How do people keep re-usable enemas clean? Wouldn’t you use it once then try to use it again a couple days later and get a infection from all the bacteria that grew in it/on it from the fecal particles? Do they have a back flow valve to keep water from going from the anus back into the enema bag? Even if they do it seems like it would be highly risky to use one. The re-usable enemas I’m talking about look like this http://images.wisegeek.com/enema-bag.jpg
All that bacteria is already in your intestines. Bacteria can only grow in so far as there’s food, and there’s more food for them in your guts than in the rinsed-out bag.
a quick rinse inside and out with mild bleach solution and you pretty much kill anything growing on it.
Enema bags are designed to use gravity to force water into the rectum. You hang the bag at head height, insert the canula, and open the clamp. Gravity creates water pressure, not squeezing the bag like a turkey baster, so there is no back flow.
I don’t think it works like that. Fecal bacteria can create a festering breeding ground for other types of bacteria that do not grow in the intestines like staph and strep that can cause infection.
The plastic enema bottles you get from the pharmacy have one-way valves in them to prevent backflow. Wash with soapy water and let dry between uses. No sweat.
The disposable kind only hold about 6 oz of water in them, the re usable kind hold 2 liters of water. I don’t get the discrepancy.
Tangent. How common is this? I’ve never had an enema, nor has anyone I’ve ever lived with. People do this?
Yep.
I’ll bet you’ve never had a colonoscopy nor heard of a sigmoidoscope!
I had a colonoscopy. I have never hears of sigmoidoscopy, but on googling I’m familiar with the concept.
And a Fleet’s Enema wasn’t on the “grocery list” for your prep? First time I’ve ever heard of that.
As for whether people actually do this, a couple generations ago, enemas were considered cure-alls for pretty much anything that ailed you. In many cases, it at least gave the illusion that something was being done. But if you need the colon cleaned out in a hurry, that’s the way to do it.
It’s also a great way to rehydrate after/during a nasty bout of gastroenteritis. I’ve only done that twice, but both times it kept me out of an ER and off the IV pole. It’s amazing how quickly it made me feel better when I really thought I was literally dying.
(I don’t know anyone who orders a Fleet for a routine colonoscopy prep anymore. It’s all about the laxatives and oral fluids. My husband was ordered Fleet for a colonoscopy, but that’s because he had a colostomy at the time, so stuff that he drank couldn’t clean out the lower end.)
I’ve had a colonoscopy. Didn’t involve an enema, just Golytely
Let’s just say you didn’t want my grandmother to think you weren’t regular. Her other home remedies were a lot more fun since they all involved booze.