5 Things You Need to Know About the Dangers of Homemade Colon Cleanse

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1. Homemade Colon Cleanse--Safe or Dangerous?

Most people have heard that a colon cleanse is a healthy or even one of the most healthful things you can do for you body. This is true to an extent, since a regular colon cleanse by an experienced practitioner helps keep the colon free of blockages and bacteria. However, because the colon is a sensitive part of human anatomy that's connected to many other vital systems, improper application of a colon cleanse, or use of harmful materials, is very dangerous. For this reason, you need to be extremely careful with a homemade colon cleanse.

2. The Way You Do the Thing You Do

One of the most important parts of a safe colon cleanse is hygiene and sterilization. Since most people who do homemade colon cleanse are not trained medical practitioners, they're unfamiliar with proper sterilization techniques. Using instruments or materials that, even if they arrived sterilized, have been exposed to contamination is a recipe not for a colon cleaning but a colon infection. Furthermore, doing a homemade enema yourself (or even with the help of someone who hasn't been properly trained) can cause tearing or accidental perforation--two things you really don't want going on in your colon.

3. So Many Choices

A major difficulty with homemade or home-performed colon cleanse is finding a cleansing solution that's right for you. Even an exhaustive scouring of the web leaves many people bewildered when it comes to what should be used and what shouldn't, since the market is literally flooded with colon cleansing products and their marketing schemes. The solution is fairly simple--ask your doctor before you use any specific product. At the same time, you should also be asking your doctor if any of your pre-existing conditions might prove troublesome when it comes to doing a colon cleanse.

4. Supersize Me

The attitude that "If some is good, a lot must be better" applies to many things, but colon cleansing is not one of them. The first issue is with the frequency of your colon cleansing. A professional practitioner monitors the frequency of the colon cleaning to make sure that the colon doesn't get upset. If you use a colon cleanse too often, you can end up damaging your body's bowel movement functioning, a problem which is often irreversible. The second problem is use of too much fluid, which can lead to perforation or rupturing of the colon.

5. Get Ready to Cleanse

Fasting is a frequently recommended beginning phase of the colon cleanse. There are various kinds of fasts, such as a total fast, an herbal fast and a liquids fast. The problem is that prolonged fasting can cause harm to a body that's not prepared for it. In these cases, you shouldn't be guessing about what's right and wrong. Instead, a consultation with your doctor is the way to proceed.

About this Author

Ashley Rindsberg is a freelance writer and dedicated athlete who divides his workout schedule between running, Crossfit-style workouts and heavy weightlifting. Ashley also practices Wu Wei Gung Fu, a variant of Bruce Lee's fighting approach, and trained under the renowned Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master, Carlos Valente.

Last updated on: 11/18/09

Member Comments

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by roxanne_26 on July 26, 2009 at 10:17 PM

So many of us take that risk.Thanks for the article. It's really an eyeopener.

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