Colon Cleansing Methods 

Now that you are well educated in the ways your colon can get sick, what should you do about it?

Clean it. It is a simple solution to a dangerous, complex problem. The next step is to learn how best to cleanse the colon so that you can heal and prevent disease.

The Sitolonic is the best device you can use to cleanse your colon. To better understand the advantages of the Sitolonic, it is helpful to look at what the alternatives are. Humans have been using various devices to clean the colon since ancient times. The Sitolonic is the most recent development in a long line of devices, which include laxatives, enemas, and other colonic irrigation devices. Here is a brief description of each one, with its benefits and drawbacks.

I. Laxatives: 
People have long used laxatives to get relief from the continuing problem of constipation. Laxatives fall into three major categories: roughage, stimulant, and irritant. These use either chemical or physical methods to achieve the goal of getting feces out of the body.

The benefit of laxatives is that they are convenient, quick, and cheap. But from the health standpoint, laxatives are extremely harmful. They are addictive, debilitating and noxious to the colon.

A laxative works from the stomach down, putting pressure against the constipated fecal matter to push it out. This puts stress on the middle of the colon, since the rectum is blocked. When the colon gets impacted this way the only solution is an enema. Chemical laxatives are especially dangerous because they work by poisoning the colon so badly that it will go into spasms. The colon gets increasingly weaker, resulting in more serious complications down the road.

II. Enemas: 
Early enemas were performed using a hollow bamboo reed and pig’s bladder filled with medicated or plain water. The practice dates back to prehistoric times, as evidenced in cave dweller’s paintings. Since then people have invented numerous methods for administering enemas, ranging from the bulb method to the 2 quart bag. 
2 quart Enema Bag 
The advantage of an enema is that it cleans from the bottom up, clearing blockage that a laxative cannot. They are also affordable and widely available. However, medicated enemas can cause hyperphosphatemia, a dangerous imbalance of electrolytes in the body. (Babies are especially vulnerable to this.) Plain water is safer.

Another drawback to enemas is that you have to hold in two quarts of water (the average colon capacity) all at once, and then release it all at once. This tends to expand the colon wall muscles, and sometimes causes backflow of fecal matter into the small intestine. There is no chance to re-train your muscles to conduct peristalsis, because they expel everything just once. The enema should be taken as a first aid measure, but not as a long-term therapy.

III. Colonic Irrigations: 
Having discovered the benefits of enemas, people began to improve on the concept in the early 1800’s with colonic irrigations, which used greater amounts of water to wash out the colon. Colonics worked on the same principle as enemas, but used about 5 gallons of water and cleansed the colon more thoroughly.

Clinical Colonics: The first colonics were given in clinics using a two-tube system. One tube carried water into the rectum, and the other carried feces out. There have been some technological improvements since, with modern machines equipped with water pressure and temperature regulators.

The advantage of clinical colonics is that you have an experienced person administering your treatment. However, these treatments are costly and the inch-thick tubes are uncomfortable. Also, some patients experience constipation afterwards from having to hold the water for so long, and thereby discouraging natural peristalsis.

One of the biggest drawbacks to the clinical method is that the patient cannot expel feces whenever he/she feels like it, but must wait for the OK from the clinician. This prevents the colon’s muscles from getting re-trained in normal peristalsis, and also increases the risk of stretching the colon walls. 
Thick tubes used in clinical colonics

Colonic Boards: Next, the colonic irrigation board, also known by its brand name Colema Board, was invented, giving the user the privacy, freedom, and affordability of a home colonic. The user puts one end of the board over the toilet and the other on a chair. After lying down on the board, the user inserts a small perforated tip into the rectum, which pipes water into the colon.  

The advantage over clinical colonics is that the board is both more affordable and convenient. It also allows the user to release feces whenever the urge strikes, allowing the bowel muscles to re-train themselves. The repeated in and outflow of water is better for the colon than the one-shot enema, because it exercises the muscles over and over again. The small rectal tip is also more comfortable than the clinical tubes.

However, a big disadvantage is that users must lie on their backs, an awkward defecating position that doesn’t allow all the feces to get out. The user must also clean the whole board after each use, since feces and water get all over it. And because it is unwieldy, cleaning it is difficult and travelling with it inconvenient. 

The Sitolonic*: The most recent advance is the Sitolonic, a unique invention by Dr. In E. Moon that allows the user to sit up on a toilet while taking a colonic. The Sitolonic puts the user in the most natural defecating position, and is portable enough to be used even in an airplane bathroom. It offers all the advantages of the colonic board — affordability, convenience, and user-control — and many more.