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Some hospitals across the country are choosing an alternative method of prepping the bowel before colonoscopies that does not require patients to drink a gallon of liquid laxatives the day before the procedure, according to EndoNurse. The new procedure is called colon hydrotherapy and involves infusing the colon with warm, filtered, chemical-free water to effectively clear it.
Maker of bowel cleansing products and laxatives C.B. Fleet wants to sell its over-the-counter oral sodium phosphate (OSP) solutions to consumers even though the company recalled them six months ago after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued black box warnings on prescription OSPs and raised serious concerns over the over-the-counter OSP products. The FDA had received numerous reports of a serious form of kidney injury known as acute phosphate nephropathy following the use of OSP.
Laxatives, like Fleet Phospho-Soda, an oral sodium phosphate (OSP) product, have been sold over the counter for more than a century, so it may come as some surprise that these products suddenly fall under a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning that links the use of OSPs to a serious kidney injury.
Some people who suffer from kidney problems may not realize their condition may be linked to products used to cleanse the bowel before medical procedures like colonoscopies, says Ben Locklar, shareholder with Beasley Allen Law Firm. It wasn’t until around 2005 that doctors began making the connection between oral sodium phosphate (OSP) products and a serious kidney injury known as acute phosphate nephropathy. Since then, more and more cases have been reported and hundreds of lawsuits have ensued.
An estimated 106,100 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer and 40,870 with rectal cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related death. But the good news is that the death rate is dropping. One reason is that regular screenings have allowed doctors to find more colorectal cancers sooner, thus making the disease easier to cure.
News of serious and permanent kidney problems associated with colon cleansing products has left many colon-cleansing devotees looking for healthier alternative ways to detox. Alive, a Web site for holistic healing, suggests looking no farther than your grocery store for natural ways to rid toxins.
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“Can the unhealthiest guy in the world fast on water for 40 hours AND get his colon cleansed?” It’s the question posed by Brian Labrecque with Depressing Prospects Films in his video Colon Hydrotherapy Cleansing for Dummies. The “very unhealthy guy” underwent a 40-hour water diet followed by a professional colon cleanse and shared it all, on tape, for viewers on YouTube to see.
Companies who push sales of colon cleansing products are quick to make claims that the products will rid the body of toxic sludge that weighs us down and makes us feel fatigued, bloated and sick overall. But do colon cleansing products really do us good? Joan Endyke with GateHouse New Service says buyer beware.
