Medical Journalist Report
Value of Colon Hydrotherapy Verified by Medical Professionals
by Morton Walker, DPM
©Copyright 2000 by Dr. Morton Walker
From the signal stage of history surrounding ancient
Egypt, practices of colon hydrotherapy in their most basic form – enemas
or clysters – have provided people with internal cleansings adjunctive
to their personal external hygiene. The Ebers Papyrus, from the 14th
century B.C. prescribes internal cleansing for no less than twenty stomach
and intestinal complaints.1
But in the modern era it fell to J. H. Kellogg, MD,
of Battle Creek, Michigan, famous for his invention of corn flakes and
various techniques of good hygiene, to popularize colon hydrotherapy.
This happened from Dr. Kellogg’s publication of his article in the Journal
of the American Medical Association praising the procedure’s efficacy
for saving a dysfunctional large bowel.2
That descriptive article was the impetus for advancement
of a highly beneficial therapeutic method which has since flourished
and found medical recognition among enlightened health professionals
in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. Enthusiastic
expressions of approval for colon hydrotherapy are undeniable medical
endorsements for this significant complementary treatment which removes
metabolic waste from the large bowel without applying toxic agents of
any kind.
Board Certified Gastrointestinal Surgeon Dr. Leonard
Smith Endorses Colon Hydrotherapy
Thirty years ago, Leonard Smith, M.D., of Gainsville,
Florida graduated from medical school and eventually became board certified
in general surgery by the American College of Surgery. For more than
25 years Dr. Smith has practiced as a specialist in gastrointestinal
surgery. He has dealt with all types of colon difficulties, including
operations for colon cancer, colon diverticulitis, appendicitis, hemorrhoids,
and numbers of other internal organ problems.
“I am very well acquainted with the colon’s functions,
and my true belief is that colon hydrotherapy is the perfect cleansing
medium for preparing the patient for colonoscopy. It’s a much better
way of getting the human colon ready for an operation than having a
patient swallow a gallon of that presurgery solution known as ‘Colon-Go-Lytely.’
Instead, colon hydrotherapy allows the patient to avoid this solution’s
noxious side effects of vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and
other troubles,” Dr. Smith says.
“Moreover, seriously ill patients tend to be chronically
constipated which results in generalized toxemia. It turns out that
colon hydrotherapy is the gentlest and most effective treatment for
a constipation problem. My recommendation for cancer patients is that
they should undergo frequent colon hydrotherapy procedures to make sure
the colon’s toxic burden is being kept at a minimum while their bodies
are trying to heal,” affirms Dr. Smith. “While not a substitute for
eating a high fiber diet, those cancer patients who take colon hydrotherapy
often experience the elimination of their aches and pains, improvement
of appetite, and they tolerate a tough healing process better.
“I also believe that normally healthy people will find
it valuable to take colon hydrotherapy every couple of months in order
to experience how well one feels when the colon is truly empty. It’s
a fact that most people fail to fully evacuate the colon, something
they don’t realize. People undergoing colon hydrotherapy on a prevention
basis, are quite surprised at how much waste is removed by the procedure,”
Dr. Smith says.
“Without reservation, my wish is to see it become an
established procedure for many kinds of gastrointestinal problems. If
medical centers, hospitals, and clinics installed colon hydrotherapy
departments, they would find such departments just as efficacious for
patients as their present treatment areas which are devoted to physiotherapy,”
states Leonard Smith, MD “Such is my belief, and I do endorse this therapeutic
program.”
Colon Hydrotherapy Corrects Constipation
“One of my more significant cases was Tommy, an eight-year-old
boy with the most awful constipation anyone could imagine,” says former
general surgeon and emergency medicine specialist Paul Flashner, MD,
of Wellesley, Massachusetts. Observing their superior results for his
patients, Dr. Flashner has recently adapted his treatment techniques
almost completely to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). He
has most definitely incorporated colon hydrotherapy as a regular CAM
technique.
“Tommy’s constipation was really bad. He never had a
bowel movement for a week at a time. Recognizing the dangers of physiological
toxicity, his parents took their son for consultation with numerous
gastroenterologists. The child had been subjected to colonoscopy a dozen
times, but nothing could be found as the source of his blockage. Laxatives
hardly helped at all. There was no diagnosis except that he suffered
severely from constipation,” confirms Dr. Flashner. “Then the parents
found their way to me so that the boy might undergo examination and
treatment one more time.
