Baking Soda Enemas

I had problems taking my enemas for years, would get very strong urges to expel, not cramps but couldnt hold much. I have found that a tablespoon of baking soda per quart of water makes all the difference, does anyone know why?

I was told that you should use 1tbls of baking soda and 1 tbls of salt per quart of water. This is supposed to replace nutients you wash out of your bowels. This was from a certified hydrocolonic therapest.

I had problems taking my enemas for years, would get very strong urges to expel, not cramps but couldnt hold much. I have found that a tablespoon of baking soda per quart of water makes all the difference, does anyone know why?

Baking soda in enemas, even in high concentrations (although not necessary or physiologic), is an ancient and widely used recipe and does not cause any problems.

A tablespoon of baking soda per quart is more concentrated than a physiologic concentration. To get a fairly close, but not exact physiologic solution, you could use about one TEASPOON of table salt and one TEASPOON of baking soda per quart.

The combination of the two (I don't know the exact proportion) gives a more similar ratio of the various electrolytes found in the blood than salt or baking soda alone.

Always heard salt and soda, a teaspoon each for each quart of water will help keep your body in balance.

I've tried it on many occasions and I think that's about the right mix. My mate has also suggested adding about 10 to 15 drops of peppermint oil to the mix. I can assure you I loved it and i've tried it many times.

Regards, Leo

I've been using Baking Soda and really enjoy them. Since I've been using them I have not had that cramping feeling. I take them and all my enemas slowly more enjoyable and relaxing

I always start with a prep enema of warm soap suds, followed by a "good" very warm HHH double soapsuds of 2 to 2.5 quart retention enema and finish with a warm to very warm 2 quart enema of 1 tablespoon of salt and one tablespoon of baking soda to rinse. The rinse is taken slow. I find a rinse of this type very relaxing. So relaxing in fact, I sometimes repeat it!

Baking soda is great to balance the Ph of most tap water. I use a shot glass (1oz) to a gallon of water. If I am adding salt insted of soap I will use about half that.

EveryBODY is different so finding your mix may take a little more or a little less.

I bought some baking soda as I read (here and other places) that it helps balance the body.

Read the box and found:

Salt is 150mg per serving (one serving is 1/8 teaspoon) Bought arm and hammer

Sea salt (morton) has 560mg per 1/4 teaspoon serving size.

This means a teaspoon of sea salt has 2240 mg and soda has 1200 mg.

I have no idea what this means and as have no idea how many mg's of salt are in a quart of blood,

So my duh question is: If I use 1 teaspoon of salt per quart of water, how much soda do I add?

^^^^ I answered this a few days ago. The answer is one teaspoon table salt, one teaspoon "soda" which is called sodium bicarbonate per quart.

I too have found that baking soda enemas are very soothing as well as epsom salt enemas. 1tlb per quart is enough and seems to stop the cramps too.

Switchable,

I must have not phrased my question correctly.

A teaspoon of salt, so many place say, added to a quart of water, balances it to match the body. Adding a teaspoon of soda, along with the salt, also balances the water to match the body.

If salt has 2400 mg and soda has 1200, why does just salt balance and then adding soda also balance? Why not just use more salt and ignore soda? Why not add soda, and ignore salt?

Does the soda add something more?

I must be the odd man out. Salt is wonderful but when I add baking soda it makes me cramp too much to take more that 2 quarts.

Switchable,

I must have not phrased my question correctly.

A teaspoon of salt, so many place say, added to a quart of water, balances it to match the body. Adding a teaspoon of soda, along with the salt, also balances the water to match the body.

If salt has 2400 mg and soda has 1200, why does just salt balance and then adding soda also balance? Why not just use more salt and ignore soda? Why not add soda, and ignore salt?

Does the soda add something more?

I bought some baking soda as I read (here and other places) that it helps balance the body.

Read the box and found:

Salt is 150mg per serving (one serving is 1/8 teaspoon) Bought arm and hammer

Sea salt (morton) has 560mg per 1/4 teaspoon serving size.

This means a teaspoon of sea salt has 2240 mg and soda has 1200 mg.

I have no idea what this means and as have no idea how many mg's of salt are in a quart of blood,

So my duh question is: If I use 1 teaspoon of salt per quart of water, how much soda do I add?

