Anyone ever find a vintage bag at a drug store?

Two years ago, I was on eastern Long Island to pick up something I bought. I stopped at a small strip mall to pick up a bottle of water for the ride home & noticed a REXALL drug store that going out of business. The hand written sign in the window said "Everything Must Go." There were lots of partly empty shelves. I wasn't looking for shampoo..........there....on a shelf, a bit dusty.....I saw the box. It was a HYD-A-Way folding syringe. I'd seen pictures of these, but here it was, new in the box. I peeked inside to make sure it was all there & it was. I took a deep breath & walked to the counter where a pleasant, older lady greeted me. The box had no price on it. She looked at it and commented "we used to sell a lot of these." How about $5 plus tax? I said fine & she rung it up & I paid her & left. I should have asked her if they had any more older bags, but I was a bit embarrassed. Thank goodness, I was the only customer in the store.

The included pamphlet said it held 2 Qt, 10 Oz.....not bad for something that could easily fit in the palm of your hand. In reality, if you fill it to the tippy top, it holds 3 qts. I've taken many pleasant enemas with that classic, 1950's bag.

Anyone else ever find any vintage enema equipment in an older drug store?

Best,

Vapor

This happened to me all the time in mom & pop drug stores. Many had a metal rack filled with flat rubber goods in various models from one rubber syringe maker. They also usually had a drawer with extra nozzles, clamps, HW bottle hose adapters and some had long rubber rectal, or colon tubes. There were always a selection of folding feminine syringe bags and a couple douche bulbs and pediatric bulb syringes.

Some of these had been in a store so long that they had real rubber red hoses, with black hard rubber nozzles. One of my jobs was to put a free sample packet of Massengill Powder in each syringe box, so I got to legally look into every syringe box and yes, I bought more than a few vintage items in those days. A variety of syringes even existed well into the 90's and I always checked them out. Now, sadly they are all gone. About the only stores where I have recently seen Cara brand open top syringes are the Meijer Stores pharmacy section.

One time in the 80's I was in a local drug store chain and found a classic Davol open top and took it up to the check out counter in my 3 piece suit, tie and company name tag on my coat lapel. The older lady clerk looked at me and said, "You want to buy THIS!" I told her that yes, my wife knew I called on about 3 drug stores everyday and needed a new douche bag. That shut her down, but she must have been thinking I was some kind of a klysmo. pervert. (Perish the thought!). I wondered if she would have had a similar reaction if I had placed a box of tampons, or an OTC vaginal crème on her counter.

fulloky, the Davol bag you bought was a "Comfy" mid-price range bag and was probably their biggest seller. That's the only Davol product that had a basket weave design embossed in the rubber. I still have 2 of those.

That was a fairly well kept secret for some of us. I've hunted old drugstores for years and have been rewarded a few times. Like Vapor, those going out of business "liquidations" were fruitful for me in years past.

Never, but there are some good vintage BF Goodrich bags on etsy.

I've bought quite a few vintage bags on ebay---Davol, Faultless, BF Goodrich, Rexall---and all are in excellent condition. They made enema bags to last back then, My last purchase was a 2 1/2 quart Rexall Kantleek.

Not in a drug store, but in some of the stuff Mom left behind that was really a LOT of enema equipment.

Some of it was older than she was. Including the bag Dad says she "must have kept."

Vintage "classic" paraphernalia is becoming harder to find...though as others mention there can be the odd surprise in store...Roughly 3 years back I'd been visiting friends down the south coast & on this occasion I'd been requested to drive my unwell friend to their local chemist / pharmacy to have a prescription filled

As there was a wait & he being occupied at the counter I took the time to browse around (as one might)...lo & behold sitting there amongst the usual stomach related medications sat a box containing an irrigator together with a number of bulbs of more recent manufacture , some of those were tempting but alas "the box" warranted a closer inspection...revealing within a semi opaque PVC irrigator...what a bugger !....what did the bag folded inside have of interest ??

Looking up over & across the shelving no staff about ...undaunted ...heck why not ?...rustle !...rustle ! ..rustle !...out popped a smooth darkish red india rubber hose with double rolled ends....mmmm ! things were looking up...all was not completely lost here... Scrunch !... scrunch !...scrunch !...fossicking away out slipped a clear plastic sealed envelope....ta da ...*irrigation nozzles*....slight disappointment had prevailed in the moment....flexible white poly...oh ! well

I neatly packed it all back as found before placing back upon the shelf....last ditch thought....might have some use....turning the box over the price ticket displayed $35....what ! ...nah....cant be....It went back on the shelf...Much later that day I took the opportunity of jumping onto the net....did the usual & searched away into the night using various search tags...Bingo !

