Colonic Irrigation

Definition

Colonic irrigation is also known as hydrotherapy of the colon, high colonic, entero-lavage, or simply colonic. It is the process of cleansing the colon by passing several gallons of water through it with the use of special equipment. It is similar to an enema but treats the whole colon, not just the lower bowel. This has the effect of flushing out impacted fecal matter, toxins, mucous, and even parasites that often build up over the passage of time. It is a procedure that should only be undertaken by a qualified practitioner.

Description

Cleansing the colon with the use of hydrotherapy is not a new concept. Forms of colonic irrigation have been used successfully for decades to relieve chronic toxicity and even acute cases of toxemia.

Over time, many people develop a thick layer of fecal matter that coats their colon. It hardens and becomes impacted, reducing the efficiency of the bowel, and in some cases, completely obstructing normal elimination of waste matter from the body. It is quite common for people to only have one bowel movement per day, and some as few as one or two per week.

Alternative practitioners advise that we probably should have one bowel movement for every meal that we eat. If not, then we are not eliminating wastes completely, and if input exceeds output, then we will surely suffer the consequences at some point.

Incomplete elimination of body wastes may result in the following, depending on where the deposits end up:

• sluggish system
• joint pain and arthritis
• irritable bowel syndrome
• diverticulitis
• Crohn's disease
• leaky gut syndrome
• heart problem
• migraine
• allergies
• bad breath
• acne and other skin problems such as psoriasis
• asthma
• early senility and Alzheimer's disease
• chronic fatigue syndrome
• cancer, particularly of the bowel
• multiple sclerosis

During colonic irrigation, a small speculum is passed into the patient's bowel through the rectum. This is attached to a tube, which leads to a machine that pumps temperature-controlled water into the colon at a controlled rate (to be controlled by either the practitioner or the patient). The temperature of the water should ideally be kept as close to body temperature as possible.

The patient will temporarily be filled with water up to the level of the entire colon. Patients say they can feel the water up under their ribs but that the process, although sometimes uncomfortable, is not painful. The amount of water will vary but will generally be in the region of between two and six liters (or quarts) at any one time. This triggers peristaltic action and the patient will begin to expel the water along with fecal matter back through the tube and into the machine.

The fecal matter is flushed out through a viewing tube, so that what is eliminated may be monitored. Quite often, unsuspected parasites are expelled, along with very old fecal material, very dark in color, which may have been in the colon for years. Some therapists comment that it looks like aging rubber.

During the treatment, the therapist will gently massage the patient's abdomen to help dislodge impacted fecal matter. In addition to massage, sometimes acupressure, reflexology, or lymphatic drainage techniques may be used to loosen deposits and stimulate the bowel. It is important that the right amount of water is used, as too much will cause discomfort and too little will be ineffective. If correctly done, colonic irrigation is not painful at all and some patients claim to sleep through their treatment.

Sanitation is vital to this process. The tubes and speculums used are generally disposable, but other parts of the machine, such as the viewing tube, must be sterilized after each patient.

Normally, a series of treatments will be required to achieve desired results regarding the elimination of impacted, decaying matter, and restoration of bowel regularity. Initially, only gas and recent fecal matter may be expelled. The residue attached to the colon wall is usually the result of years of neglect, and therapists say that one cannot expect complete relief in only one session.

Impacted fecal matter can cause an imbalance of the natural organisms that normally populate the bowel, causing what is known as dysbiosis. Under ideal conditions, the bowel is populated by a variety of naturally occurring organisms. It seems that the enzymes occurring in fresh fruit and vegetables encourage these beneficial organisms. One of the results of eating processed denatured foods is that this natural balance is upset, and food may begin to rot in the bowel instead of being processed.

Decomposing matter can cause a toxic condition and may lead to many health problems, as constipation causes backed up pollution of the body cells. The process of repair and elimination of wastes enters a downward spiral which at best will cause fatigue, lack of energy and premature aging, and, at worst, can cause degenerative diseases, among them allergies, and even cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

The cost of colonic irrigation treatments varies, but is generally between $35–70 per session, which may last from 45 minutes to one hour. The cost of the machine itself ranges from $4,000–12,000, but again, it should be noted that only qualified therapists should conduct sessions.

— Patricia Skinner

Colonic irrigation is a treatment by enema, practised by naturopaths and designed to clean out the large bowel, which, it is maintained, becomes encrusted with foreign and potentially poisonous material. The enema usually consists of warm water, but sometimes other substances are added to it.

The practice is derived from one of man's oldest treatments — clysters — which was especially popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These were enemas, which were adjuncts to purging. Along with bleeding, emptying the bowels was one of the few active and productive treatments available to physicians in the pre-scientific age. Molière satirized the practice brilliantly in Le Malade Imaginaire, describing ‘a little insinuative, preparative and emollient clyster to mollify, moisten and refresh his worship's bowels’ and ‘a good detersive clyster … to scour, wash and cleanse his honour's abdomen’.

