If you were walking barefoot and accidentally stepped in dog poop, would you only use a couple of napkins to wipe it off? No. You’d probably wash it off with water. And it’s for similar reasons that now some people use bidets to clean themselves after using the bathroom.
A bidet is bathroom appliance that sprays water on your genitals and anus after you pee or poop. The word bidet actually means “pony” or “small horse” in French, since using a bidet is similar to straddling a pony. Using water for cleansing has been around long before especially in the Islam world. The Middle East, South Asia, and other regions had been using small vessels of water — called lotas or tabo — for cleansing for centuries before bidets appeared.
Washing yourself with a bidet can help with cleanliness, which may lead to fewer instances of rashes, hemorrhoids, urinary tract infections, and other medical issues. And if you’re worried about using toilet water to clean your back end, you shouldn’t be. It’s tap water. Just like the water from your sink.
Additionally, it’s more environmentally friendly to use a bidet in preference to toilet paper. The bidet uses only one-eighth of a gallon of water, while it takes about 37 gallons of water to make a single roll of toilet paper.
They could be helpful for people who have a physical disability. “Normally people wipe, but for people who are bed-bound or handicapped, a bidet might be a nice thing.