The identical product....in perfect order (magnified images)...unsealed on Ebay...no reserve!...no bidders !...well well well...downside being seller was located in the UK...I let it ride for several days..checked again after arriving back home...still no bidders interested...give it a whirl...nothing ventured nothing gained...add expiry hours away...might as well....do the crafty & hit the go button minutes out...see what gives...zero...zilch...nothing...everyone's asleep here.

Well in the final anal-sis I became it's latest owner for the grand sum of $4 + P&P....surface mail of course, by arrangement ...I can wait - just like a good enema !!!

Where will all this end up. 😉

I live in the outer suburbs. the drugstores that have been around long enough have both been through a major remodel and all their "new old' stock cleared out.

With a remodel most stores essentially give their stock room an enema.

A recent BBC Doc Martin showed 3 litre bags prominantly hanging for sale in 3 color selections at the chemist's store.

I have some great vintage enema sets in excellent condition, Davol, Faultless, BF Goodrich, Rexall...but have so much I've tried to thin out my collection.

That Australian, top find,well spotted. I don't think that there is a chemist shop, that I have visited that I have not checked out for my favourite hobby.

Having just visited a country market stall near Brisbane yesterday. I could not believe my eyes. Lo and behold! among the items offered, were a 1 litre irrigator can with a little cardboard tag, saying, What is this written in pencil. I was tempted to tell the old guy, still it was a pleasant surprise and I am sure it would have raised many an eyebrow.

I might add that I always look for the enameled products at second hand stores , its a hobby of mine.

~ Willene

Vapor, this bag is my avatar. I got mine off Ebay and is exactly like the one my grandmother had and used daily on herself. The original one was called the "Compacto" and made by U.S. Rubber Co. They also made a "private label" for Rexall, who called there's, HYDAWAY. Mine was made during WWII, when rubber was reserved for the war effort, therefore the rubber used to make the hose was very thin and kinked and cracked easily. I replaced my hose with some amber latex tubing from a hardware store. You are right, filled to the brim you can get over 2.5 qts. from it. I LOVE the "pipes" brand nozzles that were screw on, black hard rubber, bat shaped rectal and olive tipped spray end vaginal nozzle.

I obtained a beautiful Rexall HyDaWay fairly recently. It is a white syringe with black fittings. I would rate it an 8 or 9 on a 1-10 scale. It holds 3 quarts if filled to the brim. I did not find this one at a drug store, but have hit the jackpot a few times over the past few years.

As LisaK points out, the chain type drug stores have replaced most of the old privately owned drug stores. Even those few still around, carry the new types that leave much to be desired. New old stock is practically impossible to find nowadays.

Not at a drug store but on EBAY, a Drug Store brand, still in the original cellophane- unopened box. This kit was the old standard two quart size with threaded fittings. The threaded connector did not tighten fulla and easily "unthreaded" while I used it the first time. Almost had a real mess since most of the soapy water was inside me and the disconnected hose allowed for free flow back out! As luck would have it, the nozzle clogged and saved most of the cleanup. I have since glued the larger nozzle to the threaded fitting. I will give it a few days to dry completely before any more attempts.

Not at a drug store, but oddly enough, at the Big Foot Museum in Northern California..Yes, that's right, there is also a part of the museum dedicated to the early pioneers, and among the relics in the museum, is an old vintage enema kit...

ShamamE, don't you go sneaking in at night for a quick fill, you may well get spotted on Security Camera and end up on YouTubed...

Five years on from OP's enquiry & it's zero replies

Still the chances of ever finding an original vintage bag in its manufacturer's packaging at a drug store is unlikely to ever occur

A few years ago, i and my partner spent a week in Sweden where step son was working, most days we went into local villages or towns to look around, there were always antique / junk shops that we always looked in, nearly all had enameled jones cans for sale , kinky lot these Swedes ?

I would guess there are some fossils of 1950's enema equipment in the attics/closets or other hiding spots/estates of 70--90 year olds in the U.S./Canada. The potential condition status of these relics could range from like-new to deteriorated..A “mint condition” enema bag set in a original box would be a rare find indeed. I would guess that “Estate Sales” could reveal long hidden enema equipment of the 1950's.

