# No lotions or creams before colonscopy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 19, 2021, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290 "2021-04-19T08:28:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/1 "2021-04-19T08:28:37Z")
We had this discussion about nail polish and colonoscopies: [Colonoscopies & Cosmetics - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colonoscopies-cosmetics/451271) But several sites say not to use deodorant, lotions, or creams. Can anyone figure out why? I guess sunscreen’s ruled out, too. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/2 "2021-04-19T09:21:40Z")
That’s general advice before any medical procedure. If they want to stick monitors to you, or tape things down (you’ll probably be on an IV during a colonoscopy), lotions and cremes make it hard to get things to stick, and since there’s no telling what sort of emergency could come up, they don’t just say “Don’t put lotion on X-body part.” It’s don’t put it anywhere. If you have a skin condition, and have medicated lotion, or some kind of medication that is absorbed through the skin, and you are worried about missing a dose, talk to the doctor performing the procedure, as well as the prescribing doctor. There’s surely a solution. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/3 "2021-04-19T09:37:49Z")
It’s pretty self-evident really. There’s no telling what some people put on themselves and the doc wants clean skin, not something that smells like a Turkish brothel - not to mention possible allergies. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > (you’ll probably be on an IV during a colonoscopy), Why? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/4 "2021-04-19T09:51:31Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Why? Ohh, I kinda know this one! Having a “line” in before any, not literally here, shit hits the fan is SOP because if IV meds are required no one wants to waste the time required to put one in as an afterthought. At over a dozen times in the ER/hospital the EMTs put one in en route and removing it is the last thing done at discharge. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/5 "2021-04-19T10:49:58Z")
Emergencies are one thing - ‘cold’ surgery is another. In a properly managed colonoscopy there should be no reason for meds apart from a relaxant if needed. Maybe in the crazy US system, this is just another opportunity to add charges. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/6 "2021-04-19T11:23:11Z")
No lotions or creams, but whatabout unguents? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/7 "2021-04-19T11:37:44Z")
I’ve never had an IV for a colonoscopy - but then again, I’ve never had one done in the hospital. Could make a difference ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/8 "2021-04-19T13:08:17Z")
For the last 20 years or so, I’ve been knocked out for the 'scope. The IV line is how they put in the Propofol. This was in hospitals and in out-patient surgical centers, and in GI-specialty locations. It was only really early on where they didn’t knock me out. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/9 "2021-04-19T13:23:25Z")
My understanding is that it has become standard practice in the US to perform colonoscopys under general anesthesia even though that didn’t used to be the case, nor is it the case in much of the rest of the world. Why? I don’t know. Regardless, that would explain pre-surgery precautions, IVs and such. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/10 "2021-04-19T13:33:02Z")
I have never had just a colonoscopy. In fact, I’ve had only one, but I have had several upper endoscopies, aka, gastroscopies, the first one when I was 12, and then, starting when I was about 30, one every 4 years, because I had a Helicobacter pylori infection at 12. So my colonoscopy was under the same anesthesia they use for the upper, which pretty much has to put you out. Most people couldn’t tolerate an upper without being unconscious. I wouldn’t want to try. I threw up on a dentist once. Now I get gas at the dentist just for a cleaning. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/11 "2021-04-19T15:18:55Z")
While we’re thinking of things that could go wrong with lotions or creams, perhaps having such stuff on the anus itself could leave a film on the scope window that prevents seeing clearly. I think it has a water jet for cleaning the window, and no doubt they use clear water soluble lubes around it. Also, some creams and lotions gradually work their ways into adhesive joints and can make the joint fail. I heard once that Banana Republic sun tan lotion does this so insidiously that it created a major problem for Apple in which iPhone screens were falling off, and in fact the money Apple had to spend on this problem was greater than the profits Banana Republic generated selling their lotion. Colonoscopes may have similar adhesive joints. Regularly spreading myriad manufactured chemicals all over the body conjures up all sorts of things that could possibly go wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/12 "2021-04-19T15:28:32Z")
General anesthesia is different from what is used during colonoscopies, which is called “[conscious sedation](https://www.healthline.com/health/conscious-sedation)” or “procedural sedation and analgesia.” Nitrous oxide at the dentist is one example. The mixture of versed and profanol used for endoscopies and colonoscopies and minor surgeries is another. General anesthesia is a serious and potentially life-threatening hammer to use on the body. I’ve never heard of a colonoscopy being done under general anesthesia, now or earlier. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/13 "2021-04-19T15:34:17Z")
Veteran of 4 colonoscopies. Never heard of any restrictions for lotions or creams. I don’t recall if I used any before my procedures, had a lot of other things on my mind. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/14 "2021-04-19T15:40:10Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > For the last 20 years or so, I’ve been knocked out for the 'scope. The IV line is how they put in the Propofol. This was in hospitals and in out-patient surgical centers, and in GI-specialty locations. It was only really early on where they didn’t knock me out. Me too. How else would they put you under? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/15 "2021-04-19T15:57:10Z")
Well, I didn’t used to get put under, as I’ve mentioned. And, from some other responses, it doesn’t seem to be always the case throughout the colonoscoping world. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/16 "2021-04-19T15:58:18Z")
I think the conscious sedation is a North American thing. I had mine done in February at a non-hospital clinic that just does colonoscopies/endoscopies. It is a fully covered by our public health insurance in Ontario, although it is a private clinic. Europeans seem to go for a couple of valium or similar instead. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/17 "2021-04-19T16:39:47Z")
I’ve only had one colonoscopy and no other procedure was concurrent with it. I remember watching a white liquid going into an IV in my hand. The very next moment, I was looking at my wife in the recovery room. My understanding is that I was not put under as deeply as I was during a hernia repair surgery a few months later. Was this not general anesthesia (for the colonoscopy)? I have no recollection of the actual procedure at all. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/18 "2021-04-19T16:46:39Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > Was this not general anesthesia (for the colonoscopy It was not general anesthesia. It was twilight sedation. Having no recollection of the procedure means it was a thorough success. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/19 "2021-04-19T16:50:34Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Maybe in the crazy US system, this is just another opportunity to add charges. Also done in Switzerland. Whole thing was 760 CHF. > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > It was twilight sedation. Having no recollection of the procedure means it was a thorough success. I remember them having problems finding a vein in my left arm and them trying the right. And then I was being wheeled out of the room. I actually remember more from my first colonoscopy than my second. Same practice, different doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290/20 "2021-04-19T16:54:38Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > Was this not general anesthesia (for the colonoscopy)? General anesthesia is done via a tube to the lungs, not an iv. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lotions-or-creams-before-colonscopy/940290.md?page=2)