FORGET EVERYTHING about serving sizes and forget the milligrams. We are taking about physiological concentrations, NOT FOOD.

An isotonic sodium chloride solution is 9 grams per liter or quart (close enough). Using a teaspoons is a poor way of measuring, but if you must, use a MEASURING teaspoon, not tableware. Second, 9 grams is about 1.5 teaspoons of table salt. If you use One Teaspoon of table salt and One Teaspoon of Sodium bicarbonate (soda=baking soda), that will have very close to the same amount of sodium as 1.5 teaspoons of NaCl, so your sodium will be about the same in either case. The body generally has plenty of chloride and bicarbonate on its own. The purpose of the bicarbonate is that it acts as a buffer. See your chemistry texts for more explanation. If you start adding crazy amounts of materials to your enemas you could end up in trouble. If you follow my guidelines, or even if you use plain water enemas a few times a week, you will fine.

If you have no idea of what you are doing, you won't go wrong with plain water unless you do something really crazy.

My usual of 2 teaspoons of salt per 2 quarts does the same job. That amount makes the enema solution pretty much isotonic so it won't be absorbed by the colon. I think the baking soda will do much the same job, but the baking soda will serve to buffer the enema solution on the alkaline side. That might be part of the effect.

Too much salt will draw water out of the colon and effectively make the enema larger than what you put in there. Might be good might be bad. I think that is what a packaged Fleet type thing does.

Does the Soda mess with the natural bacterial flora of ones colon?

I find baking soda enemas to be very relaxing. Nice to just lie there with a slow flow, no rush, and gently fill up with 2 or 3 quarts. I generally use 2 teaspoons of soda per quart, but sometimes a bit more. Sometimes it doesn't all come out, but that might be because I didn't add any salt, and I held it for a long time. It then eventually comes out the front side.

For a real kick, supersize your baking soda enema. After you have held the soda, then prepare a small enema with a cup of lemon juice, and probably a cup or two of water. You get in position and hang the enema as high as you can. Open the clamp and let it rip. There might be a little burn as the lemon hits, but that isn't all. When the lemon juice hits the soda there will be a pretty good reaction as the basic soda tries to neutralize the acidic lemon. The result is gas! Lots of gas!! I normally only do this with 2 quarts of soda, so there will be some room left for the gas. If there isn't, guess where stuff is going to end up?

This enema has been described many times as the "fire extinguisher". That's because they used to make water filled fire bottles that somehow mixed an acid and soda when you turned them over. In some cases, that's what might happen to you! :-\ You might want to try the first one very near the toilet or tub, just in case you can't handle it. I typically am in bed, with something waterproof under me, cock in right hand, and then open the clamp. I try for a front side explosion just about the climax of the impending back side explosion. I have only had one "accident" with this, but the potential is there. Take precautions.

As for safety, you won't blow up on the inside, as the rear end safety valve will pop first. And, yes, naysayers, please had a go at this one -- I'm sure you will find everything to be wrong and unsafe. But, I say don't knock it until you have tried it. 😮

So what does the baking soda do from a chemical point of view? Neutralize acid? Salt makes the solution isotonic or hypertonic in relationship to the body, but I'm not clear how the baking soda interacts.

Of all the different recipes that I have tried, salt and baking soda seems to be close to ideal. I like epsom salts too, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use it too often. Baking soda seems to produce some gas, I feel it moving when I stand up after taking the enema. It also seems to cut down the smell. Hey, if it can deodorize a refrigerator, it ought to work equally well in the colon!

This is a REALLY interesting thread, and maks me even HAPPIER to have found this site.

I recently started dialysis. I gave up on enemas for a while and have been worrying about restarting for fear of absorbing too much fluid through my colon though I'd always added 1-3 tsp table salt per quart of water, plus Baking soda on ocassion, and/or some type of irritant (ivory or castile soaps.) I used to be able to retain 4 quarts plus.

So I guess if I now use 1 tsp each of salt adn soda it would be close to Isotonic. correct?

And for a final rinse, add 1Tbsp salt (with or without Soda) to dqaw out any additional fluids that i should be OK, right?

