Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A new study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology suggests that drinking warm water prior to having a colonoscopy may help the bowel to relax and improve one’s comfort level during the procedure as well as offer more complete results, according to a Reuters Health report.

The study, which was conducted by researchers at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in Seoul, Korea, found that when patients drank 2 liters of warm water just prior to a colonoscopy, doctors were able to examine an average of 98.4 percent of large intestine surface. Doctors reported only examining an average of 90.6 percent of large intestine surface in patients who drank 2 liters of cold water prior to the procedure, and 92.2 percent in patients who had no water at all.

Sixty-four participants included mostly male patients, each about 33 years of age, and generally of normal weight. The patients either drank warm water, cold water, or no water along with the standard sodium phosphate solution normally prescribed for colonoscopy preparation. Ten to 11 patients in each group had previous abdominal or gynecological surgery. Twenty-one in the warm water group, 17 in the cold water group, and 17 in the no-water group, had irritable bowel syndrome, a chronic condition that can cause pain, bloating and bowel irregularities.

Under normal circumstances, patients who undergo colonoscopies are generally sedated. However, for the study, patients agreed to forgo sedation during their exams. Those who consumed warm water, in particular those 40 years of age and younger and those with irritable bowel syndrome, reported less pain both during the exam and two hours after the procedure. Patients in the warm water group also required less time for insertion and withdrawal of the examination probe.

While the findings are promising, researchers say that more studies should be done to determine how drinking warm water affects the bowel.

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