Colon cleansing is all the rage these days. From Internet and Infomercial hawkers to exclusive spas and resorts, it seems like everyone is trying to, ummm, clean the junk out of their trunk. Cleansing in the form of enemas goes back a long way, however, as even the ancients discovered the healthful benefits of the practice.
The first written mention of enema cleansing or colon therapy comes from an Ancient Egyptian medical document dating from 1500 BCE. It seems the Egyptians employed purgatives, enemas, diuretics and even bleeding to treat diverse gastrointestinal ailments. Another Ancient Egyptian papyrus scroll includes recipes for colon cleansing that include opium, hemlock, various copper salts, and Castor oil. The ancient pharmacists employed enemas, suppositories, chants, charms and incantations as part of their cleansing therapies. The Egyptian remedies must have been effective, because they were given admiration and mention by the Ancient Greeks. At least one pharaoh had a doctor specifically just for his colon cleansing therapies.
The primitive ancients of South America used the first latex, in the form of rubber bags and tubes. Tribes in Central Africa and remote Asia also used enemas in their magical, medical practices. The priests, medicine men or shamans would employ a hollow reed and the nearby river or stream to perform colon cleansings, often with dubious results. Native American tribes developed a method using an animal bladder and a hollow bird's leg bone to perform ritual cleansings. Many of the ancients, form the Egyptians to the Native Americans believed that most illnesses had to do with either food or air, and could thus be solved by either respiratory treatments or enemas.
The Taoist monk's training regimen included regular colon cleansing therapy through the use of enemas. The Hindus also developed the practice as part of their ritual cleansing and philosophy of bodily purity.
In ancient China, a classic text on internal medicine that can be dated to the 3rd century BCE speaks of numerous methods and treatments for colon cleansing. Not to be outdone by his unknown ancient counterpart, the 10th century Sung dynasty physician, Chang Sung-Chen, wrote his own extensive treatise on the many benefits and methods of colon cleansing therapies.
The Mayan and Aztec societies of Central and South America included ritual enemas in many of their ceremonies. Some of the more primitive surviving South American tribes continue the practice to this day, as part of religious and ceremonial rites.
In Western medicine, all three of the great "founding fathers" - Galen, Hippocrates and Paracelsus - described their practices, prescriptions and "recipes" for "enematas" in the treatises and writings they left behind.
Shakespeare mentions enemas. So does Gulliver's Travels. Medieval medical texts prescribe them for ailments as diverse as constipation to measles. They were thought to balance the humors in the blood and bile, two of the elements present in the body and responsible for our overall health. The French king Louis XIV subjected himself to over 2000 enemas to ensure his health and long life. (Must've worked - he lived to be 77 - a remarkable age for his day.) French ladies thought that daily enemas would aid in digestion. Enemas were also thought to promote healthy, youthful skin, which may explain their popularity among the ladies at court.
Sometime in the 17th century, the enema came to be known as the "clyster" and was administered using a clyster syringe. The Puritanical notions of the period created a bent-nosed syringe, so that ladies could administer their own enemas in private, without the aid of a servant or physician. By this time, lying on one's side had replaced the traditional position of kneeling, as well. No real health reason or benefit is given for this change - perhaps it had something to do with the modesty of the patient, as well.
The late 19th century saw the invention and widespread use of the enema bag, perhaps another attempt to personalize the procedure and preserve patient modesty. (The bag has remained the preferred way to administer colon cleanses to this day.) The mechanization of the late 19th and early 20th century brought about the use of colon cleansing machines, utilized by doctors and health spas and even found in some of the more posh hotels of the day. In the 1920's and 30's, between the World Wars, enema treatments were commonly prescribed by physicians, and came to be common practice in hospitals. After World War II, however, the popularity of the practice declined. Enemas were seen as old-fashioned and unnecessary, as new medications and other treatments for ailments and diseases came into being.
A resurgence of "natural" health remedies, as well as a new-round interest in overall health in the late 20th century and early 21st has once again seen the enema and other colon cleansing treatments regain some of their former popularity among health professionals and patients alike.EnemaKit.com is a leading source of information, tips and enema products. Live a healthier, longer life. Visit online today.
For more information click here
No comments:
Post a Comment