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

[NoDontLookAtMeImShy]

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??

I took the front to back thing to refer to wiping poo.
To wipe wee you just dab at the front with tissue, i.e there is to-fro wiping motion.

and if I have done both then I wipe bum first then wee

*i meant wipe bum then vulval area (not wipe bum then do a wee)

You should only wipe from front to back. Never back to front and never back and forth.

If you wipe back to front you risk transferring bacteria like E. coli to your urethra where your wee comes out. This increases the risk of urinary tract infection / cystitis.

You are not alone in not knowing this though OP so nothing to be embarrassed about, but it would save people a lot of misery if they knew how to avoid UTI (transfer of bacteria during sex is also a common cause). IMHO We should be publicly shouting it from the rooftops

It would also save the NHS and the wider economy a fortune.

WTF has this place become.

I think the confusion with this is the method. A lot of people know to wipe front to back but the technique has never been explained. My understanding was you had to put your arm underneath from behind and wipe the whole thing backwards which is pretty much impossible unless you are a contortionist. I can now understand that you can wipe backwards with your arm at the front which probably does the same job this is just for a wee, wiping after a poo always requires the arm to be at the back.

With the poo troll around tonight I won't be giving out personal information

I wipe towards the front. I manage to do this without going near my anus! No big deal

@NoSauce WTF has this place become

I wipe from behind front to back, I can reach easily, possibly some people can't. I don't just dab the front bit after a wee though, am I the only person who occasionally randomly sprays/ wees so it dribbles backwards and in other directions? . I need full wiping action after a wee.

Perhaps it's my literal mind, but wiping from front to back always seemed to me to be a recipe for just pushing it all up the small of your back, so to speak. Or more probably into that sort of hole behind your arsehole.

Right, that’s enough Internet for today!

This thread 🙈

Can't believe the amount of front to back ladies!

Always front to back for me. I've had cystitis twice and would never want to experience it again. Not worth the risk.

Honestly use water. You won't get no infections, bidets should be a requirement in this country

My understanding was you had to put your arm underneath from behind and wipe the whole thing backwards which is pretty much impossible unless you are a contortionist.

That's how I do it and I can assure you I am no contortionist.

And, it's not guaranteed to avoid UTIs, I've had a few despite sensible wiping protocol.

And no, it's really not possible to use water in, say, a public loo, or at work, or someone else's house etc.

Everyone should have a bidet. However most people don't. Front to back is quite right and all women should teach their daughters to do the same. Fem wipes are very good, I have a stock of them at home and carry one in handbag for when I go out.

Wow.... don't understand why people have different wiping methods for a wee or poo. Just wipe front to back every time, it's not hard. Feeling very naive to think everybody did this/knew about infection.

I won't use wipes for environmental reasons. Loo paper is fine, though at home I have an anti bacterial gel I use on the paper which is great.

Back to front, never had cystitis, multiple surgeries on my vagina and never had an infection. So whilst I know it’s wrong, it’s never adversely affected me, so I don’t feel the need to change it.

@noworklifebalance your post made me laugh and I don’t even really know why but the idea of you wiping then weeing then sitting there all confused as to why it’s not working out made me snort.

Can’t you just wipe each area separately? Why would you risk shit touching your vag? Vile

Lots of people cannot wipe front to back with their arm behind them (I know, I've asked).

I can't - I couldn't do it once I broke my ankle/tore tendons down my leg and could no longer move my right leg back to allow me to twist.

By the time that healed I'd fallen again and broken my right wrist.

The result of nearly 4 months wiping from the front going under and left handed meant that muscle memory was completely gone and I've never got it back!

My best mate can't either, without revealing her personal details she hasn't done it that way for about 20 years and despite being slim and fairly fit, the muscle memory is gone and she can't twist that way.

If you can't reach from the back, the trick is to dab the front, then wipe front to back, but from the front!

Oh god. Wiping back to front after a poo makes me cringe!!!!!! Why!? Think of the germs!
I've always wiped front to back, no idea people wouldn't do this! And confused as to how you can't reach?! 😂

How is the fact that some people can't reach confusing?

Some folk can't reach, it is what it is.

I can at nearly 40 still get my big toe in my mouth and bite my own toenails, I can not just touch my toes but put both hands flat on the floor with legs straight...

But I cannot reach my bumhole from the back, and trying to do so causes serious muscle spasms and pain.

Hysterically funny I am sure...