Editing Enema (section)

=== Alternative medicine ===

==== Relatively benign ====

===== Colonic irrigation =====

The term "colonic irrigation" is commonly used in [[gastroenterology]] to refer to the practice of introducing water through a colostomy or a surgically constructed conduit as a treatment for constipation.<ref name="pmid11113099">{{cite journal |last1=Locke |first1=G.Richard |last2=Pemberton |first2=John H. |last3=Phillips |first3=Sidney F. |title=AGA technical review on constipation |journal=Gastroenterology |date=December 2000 |volume=119 |issue=6 |pages=1766–1778 |doi=10.1053/gast.2000.20392 |pmid=11113099 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Food and Drug Administration]] has ruled that colonic irrigation equipment is not approved for sale for general well-being<ref>{{cite web |title = Subpart F—Therapeutic Devices Sec. 876.5220 Colonic irrigation system |website = Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs, Subchapter H – Medical Devices, Part 876 – Gastroenterology-Urology Devices |date = 1 April 2007 |url = http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=876.5220 |publisher = FDA }}</ref> and has taken action against many distributors of this equipment, including a [[FDA Warning Letter|Warning Letter]].<ref>{{cite web |author = Department of Health and Human Services |title = Warning letter to Dotolo Research Corp |url = https://www.casewatch.net/fdawarning/prod/1999/dotolo.shtml |format = reprint by Casewatch |date = 21 July 1999 |publisher = FDA |access-date = 31 December 2007 }}</ref>

===== Colon cleansing =====
{{Main|Colon cleansing}}

The same term is also used in [[alternative medicine]] where it may involve the use of substances mixed with water to [[Detoxification (alternative medicine)|detoxify]] the body. Practitioners believe the accumulation of fecal matter in the large intestine leads to ill health.<ref name="pmid11124189">{{cite journal |author = Whorton J |title = Civilisation and the colon: constipation as the "disease of diseases" |journal = BMJ |volume = 321 |issue = 7276 |pages = 1586–9 |year = 2000 |pmid = 11124189 |pmc = 1119264 |doi = 10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1586 }}</ref>  This resurrects the old medical concept of ''autointoxication'' which was orthodox doctrine until the end of the 19th century but has now been discredited.<ref name=Ernst>{{cite journal |last1=Ernst |first1=E. |title=Colonic Irrigation and the Theory of Autointoxication: A Triumph of Ignorance over Science |journal=Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology |date=June 1997 |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=196–198 |doi=10.1097/00004836-199706000-00002 |pmid=9252839 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author = Kaiser |title = The Case Against Colonic Irrigation |journal = California Morbidity |issue = 38 |year = 1985 }}</ref><ref name = Chen>{{cite journal |vauthors = Chen TS, Chen PS |title = Intestinal autointoxication: a medical leitmotif |journal = Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology |volume = 11 |issue = 4 |pages = 434–41 |year = 1989 |pmid = 2668399 |doi = 10.1097/00004836-198908000-00017 }}</ref>

=====Kellogg's enemas=====

In the late 19th century, Dr. [[John Harvey Kellogg]] made sure that every patient's bowel was plied with water, from above and below. His favorite device was an enema machine ("just like one I saw in Germany") that could run fifteen gallons of water through a person's bowel in seconds. Every water enema was followed by a pint of yogurt—half was eaten, the other half was administered by enema "thus planting the protective germs where they are most needed and may render most effective service." The yogurt served to replace "the intestinal flora" of the bowel, creating what Kellogg claimed was a completely clean intestine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museumofquackery.com/amquacks/kellogg.htm |title=Dr. John Harvey Kellogg |website=Great American Quacks |publisher=Museum of Quackery |access-date=12 February 2018}}</ref>

==== Dangerous ====

===== Bleach enemas =====

[[Chlorine dioxide#Pseudomedicine|Chlorine dioxide]] enemas have been fraudulently marketed as a medical treatment, primarily for [[autism]]. This has resulted, for example, in a six-year-old boy needing to have his colon removed and a colostomy bag fitted,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/secret-facebook-group-reveals-how-10944477 |title=Secret Facebook group reveals how parents use bleach enemas on autistic children in bid to 'cure' disability |author=Sophie Norri |author2=Lucy Clarke-Billings |date=2017-08-08 |work=[[Daily Mirror]] |publisher=[[Reach plc]] |access-date=2019-03-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://metro.co.uk/2017/08/07/mother-investigated-for-giving-son-bleach-enema-to-cure-his-autism-6834610/ |title=Mother 'investigated for giving son bleach enema to "cure" his autism' |author=Toby Meyjes |date=2017-08-07 |work=[[Metro (British newspaper)]] |publisher=[[DMG Media]] |access-date=2019-03-24 }}</ref> complaints to the FDA reporting life-threatening reactions,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abc7news.com/news/group-of-socal-parents-secretly-try-to-cure-kids-with-autism-using-bleach/1578833/ |title=Group of SoCal parents secretly try to cure kids with autism using bleach |author=Lisa Bartley |date=2016-10-29 |work=ABC 7 News |publisher=[[American Broadcasting Company]] |access-date=2019-03-24 }}</ref> and even death.<ref>{{cite web |title=The fake cures for autism that can prove deadly |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/13/fake-cures-autism-prove-deadly |author=Frances Ryan |date=2016-07-13 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=2019-03-24 }}</ref>