“I improved the child’s diet and removed all junk foods.
Then I instigated an exercise program, had him drink lots of water,
balanced his colonic flora, and added fiber food supplements. But most
vital for Tommy’s welfare is that he took colon hydrotherapy under my
prescription. The beneficial effect was dramatic, for within six months
he was experiencing a natural and normal bowel movement every day. No
laxatives were involved in his progress,” states Dr. Flashner. “Now
the child does not need to consult me anymore; he still continues his
colon hydrotherapy. He did this once a month for six months, and currently
he undergoes the cleansing just four times a year. It’s now two years
and Tommy remains in excellent physical condition.
“Colon hydrotherapy is the perfect specific procedure
to eliminate constipation and restore normal bowel function. My approach
to medical practice is to balance the GI tract using stool testing.
I find various pathologies relating to bacteria, yeast, parasites, and
other organisms of this nature. A lot of disease comes from imbalances
in the colon, as manifested by inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative
colitis, autoimmune diseases, allergies, multiple sclerosis, and certainly
constipation. Such imbalances can be corrected by means of colon hydrotherapy,
herbal supplements, and diet,” says Dr. Paul Flashner. “There is no
question about the huge difference a health professional can bring to
the patient by utilizing colon hydrotherapy plus other complementary
and alternative methods of healing.”
Giving Colon Hydrotherapy is Standard Procedure for
Sharda Sharma, MD
Located in Millburn, New Jersey as a primary care physician
for nearly 26 years, Sharda Sharma, M.D., dispenses medical care of
a multi-disciplinary nature to her patients. Dr. Sharma employs colon
hydrotherapy, chelation therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, Reiki
manipulative therapy, and much more. She treats the body as a whole
(holistically).
“I have trained and certified colon hydrotherapists
working as part of my staff. Under my supervision for the past year-and-a-half
they have been treating constipation, abdominal cramps, allergies, and
a variety of other conditions, including ten patients with hepatitis
C. These hepatitis patients respond to colon hydrotherapy and do well,”
assures Dr. Sharma. “For instance, Felicia, a 42 year-old high school
teacher, had suffered with constipation – no bowel movements for six
days at a stretch. She was bloated, fatigued, lethargic, headachy, and
crampy. My treatment choice for her was enzyme supplements and colon
hydrotherapy twice weekly for thirteen weeks. These treatments solved
the constipation problem for Felicia.
“Colon hydrotherapy is excellent as a treatment for
the yeast syndrome. A very anxious 50 year-old female, Sara Audrey,
consulted me because she was running to the toilet every two hours with
either diarrhea or attempting to find relief from constipation. It turns
out that she had irritable bowel syndrome complicated by candidiasis.
During the administration of colon hydrotherapy, I observed that she
was loaded with Candida albicans. I recognized the white yeast
organisms floating through the transparent tube of the colon flushing
device,” says Dr. Sharma. “But the patient is now in fine shape – much
relieved. She has good bowel movements twice daily with no gas. This
is typical of almost all patients undergoing colon hydrotherapy.”
Dr. Michael Gerber Uses Colon Hydrotherapy Routinely
“I’ve had a colon hydrotherapy device in my office for
25 years,” states Michael Gerber, MD, of Reno, Nevada. “My present staff
person who dispenses colon hydrotherapy under my jurisdiction uses it
for all types of patient difficulties. The basic concepts of the science
has not changed much in the last 25 years; however, the colon hydrotherapy
equipment has improved immensely. How the equipment works so effectively
is nothing short of astounding. Registered with the FDA, current colon
hydrotherapy equipment is safe. It contains temperature-controlled water
mixing and back flow prevention valves, plus pressure and temperature
sensors, and built-in chemical sanitizing units. Water purification
units frequently are installed as well. Disposable single-use rectal
tubes, and/or speculae are employed routinely for sterility.
“Undergoing a session of colon hydrotherapy allows comfort
and cleansing with no toxicity. Techniques utilized allow a small amount
of water to flow into the colon gently stimulating the colon’s natural
peristaltic action to release softened waste,” Dr. Gerber advises. “The
inflow of a small amount of water and the release of waste may be repeated
again and again. The removal of such waste encourages better colon function
and elimination.
