Should I consider 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.

All About Colitis

Colitis refers to any condition which results in an inflamed colon. There is Ischemic colitis, Crohn’s, even chemically induced colitis (often as a result of medications), and many more. Still, the word is frequently used as a shorthand phrase for ulcerative colitis, one of the more common types of inflammatory bowel disease, as the category is known.

There are both similarities and differences with Crohn’s disease, which it resembles. Crohn’s often exists in isolated spots within the intestine. Ulcerative colitis tends to occur in continuous sections. UC also affects the innermost lining of the large intestine. Crohn’s begins at another layer.

Symptoms of ulcerative colitis include rectal inflammation and sometimes bleeding (when it occurs in the last six inches of the large intestine). Pancolitis, by contrast, affects the entire length of the colon and produces bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. It may also include excessive and unusual weight loss, fatigue, and night sweats.

Colitis, particularly the ulcerative variety, can be a serious condition leading to even more serious complications. Toxic megacolon, for example, produces a paralyzed colon that prevents eliminating gas or having bowel movements. Waste material that isn’t removed can cause the colon to rupture, introducing toxins into the bloodstream and causing peritonitis, just to name two possibilities.

Such an event requires emergency surgery, but even less severe though still serious secondary effects are not uncommon. A perforated colon, severe dehydration, liver disease, or inflammation of the skin or joints are only a few of the possibilities. While it doesn’t cause colon cancer directly, IBD increases the odds somewhat, with the risk rising the longer the condition persists. Even so, only about 10 percent of IBD sufferers go on to contract colon cancer.

Like its ‘cousin’, Crohn’s, the disease produces ulcers in the colon, which account for many of the symptoms listed. Also like that other condition, the cause(s) of the disease are not well understood. Some studies suggest that a bacterium or virus is the culprit and that the disease occurs when the immune system overreacts to fighting it.

Like Crohn’s, heredity plays a large role in who is likely to acquire the disease. The risk is much higher for those with a close relative affected by the condition. Also like Crohn’s, in contrast to many diseases, it tends more often to occur among younger individuals, generally in their 30s.

There are several diagnostic procedures for determining whether any IBD is present. Blood tests check for anemia or signs of infection. A colonoscopy – a procedure that uses a lighted tube inserted into the colon through the rectum – allows a direct inspection of the surface. It also may be used to capture tissue samples that can be analyzed later. Those samples can, for example, be checked for granulomas, which occur in Crohn’s but not ulcerative colitis. X-ray diagnosis is also used, with the patient typically consuming or being flushed with a barium compound to make diseased areas visible.

Treatments range from drug therapy to surgery to removing ulcerated tissue – sometimes in spots, other times in entire sections. Anti-inflammatory drugs like Sulfasalazine or Mesalamine are effective for treatment of symptoms, though they often have undesirable side effects. Corticosteroids may be prescribed for short periods.

Keeping Your Colon Healthy

It’s a myth that 90% of disease starts in the colon. But it’s still true that this section of the large intestine is one major factor in overall health.

Making up most of the five feet or so of the large intestine (along with the rectum, the final six inches), you can help keep yours in top shape with proper diet. That means, this is no myth, adequate fiber. Good sources include bananas, oats, and a wide variety of other foods. Supplements (like Metamucil) can help, when not overused.

Another unfounded health claim is that colon cleansing (also known as irrigation, colon hydrotherapy, or a colonic) is essential to keeping it free of toxins. Toxins can build up in the colon, but that occurs as a result of disease, which disqualifies a person from having a colonic anyway. Seek professional medical attention instead.

On the flip side, when health advocates claim that probiotics aid intestinal health, they are right. The popular yogurt variety Activia, manufactured by Dannon, does have clinically tested and real-world proven benefits. There are lots of others, too. Whether in the form of natural foods, food additives, or supplements probiotics either add or encourage the growth of the beneficial flora that live in the gut and perform a vital role in digestion.

There are, unfortunately, some organisms that can live in the colon that are not helpful. Intestinal parasites the world over account for millions of upset stomachs and worse annually. A variety of protozoans (one-celled animals) and helminths (parasitic intestinal worms) can have health effects that range from mild to fatal.

