“Wiping front-to-back minimizes the risk of spreading bacteria,” Audra Williams, M.D., clinical instructor and ob/gyn at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System, tells SELF.
Unless you have physical limitations that prevent you from doing so (more on this later), it's best to reach around your body, behind your back and through your legs. This position allows you to wipe your anus from front to back, ensuring that feces is always moving away from your urethra.
"People should wipe their vulvas from front to back." The reason, she explained, is that wiping back-to-front may spread bacteria such as E Coli from the anus to the vagina and urethra that can lead to a urinary tract infection (UTI).
Conversely, “If you wipe back-to-front, you could actually move bacteria from the GI tract to your vaginal area and also to your urethra,” Clara Paik, M.D., chief of the division of gynecologic specialties and clinic medical director at UC Davis Medical Center, tells SELF.
Your vagina is its own filtering system, so do not put anything inside your vagina to clean it. Always wipe from front to back to keep the bad bacteria from the backdoor from getting into the front. Although vaginal wipes are fine to use, make sure to stay away from anything scented and only wipe on the outside.
Polling them on their sit-or-stand preference, we found that 79% of respondents were sitters, and only 21% stand up to wipe. Similar surveys conducted by internet outlets found a more even split, approaching 50-50, though we are unsure those surveys specified the ol' squat-and-hover as “sitting,” which we did in ours.
Try to keep it light and make it fun. Make it a good part of her daily routine and praise her achievements. Talk positively and reassure her every time she uses the toilet paper correctly and wipes herself front to back. Watch when she does it and be supportive when she doesn't get it right.
Spreading bacteria to the urethra can lead to a urinary tract infection. ' Luckily, almost 70% of women are wiping the correct way – front to back – but that is still a really large proportion of women who are inadvertently putting their health at risk.
Wipe backward from the perineum, toward and past the anus. “Wipe gently, and use additional toilet paper until the paper is clean and never scrub the skin around the perineum. If you cannot reach behind your back, reaching in between your legs from the front is fine as long as you wipe from front to back,” says Dr.
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).
Out of 3,005 voters in a 24-hour period, 35 percent said that they wipe standing up. That's over 1,000 men. The other party might be more common but plenty of guys are standing up to wipe post-poop. The phenomenon is so common that Buzzfeed created two different videos about it.
“For men, it really doesn't matter, but wiping front to back makes it easier for them to fully clean the area.”
No, and most guys don't have a need to do that; after they shake off the final drop there is nothing to wipe or wash off. Some guys do, because they have prostate issues and might leak out some urine onto the head or shaft.
So how do you know when the time is right? Each child starts their potty training process & toilet training at different ages and that's the same with wiping their own bottom. For some children, this may happen as early as 3-4 years old and for others, they may not be physically or mentally ready until 5+ years old.
"When urine leaves the body, oddly we get a drop in blood pressure, which then causes activation of the sympathetic nervous system to increase the heart rate and vascular tone, which then restores the drop in blood pressure.
Wiping Front to Back
If you don't have any physical limitations preventing you from reaching around your body to wipe from the front to back, it's generally considered the safer route to go. The reason is that you'll be moving feces away from your more delicate parts, lowering the risk of infection.
Recap. 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.
“Essentially, you should check when you wipe. It is important to pay attention to your body because you can find signs of ill health in your urine and faeces.”
For anal cleaning, many Muslims keep a small vessel of water in their bathrooms, called a lota in South Asia. Alternatively, bidet spray nozzles and hoses are attached to the sides of the commodes. The lota, according to Islamic rules, is held with the right hand, while the left helps pass water over the anus.
"While it's common for people to sit down to wipe after having a bowel movement, it makes sense that some people might prefer to stand; it's all a matter of personal preference.”
When at home, 7 in 10 men said they usually pee standing rather than sitting. In fact, only 17% usually sit down to urinate.
The men we spoke to argued that there's really no need to wash your hands after urinating, and said the only reason people do so is out of social convention. Many said that they would only wash their hands after going to the toilet if someone else was in the bathroom to play witness to their habit.
Because infection-causing bacteria could be present in some urine, there's a slight chance you could contract something, especially if you have a cut or other open wound on your foot. Infections such as MRSA can be transmitted via a shower floor.
Depending on your body type, allowing yourself to urinate while standing in the running water could be going against your body's methods for holding it when you need to. "From a pelvic floor perspective, the position for peeing in the shower is not conducive to pelvic floor relaxation," Jeffrey-Thomas told Buzzfeed.
A total of 9 percent of men and 5 percent of women acknowledge peeing in the shower every day. (It is a time saver.) How about in a bathtub? Yes, 23 percent of men and 18 percent of women surveyed admit that has happened.