As many have posted as to this thread a ‘ yes ’ and I did as well . I often ‘ haunt ’ antique stores now scattered around the SE when traveling and one day next to this particular antique store was an old ‘ Rexall Drug Store ’ which had been annexed into the larger antique store . A connecting door from the antique shop was an invitation to browse and high on a dusty shelf I saw an oblong box which I retrieved . My interest was first ‘ piqued ’ by the faint lettering I viewed from the floor to the item on the higher shelf which read : ‘ Hospital Irrigator - one each ’ . The box was a ‘ faded white ’ in color and when I opened the sealed cardboard container , there was within a tall white enamel can with a red hose curled around the can interior and a bright metal ‘ shut-off clamp ’ along with three black pipes all sealed in a cellophane bag . On further investigation , I discovered a large white printed ‘ instructional ‘ How-to-use ’ sheet also in the can interior . This interesting ‘ vintage ’ item , which probably dated from the ‘ 1950’s ‘ , I purchased for the ‘ princely sum ’ of ‘ $ 7.00 ’ . My ‘ vintage enema ’ find was still fully functional as to her intended purpose and I have enjoyed the ‘ nostalgia ’ and also intense pleasure of receiving from my ‘ can ’ which is ‘ just like the one grandma’ and my childhood hospital nurses utilized ' for my enemas of that day . Sometimes it pays to ‘ browse ’ out of the way places . I know that it did for me that day !!!

About 10 years ago I was clearing out my then recently past mom's apartment. My niece (early 20s) was helping. She found my mom's yellow douche bag. And didn't know what it was. I told her to ask her mom. I preobably should have told her myself and I would have if I was female.

Oh and the bag was totally degraded, so out it went.

About 12 years ago after my father-in-law had passed away my wife and I had the task of cleaning out their house to make it ready for sale. It took two days and lots of stuff to throw away. Down in the basement was an old cabinet unit that had been saved after they had renovated the kitchen years prior. Upon opening one of the drawers there were three red enema bags, two combinations and one open top. All had so badly deteriorated from age that they cracked into many pieces, but the black hard rubber pipes were still good so we saved them. Those bat shaped rectal ones sure stay put much better than their modern plastic versions. Two of the three vaginal pipes were the bend variety with one having a bulbous end. I can only bet that it stayed put, too, albeit in a different orifice.

On the subject of bags, does anyone know where a pumpkin shaped bag can be purchased? The one we had was blue in color and held a gallon of water. My wife says she bought it from a company in Connecticut some years ago.

@vapor I saw the box. It was a HYD-A-Way folding syringe.

Wow! That was a lucky find! It was nice that the sales gal broke the ice by saying they used to sell allot of those…

No however , have purchased a few on eBay With exciting black curved douche nozzles!

I don't find many vintage enema bags at estate sales, but at rummage sales I have found no less than seven vintage bags over the years. Just this morning at a rummage sale I found a pre-zip code (1963 or earlier) Rexall Victoria combination bag with red hose, 3 original black nozzles, and the hose and hot water bottle stoppers. It was in used, but near perfect condition. The box was worn and the corners broken, but the contents were just fine! Just $4. I have never paid more than $5 at any flea market or rummage sale for vintage equipment.

YES! I was driving through a commercial area and saw a sign for a sale at a warehouse that was being cleared. Low and behold, it was a medical supply house and I hit the mother lode; 2 cases of Fleet bag enemas, a Welch Allyn lighted handle with inflator and case, with boxes of disposable anoscopes, proctoscopes, and sigmoidoscopes; 2 cases of plastic vaginal specula, a box of pink paper capes, and an amazing set of graduated glass rectal dilators; oh and a variety of orange rubber rectal and colon tubes + two double balloon colon tubes, and several boxes of barium enema nozzles; green, blue, and single balloon type. I also bought an IV pole. They had shopping carts and all my stuff in the cart they said ‘how about $100, and the pole was $20. It was kind of like my birthday.

I have found a few at flea markets, passed on few more where the sellers were asking “collector” prices for them. They do show up, but not very often. I'd love to find one of the porcelain can enemas, but that has proved elusive.

Elaine

Never at a drug store, but estate sales and flea markets sometimes have this stuff. Me, . I look for those long black curved douche nozzles that I grew up on. This and the BF Goodrich straight small / infant rectal pipes, as well as the tapered adult rectal one. If you find these, they are collector's items and sellers usually have figured this out. Wonder if they are into enemas too, as how besides Google would they know 🤣

Miss Sarah you did find the mother lode! I've traveled for my job for years and now and then stumbled on to a store closeout sale where such items have been. As far as finding “interesting” items at estate sales I've found that after a search and finding nothing just have the nerve to ask if any personal care type items might be around that you didn't find. Often the kinds of things we are looking at don't get put out on the sale since the sellers think nobody would want them. I've been directed to piles of “trash” and found some very interesting items stuck in boxes and bags. Just be resourceful and very observant no matter where you might be and often you will find treasure.