Is It Safe To Douche While Traveling?

[Lonnie]

Is It Safe To Douche While Traveling Internationally?

If you can’t drink the tap water, you probably shouldn’t use it to flush your colon either.

 

 We’ve all heard the advice when traveling in some countries to never drink the tap water. One traveler recently revealed he learned the long and very hard way that warning also applies to the use of tap water for douching.

Recently, a tweet from @shaktischild gained attention on social media as the user recalled the horrific aftermath of a past douching experience while visiting Cancun, Mexico.

“Douched in Cancun… I bled for days,” @shaktishcild wrote. “I had to wait until I landed back in NYC to go to the hospital and they pulled a tapeworm out of me. Horrific experience.”

 

 

Over the years, it’s become pretty common advice for travelers to avoid drinking tap water during international trips. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises:

“When traveling abroad, know where your water comes from. Contaminated water can look clean but still have harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Factory-sealed bottled water is the safest option for most travelers. (…) Always look for unopened, factory-sealed bottled water or other drinks.”

According to the CDC, common diseases that could be caused by contaminated water include campylobacteriosis, cholera, giardiasis, leptospirosis, norovirus, schistosomiasis, shigellosis, and typhoid.

Indeed, when traveling internationally, much is said about not drinking tap water. Sometimes, travelers are also advised to avoid brushing their teeth with water from the tap. However, it is understandable how one must’ve missed the memo on not using tap water for douching before bottoming.

Between sightseeing, attending events, and/or visiting friends and relatives, a traveler sometimes stumbles upon the opportunity to have sex during a foreign trip. For bottoms, that typically involves a certain level of preparation and precaution that might be different from what they experience back home.

Dr. Evan Goldstein, the CEO of Bespoke Surgical – which focuses on the sexual health of gay men – spoke to Out Traveler about the risks of douching with tap water during an international trip.

“The main takeaway from all of this is that douching with tap water – regardless of where the source is – should be avoided,” Dr. Goldstein explained. “Tap water is what is called a hypotonic solution and when it comes into contact with the internal lining of our rectum, the cells, in turn, get quite irritated. That irritation sheds the protective lining, creating undue mucus and inflammation and can be the nidus for many types of infections and injuries. You’re basically stripping that lining and then, when you use contaminated water, you are most likely going to worsen the situation. And that’s not good for you or your partner(s).”

When asked what are the best solutions and/or alternatives for douching while on an international trip, Dr. Goldstein replied:

“I recommend people stick with isotonic solutions and avoid plain water of any kind – tap, bottled, or otherwise – as well as store-bought enemas. But the actual thinking in our community needs to change and focus on butt-to-gut health. What I mean by this is: how do we use fiber, as well as pre- and probiotics, and diet and exercise, to truly limit how much we actually have to douche (if even at all). There is still so much stigma within our community, with immense pressure that we put on one another about being ‘ready’ for anal sex, not to mention the amount of misinformation surrounding the best and proper ways to douche.”

The doctor concluded:

“The anal cavity, which is where anal sex takes place, is a conduit for stool. This means that feces pass through this area when you feel the need ‘to go’ and is otherwise in the clear. You can prove this to yourself by lubing up your favorite toy, preferably one that mimics your partner’s size, inserting it, taking it out, and then examining if it’s clean or not. You will surely be surprised and realize quickly that most times, you’ll be ready to bottom without the need to douche. In other words, most of us have been overdouching for years. And this brings us full circle when it comes to potential pathogens from an activity (douching) that could have been avoided or minimized in the first place.”

The “bottom” line here is: do not, ever, use tap water when douching in a foreign country.

I believe this was discussed on this forum with very good advice from Slvkguy.

[spoon]

Wise advice indeed. 

