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Wiping your butt after using the toilet is one of those things most of us don’t think about on a regular basis—we just do it and get on with our day. But are you wiping correctly? Does it even matter? Lifehacker spoke with a few doctors to get to the bottom of the matter.




How it’s done now

From what I gather, the two major schools of wiping are front-to-back, with your arm reaching behind you from the side, or back-to-front, with your arm between your legs. There’s also another method, where it’s not exactly front-to-back/back-to-front, but more of a swirling motion, as if you were cleaning a dirty spot on a window. I’ve never actually seen this in practice, but to be fair, the number of times I’ve witnessed any of these methods executed by someone else can be counted on one hand. (And I washed that hand afterwards.)


The right way

The method of wiping your buttocks depends on what kind of equipment you have in the area. If you have a penis, dermatologist Curtis Asbury, M.D. says to “do whatever feels right. It makes no difference. Heck, you can go side to side if you like!”

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But on the other hand, people with a vagina and vulva are definitely going to want to wipe front-to-back. Brian Bowes, M.D., an internal medicine physician explains why direction is so important for this part of the population:

The majority of cases of cystitis or urethritis are from E. coli, the normal flora that lives in your gastrointestinal tract. This helps you digest your food, but if you wipe from back to front you risk smearing it to your urethral meatus (pee hole). Then the bacteria get into a sterile environment [your pee hole] and cause a UTI. This was traditionally taught in medical school to be “honeymoon cystitis” as many women would get UTIs after their vigorous honeymoon weekend and come back with this normal infection.


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As for people with a penis, Bowes has some thoughts on that, too:

...most have at least 6 inches (hopefully) between their anus and urethral meatus (opening at the end of their penis)...this protects them from urinary tract infections. Therefore anyone with a penis that they pee out of (not to exclude any sexes) is protected from E. coli and may feel free to wipe in whichever way that pleases them (not that it should be pleasurable).


So what about the science? One 2009 study of wiping after passing urine, showed a small increase in infection when wiping back-to-front. However, another study on college age women with UTIs showed that there was no increase. Though there’s not a ton of research conducted specifically on the effects of different wiping methods, the professional medical consensus is clear: people with vaginas should definitely wipe front-to-back. In fact, the Mayo Clinic, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic and the University of California, San Francisco all note on their websites recommend front-to-back wiping for people with a vagina in order to prevent urinary tract infections.

And while we’re on the subject of wiping, what about those pre-moistened wipes that are popular but terrible for the environment? Asbury says that not only do you not need them, but they can also cause an allergic reaction:

Recent attempts at ultra-cleanliness have lead to a trend of using moist wipes rather than dry toilet paper to wipe. The main problem with this is the growing sensitivity to chemicals in the moist wipes. An allergy to these chemicals can cause pain, irritation, and redness which often causes the person to use the wipes more, and thus perpetuating the problem. The main chemical associated with moist wipe allergy is methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI or Kathon CG) although other common allergens in wipes include quaternium-15, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, DMDM hydantoin and fragrances. Use moist wipes at your own risk, and at the very least, read the label!


Alternatives to wiping

So if there’s no reason to use moist chemical wipes, is there anything better than the traditional two-ply? If you guessed bidets, you’d be right, and you’ve probably used one before. But Chris Lowry, M.D., a physician and the director of MedRevise.co.uk, points out something interesting about long-term usage that I’ve never heard before.

Japanese toilets often contain a water jet and blow dryer that cleans the anus for you. Apparently, some Japanese doctors are now claiming to be seeing cases of “Washlet Syndrome” where cleaning that is too effective leads to problems such as weak sphincter muscles, dry skin and anal sores.


If you’re a DIY-er, you might be wondering what other things you can wipe with. Lowry points to this man, who experimented on himself with such items as dried corncob, rocks, newspaper, leaves and vinegar on a sponge. Ultimately, he found that while many of these methods do work in a pinch/emergency situation, that modern toilet paper is definitely your best bet.




Alternatives to traditional toilets

Pulling back one level from wiping, Lowry points out that squat toilets—the type you see in some Asian countries, might be healthier. But this could be also attributed to a high-fiber diet, rather than the method of evacuation. Also, as we pointed out in a previous post, sitting in a squat position may help move things along, but there’s no evidence that it actually improves your overall health. And regardless of whether you sit or squat, you’re still going to have to wipe, so it doesn’t really change anything in that department.


This story was originally published on 5/25/11 and was updated on 10/16/19 to provide more thorough and current information.