Welcome back to the SSIS column, where we answer any and all of Brandeis students’ questions about sex, sexuality, identity and relationships. If you have a question you’d like answered in our next column, email ssis@brandeis.edu or leave a question in the Google Form link on the Student Sexuality Information Service Facebook page. Any and all questions are welcome: there are no bad, stupid or weird questions!
(Note: These answers are good-faith attempts by SSIS to be helpful to the Brandeis community, and are by no means exhaustive or to be taken as universal. If these answers don’t resonate with you, either pay them no mind, or reach out to us with suggestions for improvement!)
How to properly douche? Is it dangerous?
Hi, great question! Thank you for writing to the SSIS Hoot column. There are two types of douching: anal and vaginal. For those who don’t know, douching is using a squeezable tube or bottle to squirt water into the rectum or the vagina to clean them. Most doctors don’t recommend vaginal or anal douching, although the risk of infection is less with anal douching. This is because vaginas have a mix of bacteria (both good and bad) that help maintain a proper pH balance. These bacterias allow the vagina to “self-clean.” By douching your vagina, you’re at risk of throwing off the pH balance, which can lead to infections and other health problems.
Anal douching, on the other hand, is safe if you do it properly. People do anal douching for many reasons, including to clean/rinse their rectum and in preparation for anal sex. Anal douching isn’t medically necessary, and can actually increase the risk for STIs. Douching can irritate and damage the inner mucus lining of your rectum, which makes you more susceptible to infections.
If you choose to douche, though, here are steps to do it safely:
Doctors say that you should douche no more than once per day, and ideally no more than two to three times a week. So, how do you anal douche safely? First, you should only use warm water. You should gently insert the device into your anus. Gentle is the key word here; don’t force it in. That will put you at risk of injuring the area. You can use lube to make the process easier. When douching for the first time, only squeeze or squirt the water into your rectum for about 10 seconds. It’s a strange sensation at first, and you don’t need as much water as you may think. Some people suggest clenching your butt and holding your breath for a few seconds to keep the water in. To release the water, you breathe out and relax. Repeat until the water comes out clean.
Make sure that you’re using either water or normal saline for this process. Anything else can harm your gut health and can injure you. Also, make sure that the water or saline isn’t too hot. Aim for lukewarm so that you don’t burn the inside of your body. Our insides are much more sensitive than our skin.
There are multiple types of douches. The safest type is called a fleet enema. Fleet enemas are over-the-counter laxative treatments that come in squeezy bottles with a nozzle. Make sure to get the ones labeled “saline.” After using a fleet enema, you dispose of the bottle. The bulb douche is the most popular, and what most people think of when they think of douching. Bulb douches come in a kit with a rubber or silicone bulb and a nozzle. It is very important that you clean the bulb douche between each use to reduce the risk of infections.
