Rectal douching is the act of rinsing the

rectum The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the gut in others. The adult human rectum is about long, and begins at the rectosigmoid junction (the end of the sigmoid colon) at the l ...

with intent to clean it. An instance of this rinsing or a tool used to perform the rinse may be called a rectal douche.

Uses

Rectal douching is a hygienic practice to clean the rectum to void hardened stools as opposed to a pharmaceutical method to soften the stool. Rectal douching is distinguished from anal cleansing, which is the routine cleaning of the

anus The anus (Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, the residual semi-solid waste that remains after food digestion, which, d ...

after

defecation Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging ...

Risks

Evidence is not clear, but it is possible that rectal douching before

anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex information, anpage 118for information about the clitoris. O ...

can increase the risk of transferring

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

, and other diseases. There is evidence that douching sometimes can disrupt the epithelium, or tissue in the rectum, and if this tissue is damaged, then diseases can spread more easily. Rectal douching before anal sex increases the risk of transfer of

Hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. F ...

. There are reports that activities which can have the side effect of causing unintentional forcing of water into the rectum, such as

waterskiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffici ...

, may cause discomfort but can potentially bring other harms.

Technique

Liquid, typically water, is inserted into the rectum by means of some tool. After some time, the water is expelled in the manner of a routine bowel movement, and, in the process, the rectum eliminates waste and is cleaned. Most people who use rectal douching do so with plain water. The use of a hose connected to a tap, either in a shower or sink, has been reported as the most popular way to administer a douche. Another popular way is with a handheld bulb and syringe designed for rectal douching. Less commonly, some people used commercial products sold for performing rectal douching, with single-use bottles of saline being most used. Also commercially available but even less commonly used for rectal douching are mineral oil products intended to assist in an enema.

History

A rectal douche device was patented in 1957 in the United States by

Patricia Bragg Patricia Bragg is an American businesswoman, author, and health consultant. She serves as the nominal head of Bragg Live Food Products and Books, and Chairperson of the Bragg Health Institute. Alternatively: "mauitime.com/culture/in-the-name-of-t ...

Society and culture

From a public health perspective, understanding rectal douching practices may be important because the practice can be paired with behaviors which are

risk factors In epidemiology, a risk factor or determinant is a variable associated with an increased risk of disease or infection. Due to a lack of harmonization across disciplines, determinant, in its more widely accepted scientific meaning, is often use ...

to acquiring a sexually transmitted infection.

Research

Research into rectal microbicide to prevent the transmission of

increased interest into researching safer and more gentle rectal douching techniques. The hope in that research is that a rectal microbicide could be delivered with a rectal douche.

References

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External links

Anal Sex Prep
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Douching for Bottom Boys
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