Health - the bottom line

Colonic therapy is trendy. It seems to be the thing to do to clear out your system, so I decided to give it a go.

After all, it is supposed to flush your system out and leave you feeling fantastic.

This took a lot of planning for me. I cancelled my usual Friday night red-hot curry in anticipation of going to Oxford's Wellbeing Clinic, in Kingston Road, the following day.

I knew I'd need an open mind. After all, how else can you brave stripping naked from the waist down to reveal your derriere?

Colonic therapist Anne Measures says The Wellbeing Clinic, where she works, is the only place in the county where the treatment is available.

Believe me when I say I was dreading it. But Anne put my mind at rest as soon as I met her. She is 50 years old but looks years younger, with beautifully clear skin. It was enough of an advert to persuade me that colonic therapy must be beneficial. Anne is a qualified registered general nurse with a post-graduate qualification in cancer nursing, so I knew I was in safe hands. It was the mere fact that I didn't know what to expect that gave me the shivers.

I'd heard all the horror stories prior to my treatment, including the one where you bend down on all fours while a tube is pushed up your bottom and all the waste matter is later analysed in a plastic bag by yourself and the colonic therapist. Rubbish. I filled in a health questionnaire so Anne knew everything about me before the session began. Then I had a therapy session where she asked me why I wanted the treatment. and helped devise a healthy eating diet for me to help clean my insides and make me feel better on the outside.

After the therapy, she asked me whether I still wanted to go ahead with the colonics and I said yes. I could hardly let down the gang at work after getting this far) and so far no one has backed out of the treatment, although they do get the choice.

I stripped from the waist down and lay on the couch on my left-hand side, covered by a towel to respect my modesty. Anne chatted away, which put me at ease and explained what she was going to do and when.

She lubricated the scope, the main piece of the equipment - all of which is disposable - and inserted it with the help of an 'introducer' which is then removed, and attached two pipes to the scope. IWhen Anne inserted the scope, it was the strangest sensation, not painful but rather uncomfortable. Then the fun began.

Once inserted, the scope has a small tube attached which flows in filtered water at 94F and a wider tube that removes the waste matter. It flows it straight into a drain pipe, never to be seen again.

All sorts of thoughts went through my mind at that point, like why on earth was I spending my Saturday afternoon doing this for a feature when I could be out shopping and having fun?

I could feel the water going inside me which wasn't unpleasant, although unusual. In total about seven gallons of filtered water was used, a bit at a time.

After a few minutes I relaxed and Anne asked me to turn over on to my back while she held on to the equipment, so she could massage my stomach to help things on their way. There was certainly no opportunity to inspect it afterwards thankfully.

The practical session took about 20 minutes but seemed shorter. Afterwards, Anne disposed of the equipment.

It felt really good at the thought of being cleaned from the inside and I would recommend it to anyone who is keen to give it a try.

In hindsight, I really shouldn't have worried. I had a bad headache afterwards, which Anne had said to expect, so the best thing to do was drink plenty of water.

She said: "The public know about colonic therapy because it has become the butt of jokes, if you'll excuse the pun.

"Bottoms are the last taboo and it takes a certain amount of courage to come here on the day but I recognise and acknowledge people's dignity." Although not everyone is nervous, she will do everything she possibly can to relax those who are.

"People normally need six sessions and because I tell them what they should be eating, those sessions should be enough.

"It is very important that colonics should never be something you want to depend on. We are teaching the body what it needs to do best."

Anne wants to do research into colonics in the hope it will eventually be available on the NHS.

"It's really a matter of finding someone in the NHS to support I'm doing so it can be set up in a professional way. That would be wonderful," she added.

For days afterwards I felt less bloated and almost lighter. My skin seemed to improve but the main result was that I felt as if I had a healthy glow inside and out and for that reason it really is worth paying up for such a treatment.

The important thing is to drink plenty of water and eat the foods Anne recommends to help keep you healthy.

First sessions cost £45, while each following session costs £40. Call 01865 311704.

Colonic therapy or irrigation is the use of warm filtered water to cleanse the large bowel or colon

The practice dates from 1500 BC and helps eliminate stored faecal matter, gas, mucous and toxic substances from the colon

Additional benefits include clear skin, increased energy and mental clarity, fewer headaches, with circulatory, immune and weight problems often improving

It aims to detoxify the system using a careful holistic assessment leading to individual care plans of treatment based upon evidence gained

from research and experience

The colonic therapy itself will take 30 to 45 minutes. Filtered water is introduced into the colon via the rectum whilst the therapist gently massages the abdomen to release stored faecal matter. PROBLEMS THAT CAN BENEFIT Irritable Bowel

Syndrome

Detoxification

Varicose Ulcers

Constipation

Eczema/Psoriasis

Low Energy

M.E.

Joint pains

Sinusitis

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.