The popularity of enemas or colonic irrigation did not decline with the development of ‘scientific’ medicine. On the contrary, they were an obvious form of treatment for ‘constipation’, a subject with which many Victorians were obsessed. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the theory of autointoxication reigned. It was suggested that the bowels should move three times a day but that civilization, unhealthy living, and unhealthy diet had reduced the frequency, allowing foreign matter, poisons, and substances producing ‘toxins’ to accumulate in the bowel, causing ill-health and many diseases. This theory was widely promulgated by prominent people, including the Nobel-prize-winning chemist, Élie Metchnikoff, the distinguished London surgeon, Arbuthnot Lane, and, in America, John Harvey Kellogg, founder of the Kellogg food empire.

As the twentieth century progressed, orthodox medicine paid less attention to constipation. The idea of ‘toxins’ and self -poisoning gradually lost its appeal after it was shown that the symptoms of constipation could be produced by cotton wool and were relieved instantly by evacuation. However, many people remained obsessed with the contents of their bowels and continued to believe firmly in their poisonous nature. Some practitioners of alternative medicine have made this the chief feature of the treatment they offer. For many years the London newspaper, The Times, carried an advertisement for colonic irrigation on its front page. Even in the 1990s advertisements in the popular press suggested ‘A well-balanced diet may not be enough’ and announced that a ‘colon cleanse’ was ‘the natural vegetarian food supplement to form a friendlier, health technology’. A colonic therapist announced that she had treated several thousand people and had ‘only ever seen one healthy colon’. We were told ‘many of us are carrying around between five and twenty pounds of mucus and undischarged debris in our colons’. Mucus in fact is a normal and essential lubricant, produced continually by cells in the lining of the whole of the gut; it is particularly necessary in the colon, where the contents are becoming progressively more solid: the bowel might well become ‘encrusted’ without it. Excess mucus occurs only in some pathological conditions, and makes its presence known in the stools.

In the last quarter of the twentieth century the fashion for colonic irrigation grew, especially among the rich and idle. As one newspaper put it, ‘Where else is there to go anyway, after the facial, the massage, the hairdo and the shops but to a “divine woman I know” who will clean you up and make you feel good on the inside as well?’

The fashion was greatly boosted by royal patronage. When Princess Diana and the Duchess of York took up colonic irrigation, the newspapers became excited. One journalist wrote that it was one of her reader's ‘favourite fantasies along with lesbian mud-wrestling. The typical colonic irrigation scheme involved a Stern Matron character clad in five-inch stiletto boots and face-mask. I find it quite difficult to picture our future Queen in this situation.’ One reporter went to try it and found it delightful: ‘For the next half hour you bask in the most satisfying loo-going experience of your life.’ She quoted one colonic hydrotherapist from the Well Centre, Chelsea; ‘We clean everything else. Why not our insides? It is our encrusted intestines which make us feel lazy and bloated’.

— Ann Dally

See also purging; toilet practices.

Definition

Colonic irrigation is also known as hydrotherapy of the colon, high colonic, entero-lavage, or simply colonic. It is the process of cleansing the colon by passing several gallons of water through it with the use of special equipment. It is similar to an enema but treats the whole colon, not just the lower bowel. This has the effect of flushing out impacted fecal matter, toxins, mucous, and even parasites, which often build up over the passage of time. It is a procedure that should only be undertaken by a qualified practitioner.

Origins

Cleansing the colon with the use of hydrotherapy is not a new concept. Forms of colonic irrigation have been used successfully for decades to relieve chronic toxicity and even acute cases of toxemia.

Benefits

Anyone suffering from gas, bloating, cramping pains, acne and other skin complaints, arthritis, and a list of bowel complaints such as diverticulitis and irritable bowel etc., may benefit from colonic irrigation. In particular, cancer patients are often advised to undertake a course of colonic irrigation sessions as an essential part of their treatment. When a biological cancer therapy begins to enable the body to breakdown a cancerous mass, it is essential that speedy and effective elimination of the resulting toxins is achieved.

Colon and bowel cancer remain among the leading causes of death in the United States, and alternative practitioners suggest that it can be prevented by efficient hygiene procedures. Providing that care is taken to replace the natural organisms that flourish in the bowel, many health benefits can be expected from colonic irrigation. In general, alternative practitioners maintain that an ill-functioning bowel is the source of all disease, and therefore keeping it clean will be an effective protection against disease.

Removing large amounts of toxic matter relieves the patient and can lead to the alleviation of symptoms such as arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, candidiasis, and a host of other illnesses. Properly executed, colonic irrigation can help restore normal peristaltic action to a sluggish bowel, thus reducing the need for more hydrotherapy treatments over time. In addition, removing the layer of fecal matter which coats the intestines in many individuals allows improved assimilation of the nutrients from foods and can alleviate symptoms of vitamin and other nutrient deficiencies. Many alternative health practitioners consider some form of hydrotherapy for the bowel to be essential in the treatment of degenerative diseases.

Description

Over time, many people develop a thick layer of fecal matter that coats their colon. It hardens and becomes impacted, reducing the efficiency of the bowel, and in some cases completely obstruct normal elimination of waste matter from the body. It is quite common for people to only have one bowel movement per day, some as few as one or two per week.

