Do you know how to wipe your butt? It s a surprising question, we know, but doing it the wrong way has health implications. Failure to wipe correctly could leave you vulnerable to a urinary tract infection or aggravate any existing rectal issues, like hemorrhoids or anal fissures.
That s why we turned to a gynecologist (who actually gets asked about this quite often) and a gastroenterologist to give us the scoop on wiping after you poop. Here are the right and wrong ways to do it, plus some helpful tips and tricks.
Wipe front to back
You ve probably heard this directive since you were a kid, and it s really important. This means wiping in the direction from your urethra to your anus, Alyssa Dweck, MD, a gynecologist in Westchester County, New York and author of
As a living, breathing, eating human being, there s a good chance that you ve had trouble pooping at one point or another. Maybe you ve suffered for days from constipation feeling backed up and uncomfortable and the longer it lasts, the worse it gets (and the worse you feel).
While it usually (thankfully) resolves on its own or with a little help from extra fibrous foods or a stool softener it s important to know that there is a cutoff for how long you can go without pooping before you should see a doctor to see what s up down there. Here s what you need to know, according to gastroenterologists.