If you are experiencing the problem or are working to offer solutions for those in need, examine the help that is available. Many valuable aides are briefly reviewed in the table below. Each is a part of the solution that has its necessary place in providing relief in the vast spectrum of conditions and circumstances that the problem has created.
SOLUTIONS
ErgoCleanse
Chemical Laxatives
Herbal Laxatives
Fleet Enemas
Enema Bags
Enema Boards (Colema Boards)
Colonics
De-impaction
GoLYTELY NuLYTELY Polyethylene Glycol Solutions
Colonoscopy
Colostomy
ErgoCleanse
PROS
Ease of use for a wide range of users to solve a variety of issues.
Immediate relief at first.
More Gentle. Relief usually within 8-24 hours.
Immediately effective for many.
Affordable. Can use additives for therapeutic effect. Can use as needed without additional cost.
Eliminates need to get up quickly to eliminate. Can use as needed once initial investment is made.
More thorough cleansing than an enema.
Temporary relief from severe blockage.
No one who has ever actually taken it can think of any.
Diagnostic, removes potentially cancerous polyps.
Critical rescue necessary for extreme conditions often caused by constipation and toxic colon.
Easy, safe, portable, private, com- fortable. People will USE it.
CONS
Not enough people know about ErgoCleanse and that it is an option for them.
Harsh. Effect often comes too suddenly at inopportune times. Diminishes natural colon function with prolonged use. Further exacerbates the problem.
Effect may come too suddenly. Most herbal laxatives contain senna and cascara sagrada, which have the same function diminishing affect on the colon as chemical laxatives with continued use.
By prescription only rectal saline laxative. Not effective for management of chronic constipation. Contraindicated for many conditions due to additives. Side affects and overdose possible. Messy and unpleasant to administer.
Not effective for management of chronic constipation. Messy and unpleasant to administer. Problematic to self- administer, especially for people who are physically disabled.
Inconvenient. Unwieldy to set up and use. (See bottom of page for more information.) Difficult to store and to take traveling. Many enema board owners report not using them.
Prohibitive cost for management of chronic constipation, bowel dysfunction or extensive cleansing of a toxic colon. Additional expenditure of time and gas for travel to the facility and back. Legally required to have a prescription.
Disgusting, humiliating and painful. Only relieves acute episode and does not help to solve the problem.
Patient comments always include: "horrible, vile, disgusting." It is not popular for a reason. It is harsh, dehydrating, causes tenesmus (cramping and straining and nothing comes out), vomiting for many. The list goes on.
Only addresses the condition of the colon caused by constipation, does solve the problem.
Extreme. Risk of death as with any surgery under general anesthesia. Miserable living with a colostomy bag for any length of time.
None.
Managing Chronic Constipation ...
... controlling bowel dysfunction or cleansing a toxic distended
colon cannot be done with just a few colonics or occasional
enemas. In order for a solution to work, it has to be something the patient or individual will do. Expensive colonic treatments and unwieldy difficult colon cleansing devices and systems are not the answer for most people.
Disadvantage: Going to a professional colon hydro-therapist to have colonics is costly, takes up half a day and uses a lot of gas. Most colon hydro-therapists have their clients lie flat or recline.
Disadvantage: Bag enemas are difficult and messy, and require kneeling head down and lying on one side on the bathroom floor.
Disadvantage: Enema boards are logistically unwieldy and position the user lying down.
Disadvantage: Colon cleansing devices available for private home use either requires permanent
installation in a bathroom and a board on top of the tub higher than the
level of the toilet, or a treatment table to be in or near enough to
the bathroom to allow for drainage into the toilet. Both demonstrate the position of the user to be lying down.
Traditional Enemas And The Enema Board
To perform a traditional enema using a bag and a tube, it is necessary for the individual to be agile enough to kneel on the bathroom floor with their head down for gravity to enable the water to flow up into the colon as far as possible. Then, the person must lie on their right side and be able to get up and make it to the toilet in time for the urgent need to release. This is difficult and often messy for most people who are not quick enough or able.
The invention of the enema board, which is most commonly referred to as a colema board, solved this problem by allowing the user to lie on a board with an opening over the toilet, eliminating the need to leap up from a prone position on the floor in time. This was a great improvement.
Disadvantages Of An Enema Board
Unwieldy and Inconvenient
Enema
boards are long to allow for the user to lie flat. They require a
bathroom big enough to fit a chair and a full five gallon bucket
positioned high above the toilet to create gravity flow.
Water
filtration, if any, must be arranged separately, and a safe place for a
full five gallon bucket considerably higher than the board is not easy
to find in most bathrooms.
Considerable strength, which many
people do not have, is necessary to lift a five gallon bucket filled
with water to that height.
An enema board session requires a
lot of patience and determination to set up, clean up, and put away all
of the paraphernalia involved. The entire process is unwieldy and far
from portable and difficult to store. Therefore most colenema board
owners use them less often than they would like.
Water Pressure Variable
Another
disadvantage of the enema board is the variability of the height at
which the bucket is placed that determines the rate of the flow of the
water and may result in a flow rate that is either too low and
ineffectual, or too high.
Cramping and Discomfort
The
position in which colonics, enemas and enema board cleansing are
traditionally done is lying flat, which is an unnatural position for
evacuation of the bowels. A flat position provides little relief from
cramping and discomfort that usually precedes the release of
hydrated fecal matter from the bowel.
