The bottom line: ThePost.ie


TCH Archives > Sunday Business Post > 2007/01/28 > The bottom line

The bottom line
Sunday, January 28, 2007 - By Fiona Ness
The ancient Egyptians did it. Hypocrates did it. Cornflake mogul John H Kellogg did it and up until the 1940s even British hospitals did it. It’s the best-kept secret since Botox. Everybody’s curious about it, but few will admit to having tried it because, in the words of one Dublin GP: ‘‘Who would want to let a stranger stick a tube up their bottom?”

What is it? Colonic irrigation - flushing out the large intestine of compacted body waste.

The practice is based around the ancient theory of ‘autointoxication’, which proposes that intestinal waste products that aren’t excreted can poison the body and are a major contributor to many diseases.

The theory was popular in the 19th century, when ‘the wisdom of the bowel’ promoted a reliance on enemas to prevent the onset of poor health and cure illness.

As medical science progressed, it turned its back on the procedure, stating that it was a useless and potentially dangerous practice.

However, with the resurgence of alternative medicine and naturopathic procedures, colonic irrigation is experiencing something of a renaissance as a method of treating primary bowel conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and constipation, and secondary conditions concerning skin and lungs. It is reputed to increase circulation, promote a clear complexion, increase energy and relieve headaches, arthritis and allergies.

Call it colonic irrigation, hydrotherapy, lavage or enema, our Dublin GP calls it ‘‘quackery! Complete quackery!” Yet its practitioners oppose this view, offering many theories and anecdotal evidence in support of its efficacy.

So is the testimony of colonic irrigation’s many satisfied users merely a triumph of ignorance over science?

In the popular television series, You Are What You Eat, Dr Gillian McKeith aims to make fat people thin by turning around their eating habits, their taste buds and their thinking about food. McKeith sends everyone for colonics, and isn’t afraid to talk about it.

‘‘It’s important to be clean on the inside as well as on the outside ... these people desperately need a hose up their backside, believe you me. They need a vacuum cleaner as well,” the ‘queen of colonics’ rants.

McKeith, while undoubtedly giving a lot of good nutritional advice, also pushes the idea that by expanding our awareness of our body’s functioning we can treat many illnesses.

Her ‘Dr’ title suggests that when she talks colonics, a nation that would do anything (rather than exercise and stop eating) to become healthier, pays attention. However, McKeith doesn’t have a first degree in any scientific subject.

Her ‘medical’ qualifications come in the form of a paid-for Masters and a PhD in Holistic Nutrition from the American Holistic College of Nutrition (now Clayton College).

So what do the medical doctors say? Another Dublin doctor, Dr John Fleetwood, says he rarely suggests to people ‘‘that perhaps it [colonic irrigation] might help’’. He acknowledges that the medical world doesn’t look upon the practice with great relish and says the side effects can range from irritation to perforation of the bowel.

Other catalogued complications include infection from dirty instruments and fluid absorption leading to heart failure.

‘‘Some people swear by it, but I’m sure there is a large placebo effect. For many bowel problems, colonic irrigation is the last thing you should have.

“But for lesser conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, what can work for one person may not work for someone else.

‘‘I have an open mind, to a limited degree. I think the procedure is fine, as long as it doesn’t do any damage. But if a patient presented with, say, inflammatory bowel disease, and asked about colonic irrigation, I would actively tell them not to go.”

According to Dr Geraldine O’Dowd, a Glasgow pathologist, there is little written about the procedure in medical literature, beyond very occasional personal views and comments by doctors, which she says are ‘‘all negative’’.

‘‘It isn’t uncommon for doctors to refer patients for alternative therapies, even if there is no evidence of efficacy, but this is generally limited to areas in which there is some system of regulation and accountability, and ideally where there is no evidence of serious harm to patients.”

O’Dowd says the problem with colonic irrigation isn’t the evidence of benefit or lack of it, but the complete lack of regulation of the area, meaning that it is difficult for patients to obtain redress if something goes wrong.’ ‘I haven’t personally dealt with anyone who has suffered a serious complication as a result, but I have a colleague who saw a patient who required major abdominal surgery following perforation and then developed various postoperative problems.”

Sinead Gallagher, colonic hydrotherapist and registered nurse of Renew Aesthetic Clinic in Dublin, is also concerned about the lack of regulation.

While she stresses that people working in the area need not necessarily hold a medical qualification, she says those interested in the procedure should ensure their therapist has a certificate from the Colonic Hydrotherapy Institute of Ireland and hold an anatomy and physiology qualification.

The institute, run by Dublin hydrotherapist Anne McDevitt, is affiliated to the British Association of Colon Hydrotherapists.

According to its website, the association requires that members should be ‘‘pre-qualified as a medical doctor, nurse or in a substantial complementary therapy’’.

‘‘As a nurse, I understand the medical aspects behind undergoing colonic and the contraindications for why someone shouldn’t have it done,” says Gallagher. ‘‘For example, if a client has been on steroids, the wall of the bowel will be thinner and I wouldn’t perform the treatment.

‘‘The procedure is not to be used to treat cancer or sufferers of inflammatory bowel disease or Crohn’s disease, but it is useful for IBS and constipation. I have no doubt it will become a mainstream treatment over time.”

Gallagher says there is pressure for the area to be regulated in Britain, and Ireland will follow suit - but not any time soon.

A colonic irrigation treatment by Gallagher involves a biology and nutrition lesson too, as the nurse explains the workings of the colon and why it is important to keep it operating regularly.

The end portion of the human digestive tract that carries food from the mouth to the anus, the colon is around five feet long and two and a half inches in diameter. Its major function is to eliminate waste and conserve water. It also contains bacteria that absorb valuable nutrients such as vitamin Kand B complex.

A healthy adult, she says, should have one bowel movement a day, and a colonic treatment can help regulate a sluggish bowel. According to Gallagher, long-term constipation may, over a period of time, be a factor in bowel cancer.

O’Dowd counters, saying that although there is some evidence to suggest chronic constipation is associated with the risk of colorectal cancer, there is no evidence that colonic irrigation protects against the problem.

During the colonic irrigation, Gallagher gently flushes around 15 gallons of water into the large intestine over a period of 45 minutes. She uses stomach massage to relieve pockets of air and allow the water to work on the areas of impacted waste. Over a period of three sessions, the water will travel further up the colon to work on areas of greater waste build up.

Once the impacted waste is removed, Gallagher says the colon can operate as it was intended to.

To cleanse the colon, Gallagher performs three colonics one week apart, and then one every six months as a top-up.

She recommends clients take the bacteria acidophilus to balance the level of healthy bacteria in the bowel. She also recommends the use of linseed on cereals to promote regular bowel habits.

Gallagher is not the only medical professional who believes in the treatment; the clinic has had referrals from GPs and a hospital consultant.

Search the VHI website and the procedure appears as a complementary therapy aimed at regulating bowel function, with links offered to certified colon therapists.

So is it complete quackery, or a panacea for a wide variety of health and diet-related problems?

If you’re convinced that your colon doesn’t know how to do its job, there are plenty of reputable therapists out there who believe they can help. But do yourself a favour, and keep it to yourself.

For further information see the National Association of Colonic Therapists – www.colonic-association.org; Renew Aesthetic clinic, Dublin, www.renewclinic.ie; VHI Healthcare – www.vhi.ie; www.holistic.ie; the Medicosmetic Centre, Dublin, www.medicosmeticcentre.com