“The benefits of colon hydrotherapy extend all the way
from psychiatric improvement to constipation elimination,” Dr. Michael
Gerber affirms.
Colon Hydrotherapy Reduces Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Joshua Heinermann, the 66 year-old chief executive officer
for Virginia Chemicals Corporation of Chesapeake, Virginia, had been
suffering severely from prostate gland enlargement (benign prostatic
hyperplasia or BPH). For four years his symptoms had been building steadily,
and now they were affecting his ability to function in his administrative
position. The executive’s night-time urinary urgency (nocturia) came
with such frequency, Mr. Heinermann found himself perpetually fatigued
during daytime business meetings. His need to sleep lay on him like
a blanket, and he felt as if his mind was encased in cotton batting.
To confront the problem, the CEO finally consulted a urologist located
in his city.
In practice for over 60 years as a specialist in urological
problems for both men and women, Emil S. Sayegh, M.D., of Chesapeake,
Virginia is 88 years of age. Over the six decades of his medical practice,
Dr. Sayegh has been consulted by a particularly large number of male
clientele who have sought his help in correcting BPH and prostatitis.
“These two common medical difficulties are closely associated
with having weak abdominal muscles,” explains the board certified urologist.
“Those men possessing flaccid and weak abdominal muscles experience
enormous pressures on their bladders which never let up. The supportive
muscles and other erectile tissues surrounding the bladder fail to do
the jobs required. The pressure of the bladder’s rectal sigmoid is so
severe that any amount of stool in that area is going to make urine
passage very difficult. Whether urine is present or not, the need for
these men to void becomes overwhelming.”
During the past 15 years Dr. Sayegh has made use of
colon hydrotherapy which solves his patients’ prostate pathologies almost
every time. “Cleaning the colon markedly assists the functioning of
the male bladder and prostate organs. Colon hydrotherapy given to men
at two-week intervals for three times to start and then maintained every
four weeks for an unlimited period does resolve prostatitis and benign
prostatic hyperplasia,” states Emil S. Sayegh, MD. “>From my files,
I can offer up several hundred case studies which testify to that fact.”
Cancer Patients Improve from Receiving Colon Treatment
“I have found over the years that cancer patients who
are not doing well usually are toxic and not being cleansed. They certainly
are in need of colon hydrotherapy,” advises oncologist and homeopath
Douglas Brodie, MD, of Reno, Nevada. Dr. Brodie has developed CAM methods
for treating cancer and other degenerative diseases aimed at strengthening
the immune system. He emphasizes natural approaches to these conditions
with colon hydrotherapy being among them.
“I do recommend that most of my cancer patients take
colon hydrotherapy or ‘colonic irrigations’ because they often improve
by having such treatment. Liver cancer in particular shows benefit from
colon hydrotherapy, but any internal tumors show effectual change too,”
Dr. Brodie says. “It’s better than an enema, which is merely a lower
bowel cleanse, as opposed to a colonic which is a thorough cleanse of
the entire bowel. It’s similar to comparing the diagnostic efficacy
of a sigmoidoscopy of the short end of the bowel to a colonoscopy which
takes in the whole bowel. An enema only goes so far. Colon hydrotherapy
is the best cleansing and detoxifier for the gastrointestinal tract
that anybody would want. I do promote its use.”
Conditions for Which Colon Hydrotherapy is Effective
Maintaining a rheumatology practice for the past 24
years in Long Branch, New Jersey, Arthur E. Brawer, MD, is an enthusiastic
proponent of colon hydrotherapy for a variety of health problems. He
cites this treatment in his recently published book, Holistic Harmony.
