Colonic Irrigation

From SkepticWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

[edit] Definition

Colonic Irrigation, also known as Colon Hydrotherapy or High Colonic, involves the low-pressure injection of water into the colon for cleansing purposes. Purveyors of alternative medicine, particularly naturopaths, often recommend this procedure to flush toxins out of the body. They claim that anything from candy to red meat to chewing gum can get stuck in the colon for years, causing problems.

The stated purpose for colonic irrigation is based on the idea of autointoxication, whereby material left in the colon supposedly causes the buildup of toxins and their subsequent leaking into the blood stream. It is also stated that this buildup can last for months or years and prevent the normal detoxifying functions of the colon from working properly.

They also say that parasites can be left in the colon, leaching off of the body's vital fluids.

Others say colonic irrigation can help with irregularity and constipation.

[edit] Discussion

Laxatives and enemas have been used for centuries to induce bowel motions, but colonic cleaning is a more invasive procedure involving the rectum, hoses, gallons of water and, for some, considerable discomfort.

Possibly as a result of increased awareness regarding hygiene and concerns about proper sewage disposal, 19th century doctors came up with the theory of colonic autointoxication. The intestines were thought of as a sewage system and that constipation resulted in the formation of a cesspool within the body. Here, food wastes would putrefy and become poisonous. The theory stated that the toxins would then be reabsorbed through the intestinal walls. Some scientists claimed that constipation caused fecal matter to solidify onto the intestinal walls thus preventing the absorption of nutrients.

American John Harvey Kellogg was a leading advocate for the theory of autointoxication and is said to have developed whole-grain cereals to promote regular bowel movements.

The concept of autointoxication was effectively abandoned after scientific observations proved it to be wrong. It was clearly demonstrated that symptoms of headache, fatigue, and loss of appetite that accompanied fecal impaction were caused by mechanical distension of the colon rather than by production or absorption of toxins. Observation of the colon during surgical procedures or autopsies found no evidence that hardened fecal matter accumulated on the intestinal walls. Critics noted that if the walls were prevented from absorbing nutrients, toxins should also be blocked, yet the theory requires that toxins get through to cause ill-health.

Careful testing found that those symptoms associated with constipation and attributed to 'autointoxication—headache' (fatigue, loss of appetite and irritability) were the result of distension of the colon rather than by production or absorption of toxins. The reason was therefore mechanical, not chemical.

There is just no evidence for the existence of any of the stated problems, with the exception of irregularity and constipation, and in the case of irregularity it isn't even a problem.

In a normal colon free from diverticulosis, there is no evidence whatsoever that fecal matter can build up for days, let alone years. There is no evidence that toxins or parasites in the stool can "leak" into the blood stream or any other part of the body.

Even if that were true, there's no evidence that colonic irrigation could flush out the material when normal bodily movements wouldn't.

Regularity refers simply to the frequency of bowel movements. No health problems have been associated with problems of regularity, except in extreme cases where more than a week occurs between bowel movements, and even in this case it is merely a symptom of greater problems. Even if colonic irrigation had been shown to increase regularity (and it hasn't), there would simply be no health benefits to doing so.

The purpose of the colon is twofold: 1) to carry undigested waste from the small intestine to the rectum, and 2) to absorb minerals and water from the body. The stool is the result of all of this activity. Perfectly healthy individuals with proper eating habits can vary in their regularity of bowel movements; some have several movements a day, others once a day, still others can go for days without a movement and still have nothing wrong with them.

Constipation is determined not by the frequency of movements but the hardness of the stool. It is generally accompanied by straining to pass bowel and discomfort and even soreness in the rectum. It is generally caused by one of two things: dietary problems, including lack of sufficient fluids or fiber (dehydration can also play a role here), or muscular issues, which can be a result of function impairments due to injury or disease, or could be a related issue such as the pain associated with hemorrhoids.

There is some evidence that colonic irrigation, while doing nothing to cure the cause of constipation, could soften an individual stool, thus loosening it to pass easily. However, such a minor benefit would hardly be worth the risks involved.

[edit] Health Risks

There are many dangers associated with colonic irrigation techniques. The first is that the presence of the tube often causes discomfort which can lead to severe cramping and pain. For this reason, gastrointerologists avoid doing colonoscopies unless medically necessary for treatment, and even then the patient is mildly sedated. They also make sure the procedure is performed as quickly as possible. Practitioners of colonic irrigations generally do not follow these precautions.

A more severe problem with colonic irrigation is the possibility of infection. Great care must be taken to sterilize the equipment between procedures; if this isn't successfully done then germs can be transferred from one person to the next. This can lead to an outbreak of possibly fatal disease. In one case, 36 people who received colonic irrigations contracted amebiasis, and six of them died from perforated bowels. Other cases of heart failure and electrolyte imbalance have also been reported.

Another huge risk is the possibility of contaminants entering the body. A tiny amount of toxins in the water used to irrigate the colon can be fatal even if such an amount would hardly do anything if ingested orally.

Practitioners of colonic irrigation are not licensed, are not required to be trained, and the equipment is not required to be inspected. Even if the practitioner is a fully licensed physician, it can still be a very risky procedure with no real benefits.

If one does need to flush out the colon, an increase in fluids and fiber can be much more effective, while being both safe and inexpensive. There are also much safer, more effective, and cheaper over-the-counter treatments for constipation available.

[edit] References

Retrieved from "http://skepticwiki.org/index.php/Colonic_Irrigation"
Personal tools