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An old technique, hydrotherapy of the large intestine consists of cleaning it with an enema, using a tube inserted into the rectum. A decried practice, which worries doctors and Miviludes, the Interministerial Mission for the fight against sectarian aberrations. The explanations of Dr Lucas Spindler, gastroenterologist at Saint-Joseph Hospital in Paris.
Also called rehydration, colon hydrotherapy is a technique that consists of using “soft, warm and purified water baths, without the addition of chemicals or drugs” to wash the colon, explains the Themacorps Institute website. , specializing in integrative medicine. But how does this work in practice?
Benefits for body and mind
Generally provided by naturopaths, the technique consists of the introduction of an anal cannula connected to a pipe in order to pass lukewarm water at 37°C into the rectum. The cannula is also connected to another pipe for the evacuation of stools.
According to its followers, this technique would have benefits for the body and the mind by allowing “to eliminate toxins, mucus and stools” while benefiting from an abdominal massage provided by the person performing the treatment. A technique that also has a cost: a colon hydrotherapy session would cost between 120 and 150 euros on average, an approach of course not reimbursed by Social Security.
A technique “without medical basis”
Asked about the benefits of this technique, Dr. Lucas Spindler, gastroenterologist at Saint-Joseph Hospital in Paris, explains straight away that this practice has no medical basis. “Hydrotherapy has no scientific basis“immediately reminds the gastroenterologist.
For him, this type of retrograde enema does not even have a medical indication. “The only cases where it can be prescribed is when a patient has chronic anal incontinence. This type of enema – which is called “colonic irrigation” in medicine – will have to be performed to empty the colon”.
No interest for the majority of the population therefore. And even more serious, the practice could be dangerous. “The fact of introducing a cannula into the anus presents certain risks: perforation, bleeding… It is not a trivial gesture.“adds the specialist.
A practice often associated with “sectarian” excesses
A point of view shared by the collective No fake med, which also recalls on its site the dangers of hydrotherapy. The association of health professionals warns: “If enemas are taught at university (under the name of colonic irrigation) to treat severe constipation and chronic anal incontinence in adults, or before an examination or surgery, there is no specific training in colon hydrotherapy”.
Finally, according to Miviludes, the Interministerial Mission for Vigilance and the Fight against Sectarian Aberrations, “the practice of fasting is often associated with the implementation of colonic hydration“. “Poorly supervised, it can have serious consequences, such as perforation, infection, modification of the ecology of the intestinal flora” she warns.