++ BEGIN SIDEBAR++
Conditions Responding to Colon Hydrotherapy Cited
by Rheumatologist Arthur E. Brawer, MD
“Colon hydrotherapy eliminates from the bowel the accumulated
waste material which may get absorbed. If this absorption takes place,
it overwhelms the other purification organs such as the liver, the kidneys,
the skin, and the lungs. The toxin deposition which becomes lodged throughout
the body’s tissues and cells becomes capable of triggering a variety
of illnesses,” says rheumatologist Dr. Arthur E. Brawer. “There’s lots
of them.” Some disease indications for colon hydrotherapy are:
Allergies Arthritis Asthma
Acne Attention Deficit Disorder
Memory Lapses Hypertension Body Odor
Brittle Hair Brittle Nails Chronic Fatigue
Cold Hands & Feet Colitis Spastic Colon
Constipation Fibromyalgia Headaches
Irritable Bowel Mouth Sores Multiple Sclerosis
Nausea Peripheral Neuropathies Peptic Ulcer
Pot Belly Poor Posture Seizures
Muscle Pain Joint Aches Chest Pain
Skin Rashes Toxic Environmental Exposure
Pigmentation Toxic Occupational Exposure
++END SIDEBAR++
“Silicone breast implant exposure which results in disease
symptoms responds very well to colon hydrotherapy. I am in the center
of this silicone breast implant controversy by having consulted with
over 500 women from around the world for the toxic exposure caused by
such implantation. I’ve given testimony as an expert witness before
the United States Congress on this issue along with advising the Department
of Health and Human Services, the FDA, and consultants to the President,
the Vice-president, the Director of Women’s Health at the White House,
and the United Nations. I use colon hydrotherapy for the treatment of
such silicone toxicity, since it does work to chelate silicone out of
the body,” states Dr. Brawer. “Let me explain.
“>From day one of implantation, silicone micromolecules
disperse throughout the body because the pore size (the porosity) of
the envelope or shell enclosing the implant is larger than most of the
silicone molecules contained inside. Thus, the disease symptoms derived
from silicone toxicity is not dependent on envelope rupture. Symptoms
begin immediately! In other words, the molecules of silicone travel
through the membrane osmotically and become microdispersed throughout
the body by means of the lymphatic system,” explains Dr. Brawer.
“Now realize that the connective tissue or collagen
in each person’s body requires silicone as an essential component in
order to provide the body with proper architectual structure such as
for tendons, ligaments, nerve sheaths, and everything else. Silicone
makes up the glue which holds the skin together, gives substance to
the organs, act as regulators, signal transmitters, and so forth. It
functions as an integral part of metabolism and physiology. Thus, all
tissues are dependent on silicone as an essential ingredient,” Dr. Brawer
says. “But given in excess as a leaking silicone breast implant, there
is only one place the excess may be dumped or stored by the body – into
its connective tissue. When that happens a whole litany of complaints
occur: joint pains, dry eyes, fatigue, memory lapses, skin rashes and
pigmentations, chest pain, muscle aches, drug intolerance, odor and
smell sensitivity to hair sprays, room fresheners, deodorants, and more
(see sidebar).
“So the silicone molecules become stuck in the body’s
glue, and they cannot be removed by use of medications or supplemental
nutrients or diet. Only certain techniques may be applied to detoxify
the body: colon hydrotherapy is perhaps the best way and also working
as detoxifiers are Ayurvedic medicine, hyperthermia, steam baths, saunas,
oxygen therapy, and the energy-based therapies such as Reiki and Qigong.
Any dietary approach has to be more an exclusionary basis – take the
patient off of processed foods and have them eat organic,” confirms
Dr. Brawer. “But of all the treatments for symptoms coming from silicone
breast implants, I find colon hydrotherapy to be one of the mainstays
that offer relief.”
Colon Hydrotherapy is Like Cleaning Baked Lasagna
from a Pan
According to Pamela Whitney, ND, baked lasagna may be
used as a metaphor for colon cleansing. Dr. Whitney, educational director
for the New England Health Institute, is a naturopathic physician who
practices her profession in two locations, Braintree, Massachusetts
and Stowe, Vermont. Here is how she describes the physical action of
colon hydrotherapy:
“If ever you’ve baked a lasagna and then attempted to
sanitize the messy, left-over lasagna pan, you know the difficulty with
getting it clean. For sponging such a food-caked pan it’s usual for
cooks to soak the pan overnight. Then they find that swabbing it the
next day is easy. Colon hydrotherapy accomplishes the same ease of cleansing
on the inside of one’s bowel. Using hydrotherapy, the colon’s walls
constantly get flushed with clear fluid, which serves to remove mucous
plus some of their longstanding, caked-on fecal matter which contains
hidden bacteria, parasites, Candida albicans-filled pockets,
and other such pathological materials.”
