Anal hygiene
Anal hygiene or anal cleansing refers to hygienic practices that are performed on a person's anus, usually shortly after defecation. Post-defecation cleansing is rarely discussed academically, partly due to the social taboo. The scientific objective of post-defecation cleansing is to prevent exposure to pathogens while socially it becomes a cultural norm. The process of post-defecation cleansing involves either rinsing the anus and inner part of the buttocks with water or wiping the area with dry materials such as toilet paper. In water-based cleansing, either a hand is used for rubbing the area while rinsing it with the aid of running water or (in bidet systems) pressurized water is used. In either method subsequent hand sanitization is essential to achieve the ultimate objectives of post-defecation cleansing. History Ancient Greeks were known to use fragments of ceramic known as pessoi to perform anal cleansing. Roman anal cleansing was done with a sponge on a stick called a tersorium (). The stick would be soaked in a water channel in front of a toilet, and then stuck through the hole built into the front of the toilet for anal cleaning. The tersorium was shared by people using public latrines. To clean the sponge, they washed it in a bucket with water and salt or vinegar. This became a breeding ground for bacteria, causing the spread of disease in the latrine. In ancient Japan, a wooden skewer known as chuugi ("shit sticks") was used for cleaning after defecation. The use of toilet paper for post-defecation cleansing first started in China in the 2nd century BC. According to Charlier (2012) French novelist (and physician) François Rabelais had argued about the ineffectiveness of toilet paper in the 16th century. The first commercially available toilet paper was invented by Joseph Gayetty, a New York entrepreneur, in 1857 with the dawning of the second industrial revolution. Cultural preferences In predominantly Catholic countries, Eastern Orthodox, Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim cultures, and in some Protestant countries such as Finland, as well as in Southeast Asia and Southern Europe and Latin America, water is usually used for anal cleansing, using a jet (e.g., bidet shower, bidet) or vessel (e.g., lota, aftabeh), and a person's hand (in some places only the left hand is used). Cleaning with water is sometimes followed by drying the anal region and hand with a cloth towel or toilet paper. On the other hand, in some parts of developing countries and during camping trips, materials such as vegetable matter (leaves), mudballs, snow (water), corncobs, and stones are sometimes used for anal cleansing. Having hygienic means for anal cleansing available at the toilet or site of defecation is important for overall public health. The absence of proper materials in households can, under some circumstances, be correlated to the number of diarrhea episodes per household. The history of anal hygiene, from ancient Rome and Greece to China and Japan, involves sponges and sticks as well as water and paper. The inclusion of anal cleansing facilities is often overlooked when