Awkward Request of the Week

I know, I know.  It is only Tuesday so it may be a little early to announce a winner for the Awkward Request of the Week.  But really, when the patron comes in and hands you a piece of paper because they are too embarrassed to say what they are looking for information on, even if the information is for someone else, the awkward potential is high.

Today's request for information was on "retention enemas."

I had no idea this was a thing.

Thanks to Dracula, Dead and Loving It! (and likely my mom for explaining the joke), I've at least known the basic idea of an enema since early teens, but it is not a topic I have gone out of my way to stay on top of.  This gentleman's education about enemas coincided with receiving a note with the topic, and the lengths of time one should retain various substances (garlic, lemon juice, and coffee grounds).  Awkward pre-teen conversations with mom at home verses awkward conversation with noticeably younger woman at the public library, I think I had the more comfortable expansion of vocabulary experience.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there actually is not a whole lot that myself or any reference librarian can provide on this.  Legally we cannot give medical advice.  Well, beyond "you should talk to a medical professional."  We can help you find information on a topic, and in this case I found several fact sheets for the patron, but we cannot give you recommendations on courses of treatment.  In this case I think the gentleman was perfectly fine with me recommending consulting a medical professional, possibly someone who focuses on holistic medicine.

Oh, and in case anyone else winced at the mention of lemon juice, it seems that it is not a recommended retention liquid.  Also, I fear what keywords from the spammers will show up in my statistics page now.