From its home office located in San Antonio, Texas,
literature furnished by the International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy
or I-ACT (see the Resource section) defines colon hydrotherapy as a
safe, effective method of removing waste from the large intestine, without
the use of drugs. By introducing pure, filtered and temperature-regulated
water into the colon, the human waste is softened and loosened, resulting
in evacuation through natural peristalsis. This flushing process usually
is repeated a few times during a therapeutic session.
Colon hydrotherapy is best used in combination with
adequate nutrient and fluid intake as well as with exercise. The modern
and sophisticated technology applied today, manufactured through compliance
with strict FDA guidelines, promotes both safety and sanitation of the
procedure.
Dr. Pamela Whitney advises that her healing program
for almost any condition frequently involves prescribing colon hydrotherapy.
“I almost always refer my patient to undertake colon cleansing as the
first part of my treatment. I do this for purposes of detoxification,
since most people possess toxic bowels which may result in either constipation
or diarrhea – both coming from the same sources of toxicity,” she says.
“The patients’ toxins tend to kick back to their bloodstreams to perpetuate
numerous pathologies such as candidiasis, allergies, chronic fatigue,
and other symptoms coming from a recirculation of accumulated physiological
poisons.
“I use the services of at least three skilled colon
hydrotherapists who practice near to my two offices. I don’t know of
any patient receiving colon hydrotherapy who has not benefited from
it. Certainly the treatment will get a sluggish bowel refunctioning
again. In my judgment, the action of just one colon hydrotherapy is
an experience equivalent to someone undergoing 20 coffee enemas,” says
Dr. Whitney. “What we eat, the processed foods such as breads, pastas,
sugars, and refined desserts hit the gastrointestinal tract like a glue
which becomes nearly indigestible. A prime source of allergies to wheat
and other flour products is this flour made into a kind of mucilage
by being mixed with saliva. This glue-like substance sticks on the walls
of the GI tract and slows down the metabolic rate. Thereafter, constipation
with inflammation can develop, but colon hydrotherapy solves such a
problem.”
As is obvious, Dr. Pamela Whitney is a great advocate
of colon hydrotherapy, which she prescribes as a standard part of her
treatment.
A Gastroenterologist Prescribes Colon Hydrotherapy
Board certified as a gastroenterologist since 1972,
Robert Charm, MD, of Walnut Creek, California, a clinical professor
of medicine at the University of California, combines conventional allopathic
medicine with CAM in his practice. He also continues to make house calls.
“I prescribe colon hydrotherapy by calling upon a superbly
trained practitioner of the art in the San Francisco Bay area. She is
certified by I-ACT. Also, I’m very impressed by the sophisticated technology
as illustrated by the colon hydrotherapy equipment. From my observation,
it’s engineered quite well,” affirms the gastroenterologist.
“Frequently while performing colonoscopy, I see that
the patient is cleaned out from above but below the diverticular still
contain fecaliths, those small turds remaining in pockets formed on
the gut mucosa. They indicate the presence of an unhealthy colon, and
over 50% of Americans possess diverticulosis colae. When inflamed, gastroenterologists
called them diverticulitis colae, which can be serious by creating fistulas.
Some people then will evacuate through their bladders,” Dr. Charm says.
“With patients for whom I perform colonoscopy, about one third of them
over the age of fifty who are otherwise cleaned above, still show residual
stools sitting in these gut mucosa pockets. Some have held onto the
stool pockets for decades. A toxic dumpsite like this is dangerous for
them by the elevated concentration of poisons stored in the dumpsite.
Cancer can develop!
“A good cleanout by use of colon hydrotherapy is excellent
treatment. I recommend that people undertake colon hydrotherapy for
themselves. Clean out the body’s pipes,” Dr. Robert Charm suggests.
“And by all means, I prefer my patients undergo colon hydrotherapy the
morning of a colonoscopy. It’s a safe way to cleanse the gut. It’s a
healing technique for the relief of irritable bowel syndrome with gas
and bloating, chronic constipation, abdominal discomfort, and many other
GI tract problems.
“My patient, Fran Wilson, a former model, age 41, the
mother of two, was just too busy to go to the bathroom. She didn’t celebrate
having a good bowel movement, which is the thinking in our society.