I have had problems now taking or retaining 2 quarts of solution more than a couple/three minutes.

I read where I should use either Lobelia tincture or Catnip extract to aid retention. I'm wary of unknowns like Lobelia, and can't find Catnip Tea any more.

Ciao

So what does the baking soda do from a chemical point of view? Neutralize acid? Salt makes the solution isotonic or hypertonic in relationship to the body, but I'm not clear how the baking soda interacts.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a buffer, that means it is a solution that keeps the pH relatively constant. A buffer solution is a solution made up of a weak acid and its conjugate base. Essentially, a buffer solution can absorb excess H+ and OH- ions, thereby maintaining a fairly constant pH.

This is a REALLY interesting thread, and maks me even HAPPIER to have found this site.

I recently started dialysis. I gave up on enemas for a while and have been worrying about restarting for fear of absorbing too much fluid through my colon though I'd always added 1-3 tsp table salt per quart of water, plus Baking soda on ocassion, and/or some type of irritant (ivory or castile soaps.) I used to be able to retain 4 quarts plus.

So I guess if I now use 1 tsp each of salt adn soda it would be close to Isotonic. correct?

And for a final rinse, add 1Tbsp salt (with or without Soda) to dqaw out any additional fluids that i should be OK, right?

I have had problems now taking or retaining 2 quarts of solution more than a couple/three minutes.

I read where I should use either Lobelia tincture or Catnip extract to aid retention. I'm wary of unknowns like Lobelia, and can't find Catnip Tea any more.

Ciao

If you are on dialysis, you need to be VERY careful what you do with regard to NaCl (table salt) and NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, also sometimes called "soda"). FORGET the lobelia, it has many variable effects, including vomiting, nausea, expectorant, among others and you should stay away from it. Catnip is OK, but it never really did anything special for me, but it might for you. DON'T mess around with your electrolytes by using weird recipes. Keep it simple, one teaspoon NaCl and one teaspoon NaHCO3 per quart. Prolonged enema retention isn't necessary unless you enjoy the pressure. DO NOT use one Tablespoon of table salt to "draw anything out." One tablespoon of Dr Bronner's per quart is OK.

I have always used a tea spoon of bicarb. and tea spoon of salt to a quart and found it very soothing and effective.

I also find that using baking soada in warm tap water allows me to hold a larger enema more easily. I think it's because it creates a pH that is more relaxing to the colon. Two teaspoons of salt (or 1 each of salt and baking soda) per quart of water is close to the normal salinity of the body. While this is better for your electrolyte balance when you take multiple enemas, only the baking soda seems to calm colon cramping when I take larger enemas (2 liters or more).

What's the clue here. Am mixing salt and soda. I can not get the soda to dissolve, it goes to the bottom of the jar. I have added it warm/cold water. I have tried, added warm/cold water to soda. It will not dissolve. Looking for answers!

Hello Springfield, Salem here. I have found it takes hot water to get the baking soda into solution. The InstaHot tap on my sink does a great job. Good luck.

I fill my open top bag with a pint container and warm water from the tap. I add soda to the first pint, and some is often still in the jar when I pour it in. By the time I've added the usual 6 pints, though, it is completely dissolved and the solution in the bag is clear. It just takes a little time. You are using baking soda, yes, not washing soda?

Can anyone tell me how much baking soda per quart will make the solution isotonic? I have Crohn's disease and am going to take High Ph isotonic enemas. Some G.I. Doctors believe High Ph tends to help reduce inflamation. Can't hurt & it's a good excuse to have my wife give me more enemas 😁

Thanks,

Vapor

Hello,

here are the right proportions and temperatures for salt and baking soda

for salt

1,23Oz/Gallon ..//.. 34,88grammes/gallon ..//.. 9grammes/liter at 104°F.

for baking soda

1,91Oz/Gallon ..//.. 54,25grammes/gallon ..//.. 14grammes/liter at 104°F.

@thur

If you have never had one, a baking soda enema is very soothing and for me easy to take and to hold. I tend to use a little less baking soda: only a single tbl spoon for two quarts of warm water. Whatever you do, be certain to take it slowly. It does not give the cleanout of soap, but it is effective. I think you'll like it.

I'll second Arthur's measurements.