Cleansers –are in vogue again!

Globally people are opting for complementary and alternative therapies and one most popular among them in colon cleansing. It isn't for everyone though, and if you have not heard of it before, it may seem a bit gross and strange. Usually it is done either by using enema (injection of a liquid through the anus to stimulate evacuation; sometimes used for diagnostic purposes) to flush waste and toxins out of the colon or by consuming herbs or herbal recipes, which help the body to cleanse the colon naturally. These herbs could be either laxatives or purgatives.Detoxification, colon irrigation, colon hydrotherapy, herbal colon cleanser, colon cleansing, colonics, colonic lavage, clysters, enema, coloema, basti have all been terms applied to mean similar cleansing of the body.Colon cleansers are thought by some to provide relief from toxins that fill our bodies and also a panacea for all human ailments while others believe that colon cleaners are nonsense and a complete waste of time. Some even believe that colon cleansers are harmful to the body as the colon itself was designed to handle a variety of bacteria and works quite naturally.People who promote colon cleansing, claim that colon cleaners are good for conditions such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, mal absorption, acid reflux, (digestive and gastrointestinal disorders) skin, hair, allergies, eczema, psoriasis, acne, bad breath, chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia, high blood pressure, prostate conditions and that cleansing promotes general good health of the sense organs and much more. Since most digestive problems they claim, are caused by a toxic build-up in the body, it is essential to flush the body of all toxic chemicals. According to SPINS, a San Francisco-based research firm for the natural products industry-elimination, in other words, is a growth industry. There was a growth rate of digestive aids, which included cleansers to more than $83million in the year 2000.History of this therapyAyurveda first described –cleansing processes termed – ‘panchakarma ‘among which basti is highly valued as the best therapy when formulated systematically by the practicing doctor who has studied the case, which would be subjected to these specialized individualized therapies. Basti includes unique enema therapies which are integral part of these therapies which are still practiced much in India and in ancient days this knowledge was imparted in universities like Nalanda, Taxashilla and also many Ayurveda doctors were invited by rulers of Egypt, Arab, Greek etc and their knowledge influenced those civilizations too. Basti –means –the use of animal bladder (connected to sterilized metal tubes with nozzles), to introduce systematically formulated medicaments into the lower orifice of human beings. This is a very complicated process, which is administered on prescription of a qualified doctor as per each case.In the eleventh century to the fifteenth century, the early enema syringe was still relatively unknown and was not available to the masses. The preferred and most readily available apparatus remained a tube made of bone, reed or metal connected to a sleeve or animal bladder called the "clyster purse”(Middle English clister, from Old French clistere, from Latin clyster, from Greek klust?r, clyster pipe, from kluzein, to wash out, enema). This was held by both hands and squeezed to administer. In Spain, the method was called "playing the bagpipes”. During the middle ages, information on the enema continued to grow and the use of the enema became the popular vogue of the wealthy and even reached to the highest levels of the royalty. With this growth in popularity, the evolution of the apparatus had to follow. The 17th century became known as the "age of the enema". It was the fashion in Parisian society to enjoy enemas every day, the popular belief being that an internal washing or "lavement" was essential to well being. It was this acceptance by the public that took the enema or clyster from the hands of an apothecary and put it into the hands of the public .The clyster syringes were made of copper or porcelain, and the wealthy had syringes made of mother of pearl and silver. The aristocrats owned large collections of such instruments.De Graafe known for his surgical innovations also described the proper method to use the clyster syringe in his treatise De Clysteribus published in 1668. In this manuscript he classifies clysters as purgative, astringent, anodyne, emollient, detersive, and diversant, and mentions nutrient enemas of wine, milk and yolks of eggs. The clyster reached the height of fashion in the early years of the reign of Louis XIV (1638-1715) who, it is reported had over 2,000 enemas during his career. Through the 1920's and 1930's the colonic and enema were ever-present in most hospital stays.It is reported that in 1932, Dr. W. Kerr Russell wrote a book entitled Colonic Irrigation. This was the first documented use of the term colonic irrigation and colonic lavage. But in the modern era it fell to J. H. Kellogg, MD, of 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. Kellogg, J.H.- should the colon be sacrificed or may it be reformed? JAMA LXVIII (26): 1957-1959, June 30, 1917. It seems in the recent times, celebrities such as the late Princess Diana, John Lennon and Mae West have all patronized colon irrigation.