For her, defecation was an annoyance. Fran labored under the mistaken
illusion that having a bowel movement every three days was normal, and
she came to me complaining of feeling logy, fatigued, bloated and abdominally
cramped. None of the various drug laxatives had been doing the job for
her,” explains Dr. Charm. “Rather, these drug-like laxatives were depleting
Fran of her potassium. The psyllium seed, fiber, and other natural agents
did not work either. Therefore I recommended that she undertake a series
of colon hydrotherapies and start drinking more water. This cleared
up her discomfort remarkably fast despite her lifetime of bad habits.
“The lesson to learn is that when one gets the urge
to move, you must do so. Being too busy in our society to give in to
the need to defecate is unhealthy. Find a way,” advises Dr. Robert Charm.
Frank Shallenberger, MD, Supports Colon Hydrotherapy
Usage
Frank Shallenberger, MD, HMD, of Carson City, Nevada,
declares: “I support the use of colon hydrotherapy and do occasionally
refer my patients to undertake this treatment. It may be the best way
to detoxify them.”
Christopher J. Hussar, DO, DDS, Took Colon Hydrotherapy
From his medical/surgical practice in Reno, Nevada,
osteopathic physician and dental cavitation specialist Christopher J.
Hussar, DO, DDS, offers the following personal statement, “I myself
have enjoyed two colon hydrotherapeutic treatments when I was experiencing
partial bowel obstruction. Each colon hydrotherapy session had me feeling
better. It’s my belief that this treatment should be recommended for
any person who is having chronic constipation. Then, the local colon
hydrotherapist can become a main factor in keeping that individual comfortable.
I maintain that one should do whatever it takes to keep up with regular
bowel movements. Colon hydrotherapy is a safe and natural laxative which
works better than any other type.
“In Reno, I refer my patients who are in need of bowel
cleansing to a colon hydrotherapist. The only reason that I don’t refer
people on a regular basis is because most of them come to see me from
out of town. Therefore, I tell them to use the services of a skilled
colon hydrotherapist located in their area so that they can go for treatment
often,” says Dr. Christopher J. Hussar.
Colon Hydrotherapy is Usual for the Patients of W.
John Diamond, MD
For W. John Diamond, MD, medical director of the Triad
Medical Center in Reno, Nevada and coauthor of An Alternative Medicine
Definitive Guide to Cancer, colon hydrotherapy or high colonic irrigations
are usual modalities to which he refers his patients. “For some patients
with chronic constipation or extensive yeast problems, colon hydrotherapy
works advantageously to get rid of the physical load of pathology in
the gastrointestinal tract. This treatment stimulates the liver and
gets rid of the debris that’s sticking to the mucosa. The last time
I referred a patient to take colon hydrotherapy was just yesterday.
There's hardly a week that goes by which does not see me utilize this
treatment for one or more patients. The colon hydrotherapist in Reno
is skilled and does a fine job.
“Let me describe a particular patient of mine, Constance
Overmacher, who benefited from colon hydrotherapy,” says Dr. Diamond.
“This woman at age 46 has a long history of antibiotic usage for chronic
sinusitis. She is a sugarholic to the extent that her diet is totally
carbohydrates with hardly any protein or fat. She exhibits a variety
of symptoms including extreme fatigue, migraine headaches, irregular
menses, chronic constipation, abdominal pain, and yeast growing in the
bowel upon testing by EAV [electroacupuncture according to Voll]. Presence
of the yeast was confirmed by stool culture and blood tests for yeast
antibodies and skin testing.
“For such a complicated case, I tried every kind of
treatment that was appropriate, but nothing did any good. The only program
that gave Mrs. Overmacher relief was colon hydrotherapy prescribed for
her three times a week. It took a month to get my patient stable, but
finally the treatment’s effect kicked in. The lady did get her bowel
cleaned up; she’s now experiencing normal stools and I have her following
a restrictive protein diet. Her energy has returned, and she has been
having normal menses for the last two months. Her migraines disappeared,”
Dr. John Diamond affirms. “It merely meant that I needed to get her
back to normal bowel function, off antibiotics, and onto probiotics
all the time. Now she takes colon hydrotherapy on a regular once-a-month
schedule. Mrs. Overmacher will likely need to stay on her therapeutic
program indefinitely.”
Janet Beaty, ND, Took Training in Colon Hydrotherapy
“My original training in colon hydrotherapy was when
I administered it 25 years ago as part of my massage therapy program
and that training went a lot deeper when I attended Bastyr University.