Proponents falsely claim that administering enemas to autistic children results in the expulsion of parasitic worms ("[[rope worms]]"), which are fragments of damaged intestinal [[epithelium]] that are misinterpreted as being human pathogens.<ref>{{cite web |title=The truth about chlorine dioxide and other miracle cures for autism |url=https://www.health24.com/Natural/Therapies/the-truth-about-chlorine-dioxide-and-other-miracle-cures-for-autism-20151111 |date=2015-11-11 |work=Health24 |access-date=2019-03-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.autism.com/statement_mms |title=Warning Against Chlorine Dioxide Use |author=Sidney Baker |author2=Ali Carine |author3=Suruchi Chandra |author4=Kelly M. Barnhill |author5=John Green |author6=Maya Shetreat-Klein |author7=Vicki Kobliner |author8=Dana Laake |author9=Elizabeth Mumper |author10=Nancy O'Hara |author11=William Parker |date=2015-07-12 |work=Autism is Treatable |publisher=[[Autism Research Institute]] |access-date=2019-03-24 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330220822/https://www.autism.com/statement_mms |url-status=dead }}</ref> Oral and rectal use of the solution has also been promoted as a cure for [[HIV]], [[malaria]], [[viral hepatitis]], [[influenza]], [[common cold]]s, [[acne]], [[cancer]], [[Parkinson's disease|Parkinson's]], and much more.

Chlorine dioxide is a potent and toxic bleach<ref>{{cite web |title=PubChem Database. Chlorine dioxide, CID=24870 |url=https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/chlorine_dioxide#section=Human-Toxicity-Excerpts |work=[[PubChem]] |publisher=[[National Center for Biotechnology Information]] |access-date=2019-03-24 }}</ref> that is relabeled for "medicinal purposes" to a variety of brand names including, but not limited, to MMS, [[Miracle Mineral Supplement]], and CD protocol.<ref>{{cite web|date=12 March 2015|website=vice.com |url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kwxq3w/pararchiveents-are-giving-their-children-bleach-enemas-to-cure-them-of-autism-311|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324230611/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kwxq3w/pararchiveents-are-giving-their-children-bleach-enemas-to-cure-them-of-autism-311|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 March 2019|title=The Parents Who Give Their Children Bleach Enemas to 'Cure' Them of Autism |access-date=2019-03-24}}</ref> For oral use, the doses recommended on the labeling can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and potentially life-threatening dehydration.<ref>{{cite web|title=FDA Warns Consumers of Serious Harm from Drinking Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS)|date=3 February 2011|publisher=U.S. Food and Drug Administration |url=https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm220747.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203232945/https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm220747.htm|archive-date=3 February 2011|access-date=2019-03-24|url-status=dead}}</ref>

No clinical trials have been performed to test the health claims made for chlorine dioxide, which originate from former [[Scientology|Scientologist]] Jim Humble<ref name=ne&ya>{{cite web|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/parents-making-children-drink-bleach-160057178.html|title=Parents Are Making Their Children Drink Bleach to 'Cure' Them of Autism|date=22 March 2019|work=Newsweek/Yahoo News}}</ref> in his 2006 [[self-publishing|self-published]] book, ''The Miracle Mineral Solution of the 21st Century''<ref>{{cite book |title=The Miracle Mineral Solution of the 21st Century|publisher=Jim Humble|year=2006|author=Jim Humble}} (self published)</ref> and from anecdotal reports. Humble coined the name MMS. Sellers sometimes describe MMS as a [[water purifier]] to circumvent medical regulations.<ref>{{cite news | first = Erik | last = Jensen | title = Deadly chemical being sold as miracle cure | date = 2010-01-09 | url = http://www.smh.com.au/national/deadly-chemical-being-sold-as-miracle-cure-20100108-lyvl.html | work = The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=2019-03-24}}</ref> The [[International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies]] rejected "in the strongest terms" reports by promoters of MMS that they had used the product to fight malaria.<ref>{{cite press release |publisher= [[International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies]] |date= 15 May 2013 |title= IFRC strongly dissociates from the claim of a 'miracle' solution to defeat malaria |url= http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/opinions-and-positions/opinion-pieces/2013/ifrc-strongly-dissociates-from-the-claim-of-a-miracle-solution-to-defeat-malaria/ |access-date= 2019-03-24 |archive-date= 24 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210224162551/https://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/opinions-and-positions/opinion-pieces/2013/ifrc-strongly-dissociates-from-the-claim-of-a-miracle-solution-to-defeat-malaria/ |url-status= dead }}</ref>

===== Coffee enemas =====
{{Main|Coffee enema}}

Well documented as having no proven benefits and considered by medical authorities as rash and potentially dangerous is an enema of [[coffee]].<ref name=Ernst /><ref name="shils" />