Some of those organisms are thought to play a role in the development of colon cancer. There are many other contributing factors, some of which are themselves produced by bacteria, such as ulcers, Crohn’s disease, and many more.

Less serious conditions, like irritable bowel syndrome, can still produce unpleasant symptoms, even when they don’t represent a serious ailment. Bloating and painful spasms are only two among many. To make matters a little more obscure, as is often the case in health issues, those same symptoms are present in more serious conditions like colitis, diverticulitis, and ulcers.

In order to distinguish one intestinal ailment from another, physicians will often perform a colonoscopy, frequently in conjunction with other diagnostic procedures. In a colonoscopy, a long tube is inserted into the intestine to allow for direct visual examination.

That exam and its results can be supplemented by X-rays taken after ingesting or flushing with a barium liquid (a mildly radioactive compound that provides a contrast dye for the images). To check things out from the other end, doctors may perform an endoscopy, including using a very clever pill (called a capsule endoscope) containing a tiny camera that takes photos on its way through the digestive tract.

Fortunately, you can do a great deal to judge (and promote) your own colon health. Proper diet, appropriate exercise, and maintaining a good attitude will go along way toward that, while promoting overall well being. And that’s no fairy tale.

What is Crohn’s Disease?

Crohn’s disease is one among many digestive disorders in which the lining becomes inflamed. That inflammation produces ulcers (lesions or open sores in the lining) that produce abdominal pain and diarrhea. It is often progressive and leads to even more serious health consequences.

The cause(s) of the disease are not known, but an abnormal immune system response to a bacterium (known as MAP or Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis) is suspected. Despite the lack of a clear cut culprit several risk factors are known. Diet and stress can affect the course and impact of the disease but have been ruled out as causes.

Genetics is near the top of the list, not surprisingly given the immune system response aspect of the disease. Roughly 20% of those with Crohn’s have a parent or close relative similarly afflicted. Those with an affected sibling are 30 times more likely to develop Crohn’s than the general population. Unlike many diseases, Crohn’s tends to occur in younger people, usually between the ages of 20-30.

The intestinal inflammation of the disease produces diarrhea by causing cells to secrete large amounts of salt and water. The colon is unable to absorb all this fluid (part of its natural role in the digestive system). The result is diarrhea.

One effect is swelling of the intestinal tissue and scaring as the ulcers heal. That results in less efficient movement of the chyme (the semi-fluid mass of digested food) through the colon. The effects are felt as cramping and abdominal pain. In more advanced or severe cases nausea and vomiting are common. Bloody stool is common, as well, as moving chyme causes inflamed tissue to rupture, allowing blood to flow into the colon. The ulcers can become enlarged, moving deep into intestinal tissue, worsening the problem.

The net result, apart from the pain, is often reduced appetite and unhealthy weight loss. The symptoms lead to a desire not to eat, but the weight loss is exacerbated by less efficient digestion of food. In extreme circumstances such low intake and absorption of calories and nutrients leads to many secondary consequences.

Diagnosis is fairly straightforward. Blood tests check for anemia and during a colonoscopy a physician can see the distinctive signs directly. A biopsy (tissue samples that can be removed during the procedure) are used to confirm the presence of Crohn’s.

A less invasive procedure known as a flexible sigmoidoscopy uses a lighted tube to examine only the lower two feet of the colon and rectum while a colonoscopy involves inserting a tube all the way into the intestine. It takes only a few minutes to complete.

A physician may recommend a barium enema as well. A safe, mildly radioactive barium fluid is introduced into the colon where it provides a contrast dye for an X-ray. The fluid coats the lining of the intestine to create a silhouette of the colon and rectum. In a variation, X-rays can also be taken if the patient ingests the barium fluid.

A more modern diagnostic procedure, known as capsule endoscopy, involves swallowing a tiny camera in the form of a pill, which makes its way down the digestive tract. It takes photos along the way, which the physician examines.

Unfortunately, there is no cure known for Crohn’s disease as yet, but drug therapy to reduce inflammation is a common treatment. Surgery has helped many afflicted by removing ulcerated tissue (sometimes sections of the bowel), reducing symptoms. Unlike ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s infected tissue may occur in spots with healthy tissue in between, not throughout an entire length. That allows for a more targeted repair of affected tissue.