I was one of several instructors in colon hydrotherapy at that naturopathic
college,” says Janet Beaty, ND, whose practice is in West Concord, Massachusetts.
“Now I don’t own the physical facilities for doing it in my office but
I regularly refer patients to a competent nearby colon hydrotherapist.
“My experience with the treatment is totally positive.
I refer people to it when they are constipated because their colons
are not fully emptying and bringing on GI discomforts of some kind.
My sense is that the patient must empty out old waste products so that
there is no interference with healing modalities,” states Dr. Beaty.
“I am using colon hydrotherapy as my beginning treatment for detoxification,
particularly for patients with congested bowels. While I focus on the
gastrointestinal aspects of colon hydrotherapy, I also prescribe it
for the treatment of allergies, arthritis, and other health difficulties.
“If I had my druthers, I would get all patients
with any health problems on colon hydrotherapy. Why I don’t is
because it entails the payment of cash-out-of-pocket and some people
find the concept too ‘kinky’ even to imagine doing it,” Dr. Beaty says.
“Yet, probably most patients should receive at least one colon hydrotherapy
during the course of any health care. It is a very helpful tool for
nearly any patient in order to get the bowel peristalsis to work. An
effective technique for stimulating such peristalsis is to start out
with giving colon hydrotherapy using warm water and gradually decreasing
the water temperature as treatment continues. This lower temperature
tends to stimulate the bowel muscles. The cold temperatures cause good
peristaltic action for a retraining of the bowel.
“The ideal treatment program I follow is that from four
to eight weeks the patient receives colon hydrotherapy. This time frame
is necessary for unloading a bunch of toxins from the liver. Here is
a typical case history: a 36 year-old patient, Cynthia Mangie, had experienced
several ectopic pregnancies which resulted in her having a number of
miscarriages and ending with chronic endometriosis. Her caesarian pregnancies
left her with a lot of scar tissue so that now the endometriosis must
be managed without further surgery,” says Dr. Janet Beaty. “The solution
to my patient’s problem of endometrial pain is to take a colon hydrotherapy
one week before her period. The pain is then reduced markedly because
her usual premenstrual constipation is prevented. She currently takes
colon hydrotherapy routinely for improving the quality of her life.”
Colon Hydrotherapy Used by James P. Carter, MD, DrPH
“After conducting a comprehensive digestive stool analysis
on any patient suspected of having dysbiosis (poor intestinal hygiene),
I attempt to clean the bowel by prescribing colon hydrotherapy once
a week times three. In my medical practice, I employ a registered nurse
on staff to administer this treatment,” says James P. Carter, MD, DrPH,
MS, of Mandeville, Louisiana. Dr. Carter is Professor and Head of the
Nutrition Section at Tulane University School of Medicine.
“Also I use colon hydrotherapy as part of an overall
detoxification program, and it may be combined with treatment such as
drinking epsom salts, but both are not taken on the same day,” he advises.
“It promotes the second stage of liver detoxification to cause dissolved
poisons to come out in the bile as a solvent. The patient’s washout
at least once a week from below is adjunctive with the epsom salts.
“Colon hydrotherapy is an excellent detoxifier for the
overindulgence of alcohol and drug addictions of all kinds. Residues
of drugs and other agents in the tissues are eliminated with colon hydrotherapy,”
states Dr. James P. Carter. “It takes away any desire to use drugs or
imbibe alcoholic beverages. Colon hydrotherapy should be part of nearly
any addict’s therapeutic regimen.”
Resource
Colon hydrotherapy is taught at eighteen schools located
in various regions worldwide. The schools are approved by the International
Association for Colon Hydrotherapy (I-ACT), located at Post Office Box
461285, San Antonio, Texas 78246-1295; telephone 210-366-2888; teleFAX
210-366-2999; Email: iact@healthy.net; Website: www.I-act.org.
Receive an I-ACT membership application with descriptive
literature or for further information about colon hydrotherapy contact
the organization’s executive director at the organization’s San Antonio
headquarters.
References
1. Bettman, O.L. A Pictorial History of Medicine.
(Springfield, Ilinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1956), p. 6.
2. Kellogg, J.H. Should the colon be sacrificed or may
it be reformed? JAMA LXVIII (26): 1957-1959, June 30, 1917.