Fleet Enema is a drug used to treat occasional constipation as well as prepare the patient's bowels before surgery. Depending on the purpose of use and different subjects, we need to know different ways to use Fleet Enema.
1. What is Fleet Enema?
Fleet Enema is a mixture of drugs including compounds such as Phosphoric Acid, Dibasic Sodium Phosphate and water to treat diseases such as occasional constipation, clean the stool in the intestines to prepare for surgery, or to prepare for sigmoidoscopy, rectal examination for patients with digestive problems.
Depending on the purpose of using Fleet Enema, there will be different dosages given by doctors, specifically as follows:
To relieve symptoms of occasional constipation:
- Adults and children 12 years of age and older: 1 bottle/time/day
- Children under 2 years of age: no indication
- Children from 2 to 11 years of age: use Fleet Enema for children.
If using Fleet Enema to clean stool, use 1 bottle 3 to 5 hours before surgery as prescribed by the doctor.
When using Fleet Enema for sigmoidoscopy, the patient needs to take 1 bottle 3 to 5 hours before surgery, the dose may need to be increased in special cases, but it must still be under the prescription of the physician.
Fleet Enema is not recommended in combination with drugs containing Sodium Phosphate in oral solution or tablet form because drug interactions may occur in this case. Specifically, electrolyte disturbances and decreased blood volume may occur if the patient does not drink enough water, or even vomiting, loss of appetite... When used with diuretics, Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs... it can cause metabolic acidosis, convulsions, kidney failure, prolonged QT interval, and more dangerously, multiple organ failure, arrhythmia leading to cardiac arrest, and eventually death. Using Fleet Enema in combination with drugs containing Lithium can reduce the effectiveness of the drug and reduce the concentration of Lithium.
2. How to use Fleet Enema
Fleet Enema, also known as anal enema, is a type of anal pump to treat constipation for adults and children. It has a special way of use and techniques compared to other common treatments, so users should also pay attention to maximize the effectiveness of the drug. There are different positions for using the drug as follows:
The patient lies on the left side:
The patient lies on the left side, knees bent, 2 hands relaxed comfortably.
The patient in knees-chest position:
The body is in a kneeling position, head down low, at the same time lifting the buttocks up, face tilted to the right, left hand rolled up and placed under the abdomen.
Some techniques using Fleet Enema are:
- Use your hand to gently insert the tube's tip into the patient's rectum, slowly and gently push it inside with the tip pointing towards the middle of the rectum. Do not use strong force to push the tube inside because it will cause rectal damage.
- The action of pushing the tube inside will be more convenient in the case of a downward sloping position because there will be movement of the intestines causing the muscles around the anus to relax.
- Squeeze the bottle until all the medicine in the bottle is removed.
- Gently pull the tip of the tube out of the rectum, keep the same position until the body feels the urge to defecate, the time for the body to feel this feeling is about 2 to 5 minutes after using Fleet Enema as anal enema.
Fleet Enema has some contraindications that need to be noted:
- Patients with congenital megacolon
- Patients with intestinal obstruction
- Patients with congenital anal atresia or artificial anus
- Patients with congestive heart failure
- Patients with renal failure
- Patients with a history of electrolyte disorders
- Patients who are being treated with diuretics, drugs that affect the concentration of electrolytes in the body.
Some notes to pay attention to when using Fleet Enema are:
- Only use Fleet Enema as a rectal enema, do not use it for drinking or any other way to get the medicine into the body.
- Do not use all of the solution for patients under 12 years old.
- Do not use Fleet Enema for children under 2 years old.
- Supplement the solution by mouth in cases where Fleet Enema is used to clean the stool in the intestines.
- Do not use products that have a laxative effect for more than 1 week without a doctor's prescription.
- Do not use more than 1 bottle of Fleet Enema within 1 day.
- If the medicine is swallowed, you must go to the emergency room immediately to check for drug poisoning.
- Patients who are on a salt-free diet, have kidney disease, are pregnant or breastfeeding should consult a doctor when using Fleet Enema suppository for constipation in adults.
- If you have symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, abnormal bowel movements within 2 weeks, rectal bleeding, notify your doctor immediately for timely treatment.
Fleet Enema is an enema used to treat a number of conditions such as constipation or cleaning stool in the intestines. Fleet Enema has its own specific methods of use as well as a certain dosage, which, if exceeded, will cause extremely dangerous complications, so you need a specific doctor's prescription before using this medicine.
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