Lesson number one: "Always wipe from front to back," says Alyssa Dweck, M.D., an ob-gyn and author of V is for Vagina. "Wiping from back to front can bring bacteria from the rectum toward the urethra and increase your chances of a urinary tract infection," she explains.
The most important thing to remember about wiping after a bowel movement is to do so from front to back. This helps you to avoid urinary tract infections. Avoid scrubbing the sensitive area around your anus, too, because it can spread bacteria into the tiny tears in the skin.
Conventional wisdom says that women wipe for comfort, improved hygiene and to help reduce the risk of urinary tract infections. Men on the other hand, can empty their bladder, shake off the remaining pee droplets, put their penis back in their pants and get on with their day.
“If you wipe back to front, there's a potential to introduce bacteria from the feces into the urinary tract and get an infection,” he says. He adds that women have a shorter urethra than men, which is why they get more UTIs and it's recommended for women to wipe from front to back.
It may be that you're suffering from fecal incontinence, which can be a thing that's not at all a big deal or can indicate a serious problem. The doctor will be able to tell you what's going on with your rear end; the solution may be as simple as adding some anal kegels to your daily exercise routine.
This study looks at the incidence of urinary tract infections and the method of perineal hygiene used after urination. Wiping back to front is associated with a greater risk of developing urinary tract infection than wiping front to back.
Some people may think that not flushing a toilet may be beneficial. They might consider toilet flushing less sanitary and a waste of water and money. However, flushing a toilet after using it plays a role in helping keep people healthy and adding to cleanliness. US Environmental Protection Agency.
From a hygiene perspective, wet wipes win. For a more effective clean, wet wipes win hands down. For a more soothing and gentle cleansing experience, we'll have to go with wet wipes again. From a cost perspective, toilet paper comes out ahead.
James says it doesn't really matter how you dry off—using a towel or air-drying both work fine—but actually taking a few extra seconds to do it “can go a long way in terms of yeast infection prevention,” especially if you're prone to them.
Bathing Without Water
You can use scented moist towelettes or baby wipes, it's up to you. Use the wipes to thoroughly wipe down your armpits, privates and feet, as these are the areas most prone to bad odor. Then, use additional wipes to clean the rest of your body.
Wash your genitals with a good quality intimate wash water every day, tenderly wash under the foreskin by pulling it back. The area under your genitals should be washed particularly since sweat and hair can create a solid smell, as unpleasant as in the armpits.
If you keep wiping and are finding it difficult to come away clean, you might have an underlying health concern. Don't worry if this happens once and awhile. Every bowel movement is different, but if you're noticing it becoming more of a rule than an exception, there might be an underlying condition at hand.
You Didn't Totally Empty Your Bowels
If you start wiping before completing a bowel movement, you're likely to have dingleberries or little chunks of poop hiding inside your butthole; this is called “turtling poop.” Wiping actual poop (as opposed to just the residue) makes a huge mess around your undercarriage.
The physiotherapist saus: “When you are wiping more than two or three times, that is called faecal smearing. “So it is essentially when too much faecel matter stays at the entrance of the anus even after you have finished your poo.”
A Ghost Wipe is a phenomenon that when you wipe your butt after pooping, there is nothing on the toilet paper. Spooky? Not so much, but delightful.
Even though you don't poop, you may still feel relief from releasing all that tension in your gut. In most cases, this type of ghost poop is caused by eating a lot of “gassy” foods like artificial sweeteners or swallowing too much air (usually because of drinking straws).
Black specks found in the stool or after wiping can generally be attributed to one of two factors, a dietary source or bleeding within the gastrointestinal tract. 1. Food or Medication-Related Factors: Incomplete digestion of certain foods can lead to the appearance of black specks in the stool.
You see, when you don't clean yourself down there after peeing, the urine droplets stuck in your pubes get transferred to your underwear. This gives rise to a foul odour. Moreover, it also gives birth to bacteria in your underwear, increasing the risk of urinary tract infections (UTI).