Alternative practitioners advise that we probably should have one bowel movement for every meal that we eat. If not, then we are not eliminating wastes completely, and if input exceeds output, then we will surely suffer the consequences at some point.

Incomplete elimination of body wastes may result in the following, depending on where the deposits end up:

• sluggish system
• joint pain and arthritis
• irritable bowel syndrome
• diverticulitis
• Crohn's disease
• leaky gut syndrome
• heart problem
• migraine
• allergies
• bad breath
• acne and other skin problems such as psoriasis
• asthma
• early senility and Alzheimer's disease
• chronic fatigue syndrome
• cancer, particularly of the bowel
• multiple sclerosis

During colonic irrigation, a small speculum is passed into the patient's bowel through the rectum. This is attached to a tube, which leads to a machine that pumps temperature-controlled water into the colon at a controlled rate (to be controlled by either the practitioner or the patient). The temperature of the water should ideally be kept as close to body temperature as possible.

The patient will temporarily be filled with water up to the level of the entire colon. Patients say they can feel the water up under their ribs but that the process, although sometimes uncomfortable, is not painful. The amount of water will vary but will generally be in the region of between two and six liters (or quarts) at any one time. This triggers peristaltic action and the patient will begin to expel the water along with fecal matter back through the tube and into the machine.

The fecal matter is flushed out through a viewing tube, so that what is eliminated may be monitored. Quite often, unsuspected parasites are expelled, along with very old fecal material, very dark in color, which may have been in the colon for years. Some therapists comment that it looks like aging rubber.

During the treatment, the therapist will gently massage the patient's abdomen to help dislodge impacted fecal matter. In addition to massage, sometimes acupressure, reflexology, or lymphatic drainage techniques may be used to loosen deposits and stimulate the bowel. It is important that the right amount of water is used, as too much will cause discomfort and too little will be ineffective. If correctly done, colonic irrigation is not painful at all and some patients claim to sleep through their treatment.

Sanitation is vital to this process. The tubes and speculums used are generally disposable, but other parts of the machine, such as the viewing tube, must be sterilized after each patient.

Normally, a series of treatments will be required to achieve desired results regarding the elimination of impacted, decaying matter, and restoration of bowel regularity. Initially only gas and recent fecal matter may be expelled. The residue attached to the colon wall is usually the result of years of neglect, and therapists say that one cannot expect complete relief in only one session.

Impacted fecal matter can cause an imbalance of the natural organisms that normally populate the bowel, causing what is known as dysbiosis. Under ideal conditions, the bowel is populated by a variety of naturally occurring organisms. It seems that the enzymes occurring in fresh fruit and vegetables encourage these beneficial organisms. One of the results of eating processed denatured foods is that this natural balance is upset, and food may begin to rot in the bowel instead of being processed.

Decomposing matter can cause a toxic condition and may lead to many health problems, as constipation causes backed up pollution of the body cells. The process of repair and elimination of wastes enters a downward spiral which at best will cause fatigue, lack of energy and premature aging, and at worst can cause degenerative diseases, among them allergies, and even cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

The cost of colonic irrigation treatments varies, but is generally between $35-70 per session, which may last from 45 minutes to one hour. The cost of the machine itself ranges from $4,000-12,000, but again, it should be noted that only qualified therapists should conduct sessions.

Preparations

Most practitioners prefer that distilled or purified water is used for colonic irrigation, but others use sterilized tap water.

Precautions

It may be advisable to use a probiotic pessary after colonic irrigation, to ensure replacement of desirable natural flora. There are certain conditions that either partly or completely preclude the use of colonic irrigation, such as an active attack of Crohn's disease, bleeding ulcers, and hyperacidosis. If in doubt, a qualified practitioner should be consulted. Anyone suffering from these conditions should always notify the practitioner when receiving colonic irrigation treatments.

Side Effects

Some allopathic practitioners claim that colonic irrigation flushes out essential electrolytes and friendly bacteria from the bowel and that it can be dangerous. Practitioners counter that this can easily be remedied with the use of probiotics, and that in any case, these possible disadvantages are easily offset by the benefits of having large amounts of putrefying matter, harmful organisms, and parasites removed from the system.

Research & General Acceptance

Although many alternative health care practitioners swear by colonic irrigation, there is a large allopathic lobby that claims that there are no benefits to be had, and that there are dangers involved. However, there are many decades of records and research from the alternative health care community, which indicate that this therapy may have a valuable place in the treatment of degenerative diseases and toxic conditions.

Training & Certification

Trained technicians usually conduct colonic irrigation sessions.

Resources

Books

Bonk, Melinda, ed. Alternative Medicine Yellow Pages. Tiburon, CA: Future Medicine Publishing, Inc., 1994.

Organizations

California Colon Hygienist Society. 333 Miller Ave., Suite 1, Mill Valley, CA 94941. (415) 383-7224.

Intestinal Health Institute. 4427 East Fifth St., Tucson, AZ 85711. (520) 325-9686. info@sheilas.com. http://www.sheilas.com.

[Article by: Patricia Skinner; Teresa G. Odle]