[vinapu]

With guy in the picture above I'd gladly risk it.

shortly it we listen to all that advise we will be afraid to  do anything while travelling internationally

[spoon]

8 minutes ago, vinapu said:

With guy in the picture above I'd gladly risk it.

shortly it we listen to all that advise we will be afraid to  do anything while travelling internationally

U could still douch with a cheap bottled water made for drinking hehehe

[Riobard]

It’s also tempting to soap up one’s anus, even without douching, and if there’s a handheld shower nozzle let the local water really get in there. I try to avoid that temptation when travelling, instead buying large cheaper bottled water and transferring it to manageable bottles, using a funnel, for ample rinsing when needed. Sometimes the self-cleaning oven feature is an adequate substitute for brillo pad scouring.

I also use Cetaphil skin cleanser for that area. I don’t douche unless I fail the small dildo equivalent insert-and-detect because douching often stimulates my sigmoid colon and a messy bowel movement ensues that often otherwise would have been delayed until well after anal intercourse. This usually involves, paradoxically, douching repeatedly in one sitting to clean up the mess that the douche precipitated. Then there may be wet leakage for hours later due to overhydrating the rectum and the colon area leading up to the rectal stage.

One issue is, of course, analingus readiness. Being the recipient of analingus is generally off the table but isn’t a big deal for me. I experientially know what I’m missing, meh, and all partners are trade whose own arousal FWIW in a transactional context is not predicated on sampling that tart. 

[Guest]

46 minutes ago, Lonnie said:

One traveler recently revealed he learned the long and very hard way that warning also applies to the use of tap water for douching.

this has been discussed in recent threads - surprisingly, it was controversial.  Proceed w caution & don’t get yourself in hot water  

 

[vinapu]

5 minutes ago, spoon said:

U could still douch with a cheap bottled water made for drinking hehehe

yes I could but I still consider this waste of precious resource so no, bottled water is to make tea of coffee, I don't drink water and no , I'm not afraid to douche , shower and brush the teeth in the tap water .

Danger exists but if we sanitize ourselves too much it may lead to even greater danger of being too clean , one gets and builds immunity  by meeting nasty things half way , not by avoiding them entirely

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, Lonnie said:

The “bottom” line here is: do not, ever, use tap water when douching in a foreign country.

I believe this was discussed on this forum with very good advice from Slvkguy.

yikes - I missed this part entirely. I’m not the expert - but do take direction from hotel staff whether or not to drink water.  In my last travels, hotel said absolutely not.

[JKane]

Seriously, use sealed bottled water, ffs.  Hell--half the Grindr guys that come to my place in LA do! 

Buying a 24 pack near your hotel is a good idea as soon as you get there anyway.  

[Lonnie]

3 hours ago, Riobard said:

clean up the mess

TMI

[vinapu]

9 hours ago, JKane said:

Seriously, use sealed bottled water, ffs.  

Buying a 24 pack near your hotel is a good idea as soon as you get there anyway.  

24 more empty plastic bottles in the garbage or even worse in the sea

[Olddaddy]

I sometimes see guys I have taken back to my room using that bum gun next to the toilet and I setting that water in to clean themselves.

And some had taken the hand held shower head off 

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

I sometimes see guys I have taken back to my room using that bum gun next to the toilet and I setting that water in to clean themselves.

Locals use of tap water may vary.  A Brazilian may very well use the tap water because their bodies are acclimated to it, or that’s their only option.  A person from a country where the tap water tends to be more treated & pure would not be acclimated to that same Brazilian tap water. That said, a majority middle class/wealthy Brazilians use either bottled water at home of have filters for tap water.  

For a traveler, use of tap is an individual choice and subject to your own risk tolerance.  Nobody will forbid you from drinking the water or using it however you want, so go for it.

the OP posted some quotes from Dr Evan Goldstein, who is a well-known expert on gay mens health and on the OP subject matter.  He says don’t ever use tap water, even  in developed countries for internal personal hygiene.  So why  risk a potential vacation health problem when an easy alternative (bottled water) is available ?  if still in doubt, just ask your hotel if you can drink the water.  They don’t hesitate with a direct answer.

But, as I’ve learned here, some just don’t consider the risk/reward equation & then are surprised when things don’t turn out well given their choices. Waiting to clean your self at a sauna in a developing country is a particularly bad choice given water availability and waiting time it takes to get it right.  The boys certainly don’t appreciate an unprepared client.  To each his own.