Table 1.
Timing and reasons for douching, and products used, in a sample of N=20 MSM
| Douching Before Sex: | |
|---|---|
| Preparation for sex | |
| Before I left home, I had used a douche, and I applied some typical, like, K-Y lubricant, anally. |
Ppt 100, 59 years old, white |
| If I’m out hunting for anal sex, I would cleanse myself by using a douche |
Ppt 105, 26 years old, Asian |
| What leads me [to use an enema]? Oh that I know that I’m purposely going to meet with somebody for that…. [If] I definitely know that I will be having some kind of intercourse that night, I will definitely use an enema. |
Ppt 107, 30 years old, Latino |
| If I knew ahead of time I would [douche], yeah | Ppt 110, 57 years old, white |
| Because we’re preparing ourselves for anal sex in that sense |
Ppt 119, 37 years old, African-American |
| If I know I’m going to be bottoming, I will always douche. And that’s the only time I douche…. Well, a bottom has to really prepare beforehand. |
Ppt 122, 43 years old, white |
| If I suspect it’s going to be rough night or a rough and long night, I will most definitely do it |
Ppt 123, 23 years old, African-American |
| If I’m anticipating a date or if I’m anticipating having anal sex with my partner -- uh -- before the sexual intercourse would occur, do the enema. |
Ppt 126, 43 years old, African-American |
| Hygiene | |
| Mostly because I want to be clean inside…. because with anal sex, you could have some fecal matter. |
Ppt 100, 59 years old, white |
| I think it would just make the whole experience more pleasurable…. More hygienic and more considerate on my part. |
Ppt 110, 57 years old, white |
| There was kind of the cleanliness issues. | Ppt 111, 23 years old, white |
| I guess we don’t want to pull out and see shit, feces I would say, in that sense. |
Ppt 119, 37 years old, African-American |
| I am very bottom. I like to present my bum very clean. | Ppt 120, 37 years old, Latino |
| Generally a good bottom is someone who’s very, very clean, who douches and is -- is hygienically… -- a -- a good bottom would be someone who’s douched out so well that you would never have any dirt or mud or whatever comes out. |
Ppt 122, 43 years old, white |
| Foregoing sex rather than risking messiness | |
| -- I would not let a man -- um -- bareback -- nude in other words, fuck me without a condom, unless I had douched. |
Ppt 122, 43 years old, white |
| Partner Rejection/Lack of rejection | |
| The guy that I’ve been sleeping with lately, he doesn’t mind it that much… if I’m not douched….He’s not like, “oh clean up yourself,” I guess, which is fine with me because I think it’s very unpleasant and uncomfortable [to douche]. |
Ppt 107, 30 years old, Latino |
| There’s been a couple of people that I’ve been with that have insisted that I douche before they have sex with me because they get turned off at the smell of any kind of fecal matter, which I understand perfectly well….we had had a problem with my having too much fecal matter there and they said oh, then they get turned off and then they stop having anal sex. |
Ppt 112, 55 years old, white |
| Douching After Sex: | |
| Hygiene/Reduce leakage | |
| I have only started to do that recently. I usually use like a soapy water solution after I’ve had anal sex with the guy that doesn’t use a condom that I feel [inaudible]-- the only reason why I do it is because I don’t want to smell fishy. [laugh] |
Ppt 112, 55 years old, white |
| Um, yeah. If I got fucked and I was getting ready to go out to a bar or go out to dinner then I want to get that shit out of me because I don’t want it dripping out of ass. |
Ppt 118, 56 years old, African-American |
| Perception of protection after sex | |
| I did a Fleet enema when that guy raped me that time, the very next day because I was so terrified that there might have been some health issues especially where I really bled profusely after that attack and I was very upset and nervous about possibly contacting HIV. So I bought a Fleet enema thinking that that would be safe to clean myself out and to get anything in there out of there….I feel very anxious. That’s why I like to douche when I don’t really know the person that well, and I’ve had anal sex… I feel a little guilty. I really do. It’s like, yeah it felt good at the time, but now what, now you’re going to have to worry about this….maybe I’ve increased my safety factor a little bit doing that [after sex] |
Ppt 112, 55 years old, white |
| …because he did it without a condom, I douched after we finished | Ppt 118, 56 years old, African-American |
| I guess a part of me thinks that -- that if there’s anything that’s transmissible, that might help to clean things out so that I’ll be less likely to get something. |
Ppt 122, 43 years old, white. |
| After receiving ejaculate | |
| If they ejaculate inside me, I will use -- a douche, when we’re finished. If they don’t ejaculate, I may or may not. It depends on how I feel….If he’s wearing a condom, I do not douche after we finished |
Ppt 122, 43 years old, white |
| Types of Douche Products Used | |
| I only use the water to wash it | Ppt 102, 33 years old, Asian |
| I actually recently just bought an enema bottle | Ppt 105, 26 years old, Asian |
| I actually have a little bottle that I use, fill it with water and some soap in kind of solution, and I clean it out…I also have bought like a Massengill douche once, a couple times, after sex, unprotected sex, thinking that that’s going to kill anything in there. |
Ppt 112, 55 years old, white |
| So yeah, I call it, it’s a little douche ball. I call it Spike. So I just clean out my ass and take a shower. |
Ppt 118, 56 years old, African-American |
| Reasons For Not Douching | |
| Side effects | |
| I get cramps really bad if I do an enema. So I don’t look forward to that because it hurts….I just think [douching] is very unpleasant and uncomfortable.. |
Ppt 107, 30 years old, Latino |
| Liking it dirty | |
| I: Do you ever use an anal douche or enema before sex? R: No. I like it dirty. |
Ppt 118, 56 years old, African-American |
| Perception of harmfulness | |
| I inadvertently used a little hydrogen peroxide and water and that caused some severe problems for about a week and a half, bleeding and loose stools and I was really upset and was probably a result of all that hydrogen peroxide going up there and doing a little damage to the rectum and stuff. |
Ppt 112, 55 years old, white |
| I basically don’t use it now because of information about some increased risk of transmission. |
Ppt 124, 39 years old, Latino |