Care and Cleaning of Enema and Colonic Equipment

Care and Cleaning of Enema and Colonic Equipment

One of the few things not discussed in most literature about enemas.
The standards of cleanliness of enema bags and colonic buckets are more important than the dishes on which you eat. Shared bags can mean shared germs. Unclean nozzles and tubing can mean the growth bacteria cultures.

A familiar site in many homes is the family enema bag hanging on the back of the bathroom door. This tradition has probably been with us as long as there have been bathroom doors on which to hang these bags to dry but this common practice can be dangerous.  The colon and introduction of liquids by way of rectum can be dangerous.  The colon has no taste, cold, heat, burning or nerve sensation, so
a bit of common sense goes a long way in making colonics and enemas safe and comforting.

The colon only responds to stretching such as gas pains or liquid filling it.

The colon has much less defense from the invasion of microbes and parasites.
The enema bag or enema bucket once used should not return to storage until it is clean and dry. Wet bags, left wet, can crack and deteriorate quickly. Bags or tubing put away wet can quickly produce mildew. So the old family bag hanging on the door with its tubing draped over it does have a good purpose. Dry bags and tubes don't mildew. Dry bags and tubes fill all their nooks and crannies where air can circulate air are filled with oxygen. Most disease pathogens are anaerobic. That means they don't like oxygen and die when dried out in open air. It is very important to clean and dry enema bags, colonic buckets, tubing and nozzles after use.

Those, who don't want to buy a new bag every time an enema is needed, need to know how to keep it clean. Fecal material reaching the bag is possible and common. This can be prevented in two ways. One, hold the bag high enough to keep the pressure above that that can be applied from pressure in the patient's colon. The second, is to stop the flow before the bag is completely empty, or to hold the bag up for the last few ounces and then close the clamp before lowering the bag to prevent back flow. Dropping the bag while the clamp is open and attached to the patient, insures that the bag will be contaminated The tubing and hose are another matter. Normal surges in pressure in the patient's rectum and colon during the enema make it almost a certainty that the tubing will have some back flow of fecal material into the tubing.

Cleaning

The first thing to do is wash the bag or bucket with soap and water.
Use a bacterial soap such as Betadine surgical scrub or something that kills germs.
Let the bag, bucket, tubing and nozzle soak in this solution for several minutes.
Then remove and rinse with plain tap water.
I strongly recommend running a bag full of chlorinated water through the bag and tubing after washing.

You can use of a little baking soda in the water. On drying it leaves an alkaline coating on the inside of the bag and tubing. This helps prevent the growth of bacteria, or mildew, and is not toxic as would be many other bactericidal additives.