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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Wiping from front to back. Or not...?

79 replies

NoDontLookAtMeImShy · 28/09/2019 22:21

I swear I'm not a poo troll. Or a butt wiping troll.

Just that I've got cystitis and I've been reading up on the causes of cystitis and wiping from back to front causes it so I had a think about what I did.

And I do both 🤨

If it's a poo I wipe from the back. If it's just a wee I wipe from the front.
If I just do a wee, am I supposed to reach around behind me, underneath and all the way across to the front to wipe backwards?

Have I seriously got to nearly 40 and I've been doing it wrong all these years??

OP posts:
Zebraaa · 28/09/2019 22:23

I also wipe like you even though technically I know it’s incorrect.

dementedpixie · 28/09/2019 22:25

I do the same as you also.

thesnapandfartisinfallible · 28/09/2019 22:27

I do back to front no matter what. I can't reach to do front to back, how flexible are you people?

slipperywhensparticus · 28/09/2019 22:28

I dab the front and wipe the back not had cystitis for ages

QueenBeex · 28/09/2019 22:28

I've always done front to back for as long as I can remember.

Fruityb · 28/09/2019 22:28

I’m a dabber for a wee and a stand up after a poo. I am not flexible enough to reach underneath me for a wee!!

I just dab after a wee as I often get sore as of late.

bumblenbean · 28/09/2019 22:29

You can still wipe front to back after a pee even if you reach from the front so to speak. So reach between legs from the front but actually wipe from the front towards your bum. So in same direction that you’re reaching...Does that make sense?!

LesLavandes · 28/09/2019 22:30

Front to back. It makes sense

ElizabethMountbatten · 28/09/2019 22:31

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the request of the OP.

palahvah · 28/09/2019 22:32

I reach from behind to wipe front to back
Or sometimes just dab at the front if only a wee.
(I had UTIs when I was younger but not for years)

Snuffkindle · 28/09/2019 22:37

Front to back always. Very problematic waterworks here. I do everything in my power to prevent further bother!

Roozy123 · 28/09/2019 22:37

Front to back always when it's a number 2... because of getting an infection and i guess I always have done it that way so I must have been taught this way and it stuck.
If just a pee I will just dab or do a small front wipe.

ShippingNews · 28/09/2019 22:39

I use a bidet - never a problem !

pinkstripeycat · 28/09/2019 22:42

You are meant to wipe your bottom backwards as poo in to vagina can cause infection. You should be able to wipe your front forwards without going anywhere near with back

MrsMaow · 28/09/2019 22:43

Why would you need to reach behind you to wipe front to back after a wee?

That’s making it unnecessarily difficult, like reaching through your legs to wipe front to back rather than around.

I’m so confused

Tweetingmagpie · 28/09/2019 22:45

Front to back , can’t see why it would be hard work for anyone reallyConfused

BreconBeBuggered · 28/09/2019 22:51

Don't you...don't you just move the toilet roll downwards after a wee instead of upwards? There's no need for complex gymnastics.

raviolidreaming · 28/09/2019 22:52

If I just do a wee, am I supposed to reach around behind me, underneath and all the way across to the front to wipe backwards

Surely front to back / back to front is the direction - not your actual front or back?!

DocFartin · 28/09/2019 22:52

How long are everyone's arms? I couldn't reach behind my back and 'under' my bum to wipe! I'd need an extra 12" of arm at least!! I've a fat arse but not that fat

Rachelover60 · 28/09/2019 22:53

Always wipe front to back and if you do it again, use clean paper. Then you won't get gut bacteria into your urethra.

HennyPennyHorror · 28/09/2019 22:57

You are meant to wipe your bottom backwards as poo in to vagina can cause infection. You should be able to wipe your front forwards without going anywhere near with back

No because there are bacteria around the anus even when you've not pooed. I know there shouldn't be but there often is.

Also OP...have a wee right after sex....immediately.

VanGoghsDog · 28/09/2019 22:58

How you reach isn't an issue, it;s the direction you wipe - so you wipe your urethra and vagina first, backwards to wards your anus and do that last.

Whether you reach between your legs, stand up (huh?), or reach from behind (I do that) doesn't matter at all.

milveycrohn · 28/09/2019 23:00

I was always taught that females should do front to back to avoid infection.

CrystalShark · 28/09/2019 23:13

TMI coming up, but the thread calls for it...

If it’s a wee I just wipe middle to front, a poo (which usually follows a wee) I wipe middle to front for the wee and then wipe the back. Just where the back is...

Like, I feel as though the ‘front to back’ advice is for people who don’t really aim their wiping very carefully, so it’s just a catch-all in case you really do just wipe from one end to the other regardless of what you’ve just been to the toilet for. And it’s simple for little kids to understand. But as an adult, I’m able to be targeted enough that if it’s just a wee the paper doesn’t go anywhere near my bum, and if it’s a poo I can wipe my bum without dragging any of the paper/poo to anywhere else.

I can’t be the only one!?

PawPawNoodle · 28/09/2019 23:14

I wipe back to front after a wee, but I don't start wiping at my bumhole so I'm not sure how I'd be spreading bacteria around. Effectively if it's where I wipe then my direction isn't going to change anything.

Ive never had any urogynecological issues. 🤷‍♀️