid had to have a BM every day, just as mothers expected from healthy kids. The prn order gave nurses free hand to give enemas for whatever reason they liked; fussy, not sleeping, not eating what they thought a kid should. This last is a real joke, what adult likes hospital food, and they expected kids to gobble it down.

I guess that I'm glad to have missed most of that and most especially any order for castor oil prn.

I'm glad I missed that too Stephen. I did have a tonsillectomy in 1958 with no enema. As for castor oil my opinion about this has been made clear in other threads. Yuck!!!???

Perhaps this is a bit off topic,but when I was about seven I visited with the girl next door while she was confined to bed after having her tonsils removed. We talked about what happened to her while she was a Walter Reed hospital.(This was in about 1943.) She told me about being given an enema and then being taken on a gurney to the toilet. I found this interesting. But somehow it stimulated something in my brain and I suddenly realized that several years prior to that time I had been given an enema by a playmate. I have described this experience earlier so I will not repeat it. However once I made the connection I knew I wanted to experience the feelings I vaguely remembered from that experience. It was several years before that happened, but in the meantime I spent a lot of time learning everything a young boy could find about enemas. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, Red Cross Manuals, were all good sources.

There was a time when enemas were routinely given to most patients, pediatric or adult in the hospital. Up until the 1960's it was just part of the program. Now that is not the case as time has changed and the medical community has realized enemas aren't always necessary. Just as now it's not automatically given when a woman is in labor.

When I was 5 or six and in the hospital for an operation a nurse entered my room and escorted me to a tiled showered room. Once there she told me I needed an Enema to clean me out. She told me to take my pajamas and underpants. I heard water running. She took a rubber enema bag full with tubes and hung it on a hook near a tiled bench. She told me to lie on my belly on the bench. I was scared and did as she said. She spread my legs and I felt a greased tube going into my backside. Warm Water was now entering me,

when the bag was empty she had me sit up and roll on to my back. She then had another nurse come in and feel my belly I wanted to go to the bathroom. They then helped me to a toilet where I went good.

The new nurse stood me up walked me back to the bench and lay naked on my back with both watching. Both sat on the bench next to me and was rubbing my belly and lower. I was still nude. After that I put my clothes back on and was escorted to my room. There I was asked to again remove my clothes for the doctor to examine me.

He took his time with his hands and stethoscope. He went lower and lower. Pulling my underpants to my ankles. his hand went between my legs. This doctor I never saw before. The nurses remained with us with the curtains closed. He placed the scope above my penis and then patted my belly and they left.

In the late 1940's had both tonsils and adenoids removed but no enema as far as I can remember…

I had my tonsils and adenoids removed in the early 1950's. I was given an enema before and after surgery as were most of the kids in the ward. It seemed to be pretty much standard practice. I was used to having enemas at home so wasn't as shocked as some. I was also given an injection in the buttocks apparently to dry up saliva and make surgery easier.

Given enema when 12 y.o. before discharge during week stay in hospital with kidney injury. Nurse in white starched uniform with Nurse cap hat. Very intense experience.

" Why would they possibly give enemas for a tonsillectomy? It's tantamount to malpractice. I don't believe you, sorry. If you are 50+ now how old were you in the 50s? "

Yes, it's true. My mother was an RN in the 50's & 60's and she said they gave them because a general could cause things to not work quite right during surgery and after, thats' why they made sure you went before you were released, to make sure everything was back to normal. And if surgery was abdominal it helped give a break after surgery because it could be extra painful going that soon after surgery.

Enemas were routine in hospitals in the 50's for pre-op any time general anesthesia would be used. I was admitted to have my tonsils out on a Sunday late afternoon into a children's ward- a large room with 8 occupied beds both boys and girls age 5 to 9. After visiting hours later that evening enemas were given. There were no curtains, no dividers, no privacy. The enemas were given by two teams of nurses- 3 nurses to a team: one to manage the hose, clamp and nozzle; one to manage the enema-stand; and one to hold-down our legs firmly to the mattress by our ankles as we lay on our tummies getting our enemas. The nurse teams went from bed to bed to give the enemas to whimpering, crying and sometimes screaming young patients. The enemas were prepared bedside by one nurse who added a green liquid soap into the enema from a squeeze bottle. Enemas were given from a white porcelain container with red hose, black nozzle smeared with globs of vaseline and controlled with a chrome snap clamp. At the sound of every CLICK of the clamp there would be a murmuring sound from the patient that inevitably would grow into a loud protest. Enemas were given in the evening and then again first thing in the morning in this manner. I hemoraged after surgery and was kept there two weeks and was given enemas regularly through that time. I was eventually released on my birthday- on a Sunday. I had turned six. …..michael https://en.zity.biz/gallery/image/95100

Had my tonsils out in the mid-60s. No enema at the hospital or at home for that. I remember not being able to eat supper that night in the hospital before the surgery the next morning. I was 7 or 8. Did get a rectal temperature taken after the surgery but not before that I remember. Woke up after the surgery and a nurse was standing over me and had already inserted the thermometer in my butt. I was so out of it that I don't remember much other than it was the sensation of the thermometer being inserted that woke me up. I didn't stay awake long enough to know when she took it out. I probably had my temperature checked several times that way before I went home but I was so groggy that they could have done anything to me and I wouldn't have reacted. Even going home I was still out of it for what seemed like two days. I guess that the nurse had told my mom to check my temperature every few hours so she would roll me over and pull my pajama bottoms down and use a rectal thermometer on me. It was fine with me as I don't know that I could have stayed awake long enough to keep a thermometer under my tongue. My throat hurt like hell so drinking and eating was not something that I did much during the first days after surgery. My brothers kept their distance and I don't remember them bothering me even though we shared a bedroom at that age.

I received two hospital enemas growing up. For the first I was around 10. We lived in a small town so we called the Dr. as my stomach was in a lot of pain and they thought I might have appendicitis. Turned out I was stopped up and they gave me an enema the next morning. The nurse happened to be a friend of our family and she was very cute. My mom watched the proceedings. I was quite embarrassed having our nurse friend see my bare bottom. She talked casually to me the entire time. Mostly small talk and occasionally tell me I was almost done. I remember the plastic enema bag making a noise so I turned around to look. She told me it was just the bag making noise as it emptied. That was good news at the time.

The second enema was give to me as a freshmen in college. The symptoms were the same as above. The hospital was Catholic so the nurse who gave the enema was a nun. Totally embarrassing especially when you're 18 and you get a bit stiff in front of a nun. I tried to hide it and hustle down the hall to the toilet. She caught up with me and had me walk around a bit holding the enema. I was in a hospital gown so difficult to hide my bottom or my erection.

I did finally get my appendix out in August 2020, go figure.

I was given an enema while in labor in 1972 I think it was my first and I actually enjoyed the whole thing! I never had one so there ya go. It was in North Carolina. In Ohio 18 months later for some reason I’m having a hard time remembering so maybe I didn’t get one. Darn it! But later through the years I was given a full blown red bag enema in the hospital oh I loved it. Don’t remember why though. The nurse was good about it and another nurse joined her so I had two watching and I remember the Dr stopping by but he quickly said oh ok I’ll come back later lol 😂. That was great. This was TRUE!