Hi, I’ve been with my husband for 5 years now, and in that time we’ve had many frank conversations – as you do, once the initial googy-eyes stage is over and you start actually talking about stuff.
So anyway, I don’t know how we started talking about this, but we have different methods for wiping after ‘number 2s’. I go from back to front - it’s how I’ve always done it. And yes, I know there is more chance of getting thrush and other UTIs, but I’ve found that as long as you’re careful and don’t cross contaminate, it’s all okay. And I’d find any other way to be physically awkward.
But my husband goes from front to back and says this is the ONLY way to do it. He thinks any other method is too risky. But I think lots of women go from back to front and I just figure men don’t because of certain appendages that probably get in the way.
This has been weighing on my mind for a while now, especially since we’ll be having kids soon – and I don’t know which way to teach them! Is there one ‘right’ way of doing it, or does it depend??
Ahhh, experimentation! I like it! I’ll probably have to have several kids to ensure all the appropriate controls are in place (gender, etc). Hmmmm … this could be quite an interesting little project!
I find I have to wipe one way and then wipe again from the opposite direction. Repeat until clean. Which direction I start in is determined by which direction starts out messier.
Front to back.
It is the right way, and it has been shown to influence rates of UTIs and thrush.
If you want to do the best thing for your daughters, teach them properly.
Front to back until clean, then back to front until clean, alternating occasionally (it’s surprising how one direction could come up clean but the other direction come up dirty).
I don’t find either direction to be more physically awkward than the other. The appendages don’t get in the way. In fact, they provide a natural indicator that I’ve wiped too far- if you hit sac, go back!
I couldn’t answer this question without actually going into the bathroom and doing it. Result: front-to-back. I tried it back-to-front, and it felt like I’d be pushing the poop back in.
McNew hit it. I go back to front, then front to back. Repeat as necessary. The last pass at home is made with a wet-wipe, so I can face the new day squeaky clean.
Dumb question: even with a bidet, don’t you have to wipe, or at least pat dry? What do you do with the towels–heck, are they even real towels or are they just TP?
Tripler
I know, it’s kind of a sh*tty thing to ask, iddin’ it?
Do the front-to-backers and back-to-fronters correspond to the reach-around-behinders and the reach-between-the-legsers, respectively? Or is there no correlation?
I wouldn’t think so. I’m a “reach-around” guy, and I go both ways.
(This is GQ, so chuckle quietly to yourselves and keep the discussion focused on the OP.)
Yeah I don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere unless I first fold up the TP and wet it a little in the sink. I often wonder how many people are just wiping with dry TP.
Speaking only for myself, there’s no difference in approach between back-to-front and front-to-back. Both styles employ the left leaning reach-around, dry paper only.
