colon health - Colon Irrigation, Pros and Cons

Colon cleansing, irrigation, colon hydrotherapy... there are many names for the procedure. They all come down to the same thing. A fluid is introduced into the colon through the anus in order to flush out the large intestine. Advocates sometimes claim it's among the most healthful procedures around. Critics disagree, some saying it's positively harmful. What does research say?

The practice has been researched for decades and the general consensus is that colonics have few or none of the health benefits claimed. Whether it does actual harm depends, not surprisingly, on personal circumstances, including how the procedure is carried out.

In the usual setting, a person dons a loose fitting, hospital-style gown and lies on a table. A therapist then opens the anus with a disposable speculum and inserts a plastic tube. Fluid, sometimes purified water, other times water with salts or other compounds, is put gently up through the rectum and into the colon. The resulting mixture then drains out through the tube and is disposed of hygienically.

Even following best practices, though, there is little scientific evidence for the claims some advocates make. Colons very rarely become impacted with feces and normal digestive processes do a very good job of eliminating waste material. When that process breaks down it is the result of disease that is not caused by the impaction nor cured by a colon hydrotherapy.

The basic hypothesis on which the practice is based is equally faulty. Studies do not support the notion that 'toxins' are retained by or build up in the large intestine that can only be removed by colon hydrotherapy. The body has several natural mechanisms for preventing that, or curing it if it were to happen.

Of course, intestinal diseases do occur - ranging from Crohn's disease to colorectal cancer. But the presence of these conditions disqualifies a person from being a candidate for irrigation anyway. No reputable therapist will knowingly give such a person a colonic.

Still, done properly, it is a very low risk procedure and many experience benefits. Those benefits may be chiefly psychological (a result of 'feeling clean') but they are no less real for all that. Extreme care is warranted, however. An improperly performed colonic can do harm even when it doesn't actually rupture anything.

Clearly, the digestive system has evolved to work normally as a one-way process. Introducing water up through the anus can flush out some material, but it is material that would have come out anyway. It is also not a proper treatment for intestinal parasites, as some practitioners of alternative medicine claim.

Some individuals who undergo the procedure can experience abdominal discomfort, or even nausea, for several hours afterward. In rare cases, it's possible to cause kidney damage if, for example, a laxative like sodium phosphate is used in the irrigating fluid.

Like any therapeutic procedure, it's always advisable to check with your physician beforehand. Then, be guided by professional medical advice, not the claims of some Internet article... including this one.