A coffee enema can cause numerous maladies including [[infections]], [[sepsis]] (including [[campylobacter]] sepsis), severe [[Electrolyte disturbance|electrolyte imbalance]], [[colitis]], polymicrobial enteric sepsis, [[proctocolitis]], [[salmonella]], [[brain abscess]], and heart failure,<ref name=colitis /><ref name="acs">{{cite web |publisher = [[American Cancer Society]] |url = http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/ManualHealingandPhysicalTouch/colon-therapy |date = 11 January 2008 |access-date = 13 May 2011 |title = Colon Therapy |archive-date = 24 April 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150424180208/http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/ManualHealingandPhysicalTouch/colon-therapy |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors = Margolin KA, Green MR |title = Polymicrobial enteric septicemia from coffee enemas |journal = The Western Journal of Medicine |volume = 140 |issue = 3 |page = 460 |year = 1984 |pmid = 6710988 |pmc = 1021723 }}</ref><ref name=deaths>{{cite journal |vauthors = Eisele JW, Reay DT |title = Deaths related to coffee enemas |journal = JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association |volume = 244 |issue = 14 |pages = 1608–1609 |year = 1980 |pmid = 7420666 |doi = 10.1001/jama.1980.03310140066036 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors = Keum B, Jeen YT, Park SC, Seo YS, Kim YS, Chun HJ, Um SH, Kim CD, Ryu HS |title = Proctocolitis Caused by Coffee Enemas |journal = The American Journal of Gastroenterology |volume = 105 |issue = 1 |pages = 229–230 |year = 2010 |pmid = 20054322 |doi = 10.1038/ajg.2009.505 |s2cid = 19156781 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher = [[Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center]] |url = http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69283.cfm |title = Livingston-Wheeler Therapy |date = 9 May 2011 |access-date = 13 May 2011 }}</ref><ref>William T. Jarvis, Ph.D., National Council Against Healthcare Fraud, "[http://www.ncahf.org/articles/c-d/caquackery.html Cancer Quackery]". Accessed 11 July 2012.</ref><ref name="pmid6789105">{{cite journal |title = Campylobacter sepsis associated with "nutritional therapy"--California |journal = MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. |volume = 30 |issue = 24 |pages = 294–5 |year = 1981 |pmid = 6789105 |author1 = Centers for Disease Control (CDC) }}</ref><ref name="pmid20054322">{{cite journal |vauthors = Keum B, Jeen YT, Park SC, Seo YS, Kim YS, Chun HJ, Um SH, Kim CD, Ryu HS |title = Proctocolitis caused by coffee enemas |journal = Am. J. Gastroenterol. |volume = 105 |issue = 1 |pages = 229–30 |year = 2010 |pmid = 20054322 |doi = 10.1038/ajg.2009.505 |s2cid = 19156781 }}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=December 2024}} and deaths related to coffee enemas have been documented.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Eisele JW, Reay DT |title=Deaths related to coffee enemas |journal=JAMA |volume=244 |issue=14 |pages=1608–9|date=October 1980 |pmid=7420666 |doi=10.1001/jama.1980.03310140066036}}</ref>

[[Gerson therapy]] includes administering enemas of coffee,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Gerson Institute&nbsp;— Alternative Cancer Treatment |url=http://www.gerson.org/g_therapy/default.asp |archive-date=1 April 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030401121651/http://gerson.org/g_therapy/default.asp}}</ref> as well as of [[castor oil]] and sometimes of [[hydrogen peroxide]] or of [[ozone]].<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Weitzman S |title=Alternative Nutritional Cancer Therapies|journal=International Journal of Cancer|volume=78|pages=69–72|year=1998| issue=S11| doi=10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(1998)78:11+<69::AID-IJC20>3.0.CO;2-7| pmid=9876483|s2cid=20633344 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Some proponents of alternative medicine have claimed that coffee enemas have an anti-[[cancer]] effect by "detoxifying" metabolic products of tumors<ref name=colitis>{{cite journal |vauthors = Lee CJ, Song SK, Jeon JH, Sung MK, Cheung DY, Kim JI, Kim JK, Lee YS |title = Coffee enema induced acute colitis |journal = The Korean Journal of Gastroenterology = Taehan Sohwagi Hakhoe Chi |volume = 52 |issue = 4 |pages = 251–254 |year = 2008 |pmid = 19077527 }}</ref> but there is no medical scientific evidence to support this.<ref name="shils">{{cite journal |vauthors = Shils ME, Hermann MG |title = Unproved dietary claims in the treatment of patients with cancer |journal = Bull N Y Acad Med |volume = 58 |issue = 3 |pages = 323–40 |date = April 1982 |pmid = 7052177 |pmc = 1805327 }}</ref><ref name="acs" /><ref>{{cite journal |author = Cassileth B |title = Gerson regimen |journal = Oncology (Williston Park, N.Y.) |volume = 24 |issue = 2 |page = 201 |date = February 2010 |pmid = 20361473 }}</ref>