Often those who attend for colonic hydrotherapy complain of feeling sluggish, bloated or, in the words of one client “I just feel massy”. Often, even those who have one or more bowel movements every day are surprised that they are still holding so much more in the bowel.
Many claims and myths surround colonic hydrotherapy and we aim to clarify what a treatment can benefit but also it’s limitations. Questions routinely asked by clients are:
Will a colonic help me lose weight?
Any weight loss from a colonic is purely temporary. During a colon hydrotherapy treatment several pounds of faecal matter can be removed but as the colon is an organ of continuous use it is only natural that this effect will last for a few days.
How long does a treatment take?
The treatment itself takes up to 45 minutes, so with changing time, you’ll need to allow at least an hour. Your first treatment will normally take longer as your therapist will need to review your medical history and assess your current bowel health before proceeding with your therapy.
Is the treatment uncomfortable?
A treatment should never cause discomfort and having the tube inserted (approx. 2 inches) should never, ever cause discomfort. Very occasionally, if someone is very constipated or gassy there may be some mild twinges however a skilled therapist will be alert to this and can use herbs or vary the water temperature to ease this. More often than not, clients have remarked how the treatment was not as expected as they found it to be incredibly gentle and comments we have had have ranged from “pleasant”, “cathartic” and even “enjoyable”!
I have IBS, will this help?
Colon hydrotherapy can help alleviate some of the symptoms of IBS, however, this can often only be a temporary measure. Our therapist is also a Registered Nutrition Therapist (BANT) will always give the most current, research based information on nutrition to clients affected by IBS.
Does a colonic treatment wash out the good gut bacteria?
To date there is no research to say whether gut bacteria are removed during a treatment. A treatment every now and again should not cause any diversity to the microbiome (bacteria). Presently, antibiotics are known to cause more harm to gut population than many other mediums. We always advocate good quality, refrigerated probiotics to our clients if we think it to be beneficial. Gut bacteria are continually dying off and reproducing with a healthy gut shedding trillions of dead bacteria every day. In fact, faeces are made up of 75% water and 25% solid matter of which 30% of the solid matter is dead bacteria!
Is there any reason I should not have a treatment?
Very occasionally there are some instances where a colonic treatment would not be advisable. These are:
- Pregnancy:(at any time) previously it was considered safe after 16 weeks, however, more recently the colon hydrotherapy organisation ARCH decided that best practice was not to treat in pregnancy at all.
- Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure: When attending for a treatment we always take a clients blood pressure during the consultation, we do take in to consideration that it may be slightly higher than normal.